4 metre (ish) RIB

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lw395

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I am considering buying a modest RIB with a friend.
We have the possibility of an affordable place to keep it, a drying mooring.
It's just a toy, bit of coastal pottering etc.
Needs to be seaworthy, not too big, not using silly amounts of fuel.
Light enough to manhandle on the beach, narrow to tow.

I have always respected Avons.
I want a deepish vee hull, fairly seaworthy for its size,
So I'm thinking of something like an SR4 with 40HP.

Am I mad? Will the drying mooring trash it?
What Other makes should I look for?
I saw one for £3k the other day, that's the kind of budget.
Not looking for new or shiny, just sound and reliable.

Any thoughts?
TIA.
 
Check out the F-Ribs at Nestaway Boats, class C rated, stand up stable, 700 kgs load, 25+ kts and can fit in a car boot..
Just bought one, shiny new for around your budget.

See my thread 'Rib Problem solved'

No connection just a happy customer....
 
lw395 said:
I am considering buying a modest RIB with a friend.
We have the possibility of an affordable place to keep it, a drying mooring.
It's just a toy, bit of coastal pottering etc.
Needs to be seaworthy, not too big, not using silly amounts of fuel.
Light enough to manhandle on the beach, narrow to tow.

I have always respected Avons.
I want a deepish vee hull, fairly seaworthy for its size,
So I'm thinking of something like an SR4 with 40HP.

Am I mad? Will the drying mooring trash it?
What Other makes should I look for?
I saw one for £3k the other day, that's the kind of budget.
Not looking for new or shiny, just sound and reliable.

Any thoughts?
TIA.
Click to expand...

I have a 4mtr Avon SR4 with a 50Hp Mercury 2 stroke OB.
Can do 30kts but only in a flat calm sea, 4mtr is not big when going coastal. Would recomend going 5+ with a 90Hp for that.
The SR4 is Ok for two people. Not sure I would want to man handle it onto a beach. Probably a bit too heavy with the 50 on it.
I would not want to keep on a drying out mooring as the SR 4 has a flooding 'centre' hull. Makes it quite stable when stationary (good for divers) but you risk the chance of the centre hull filling up with mud and stones if you beach it.
Also, depending on the ground, you risk damaging the tubes.
Older 2 stroke engines can chew through petrol, mine doesn't like running at slow speed, wants to go :-)
The SR4 is a very good solid RIB but as with all boats, it's a compromise.
 
On a day with fairly flat water, I recently had my first drive of a RIB, around 4 metres long, not sure of the maker. Yamaha 50hp o/b.

I was frankly amazed at how much fun it wasn't. I was watching over a race of slow-lane singlehanded dinghies, and I was very disappointed at how much throttle and noise and slamming and discomfort was involved just to get 100 yards ahead of the sailboats...

...and 45 seconds later they were back on my tail, silently and effortlessly progressing upwind. I'm not a motor-boater, but between about 1985 and 1990 I really thought a RIB or Dell Quay dory would be fun to own...now, I'm glad I never had the cash to find out.

Funny how driving one is universally assumed to be quite cool, from a distance. Highly deceptive. Perhaps the bigger more powerful RIBs really are fun, and the tiddlers are trying to emulate the experience.

It was also a shocking weight to haul out. Not impossible with eight or nine burly club volunteers, but it'd need a tow-car otherwise.
 
We have a Williams 325 rib. In flat water amazing. Tiny chop and it gets pretty unpleasant even will some weight in the front. For "costal work" I would think you would need something bigger than 4m
 
dancrane said:
On a day with fairly flat water, I recently had my first drive of a RIB, around 4 metres long, not sure of the maker. Yamaha 50hp o/b.

I was frankly amazed at how much fun it wasn't. I was watching over a race of slow-lane singlehanded dinghies, and I was very disappointed at how much throttle and noise and slamming and discomfort was involved just to get 100 yards ahead of the sailboats...

...and 45 seconds later they were back on my tail, silently and effortlessly progressing upwind. I'm not a motor-boater, but between about 1985 and 1990 I really thought a RIB or Dell Quay dory would be fun to own...now, I'm glad I never had the cash to find out.

Funny how driving one is universally assumed to be quite cool, from a distance. Highly deceptive. Perhaps the bigger more powerful RIBs really are fun, and the tiddlers are trying to emulate the experience.

It was also a shocking weight to haul out. Not impossible with eight or nine burly club volunteers, but it'd need a tow-car otherwise.
Click to expand...

WellI could not disagree more. I have several boats and my little 3.4 m rib is one of the best and most fun boat I have. Don't be put off by the post above get a rib and have fun you will not regret it

Dennis
 
Bigplumbs said:
WellI could not disagree more. I have several boats and my little 3.4 m rib is one of the best and most fun boat I have. Don't be put off by the post above get a rib and have fun you will not regret it

Dennis
Click to expand...
I'm sure Dan reports his experience as he saw it, sounds like a comically overweight club boat!
I have driven a fair few ribs and I tend to enjoy the smaller ones more.
 
jrudge said:
We have a Williams 325 rib. In flat water amazing. Tiny chop and it gets pretty unpleasant even will some weight in the front. For "costal work" I would think you would need something bigger than 4m
Click to expand...

I'm talking about leaving the river and going to the beach a mile or two down the bay, on nice days, not rounding Portland in a blow. All small boats have limits, for sure the smaller the RIB, the lower the limits.
 
Oscar24 said:
I have a 4mtr Avon SR4 with a 50Hp Mercury 2 stroke OB.
Can do 30kts but only in a flat calm sea, 4mtr is not big when going coastal. Would recomend going 5+ with a 90Hp for that.
The SR4 is Ok for two people. Not sure I would want to man handle it onto a beach. Probably a bit too heavy with the 50 on it.
I would not want to keep on a drying out mooring as the SR 4 has a flooding 'centre' hull. Makes it quite stable when stationary (good for divers) but you risk the chance of the centre hull filling up with mud and stones if you beach it.
Also, depending on the ground, you risk damaging the tubes.
Older 2 stroke engines can chew through petrol, mine doesn't like running at slow speed, wants to go :-)
The SR4 is a very good solid RIB but as with all boats, it's a compromise.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the first hand info.
Particularly take your point about drying mooring damage and stones. I will take a proper nose at what others are doing in the area.

Do you have a litres per hour figure?
 
lw395 said:
I'm sure Dan reports his experience as he saw it, sounds like a comically overweight club boat!
Click to expand...

As you say. I've nothing with which to compare my first time in a RIB, so it may just have been a rotten example. It certainly seemed sluggish - crashing into waves and grinding along laboriously rather than riding high. Strange though - nice, newish 50hp o/b, less than 120kg crew weight and no kit aboard. I had looked forward to the experience, but I'll avoid that boat (and that duty) in future.
 
Re engine size in ribs. A lot of people seem to recommend 90hp+ for even a small rib.

Our club has two Humber 6M rib's each with a 40HP Yamaha. That seems perfectly adequate to me, capable of 20knt plus, very stable sea worthy boats.

Re the poster who was disappointed. Well you won't go planing at full speed and expect a smooth ride in a F4 will you? (is that what you expected?) There is often the argument that the motion of a sail boat in a rough sea is nicer than that of a planing mobo. But a rib will go at displacement speed if you are not in a hurry as well. Have you done any training? I recommend the PBL2. I was "fortunate" when I did mine to have a nice calm day, and a really rough windy day so got to experience and learn about the boat in different conditions.

Personally I think a rib is a very capable type of boat, if a little wet, but for me personally the noise would drive me nuts if trying to go any distance.
 
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lw395 said:
Thanks for the first hand info.
Particularly take your point about drying mooring damage and stones. I will take a proper nose at what others are doing in the area.

Do you have a litres per hour figure?
Click to expand...

I don't have a litres per hour figure for the engine as it depends on what load / speed I did.
What I can say is below 12ish kts (i.e not on the plane) I would generate a 4ft wake :-0 and would empty a 25ltr tank in a couple of hours. The engine is never very happy below 3K revs.
The real sweet spot was 25 kts and on the plane, Would still empty a tank in under a couple of hours but could go a fair way in that time.
Being a 2 stroke and 'thirsty' isn't a major problem, but you do end up carrying extra tanks and with the SR 4 there's not that much spare room on board.
I've recently used a modern Suzuki 4 stroke OB and tbh, it's a revelation compared to my 2 stroke Mercury. Will tick over all day long and very frugal. They are heavier and more expensive than an equivilant 2 stroke.
For 3K your probably limited to a 2 stroke, nothing wrong with them as long as there looked after properly.
One final point, although my RIB will do 30 kts i very rarely do that speed. It's much happier around 25 kts and unless the sea state is 4 and under you can't safely go any quicker with It as the boat takes off!
 
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ProDave said:
Re engine size in ribs. A lot of people seem to recommend 90hp+ for even a small rib.

Our club has two Humber 6M rib's each with a 40HP Yamaha. That seems perfectly adequate to me, capable of 20knt plus, very stable sea worthy boats.

Re the poster who was disappointed. Well you won't go planing at full speed and expect a smooth ride in a F4 will you? (is that what you expected?) There is often the argument that the motion of a sail boat in a rough sea is nicer than that of a planing mobo. But a rib will go at displacement speed if you are not in a hurry as well. Have you done any training? I recommend the PBL2. I was "fortunate" when I did mine to have a nice calm day, and a really rough windy day so got to experience and learn about the boat in different conditions.

Personally I think a rib is a very capable type of boat, if a little wet, but for me personally the noise would drive me nuts if trying to go any distance.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have done PB2 and yes the noise annoys if going any distance.
Big RIBs feel fairly dull to me, even at speed, unless there is a sea running. Great if you just want to get from Portsmouth to Cowes though!

I have a small outboard which might be handy for pottering up river. Or as 'get you home'.

Hence the attraction of sticking with a small boat for very local bay hopping and so forth.
 
We have an sr4 with a 25hp Yamaha on it and it's a little underpowered in chop. Ideally would like to put a 40hp 2-stroke on it as I've driven another with this setup and it's the best combo for the boat. I believe that they are too stern heavy with larger 4-strokes. Also I was in one with a 50hp and it was overpowered in my opinion. A 40hp would permit a decent cruising speed which will save fuel vs. a smaller engine. On average we would use a 25l tank over half a day so not bad at all.

Sea keeping, they're probably one of the most capable boats of their size ever built as they have a true deep v right to the transom. Also, the water keel makes them very stable at rest. Obviously the larger seariders are more capable but they require more power and aren't as much fun to drive. Ribs of this size are going to spend more time out of the water than in it in any sort of chop, never bothered me particularly as a properly balanced sr4 should fly level so you can maintain decent speed.

When buying one I would focus on the engine condition as this is likely to be the most expensive component, followed by the trailer. Hull wise, the tubes are hypalon, not PVC so they last as long as they've been maintained wrt. repairs and valves. The transoms and floor are plywood encapsulated in fibreglass so they can rot/ go soft.

Great little boats however.
 
Oscar24 said:
I don't have a litres per hour figure for the engine as it depends on what load / speed I did.
What I can say is below 12ish kts (i.e not on the plane) I would generate a 4ft wake :-0 and would empty a 25ltr tank in a couple of hours. The engine is never very happy below 3K revs.
The real sweet spot was 25 kts and on the plane, Would still empty a tank in under a couple of hours but could go a fair way in that time.
Being a 2 stroke and 'thirsty' isn't a major problem, but you do end up carrying extra tanks and with the SR 4 there's not that much spare room on board.
I've recently used a modern Suzuki 4 stroke OB and tbh, it's a revelation compared to my 2 stroke Mercury. Will tick over all day long and very fugal. They are heavier and more expensive than an equivilant 2 stroke.
For 3K your probably limited to a 2 stroke, nothing wrong with them as long as there looked after properly.
One final point, although my RIB will do 30 kts i very rarely do that speed. It's much happier around 25 kts and unless the sea state is 4 and under you can't safely go any quicker with It as the boat takes off!
Click to expand...

Thanks again.
Budgeting on 12 litres an hour for general use seems pretty affordable.
Most of the RIbs I've used have been 4 strokes for some years, but the extra weight and cost probably outweigh the 2 stroke's thirst for us.
I suspect that equation changes rapidly as boats get bigger?
I will have to see what comes along on the market.
 
ProDave said:
There is often the argument that the motion of a sail boat in a rough sea is nicer than that of a planing mobo. Well you won't go at full speed and expect a smooth ride in a F4 will you? ...the noise would drive me nuts if trying to go any distance.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't expect any small boat, sail or power, not to notice a bit of chop at around twenty knots. Some sailboats do reach those speeds, and I don't envy their crews either. My RIB day was force 2 - 3, waves mostly under 2ft. I'd expected it would feel as serene and effortless as it looks - like driving an automatic convertible...but it was more like a weary old Defender crashing up a green lane.

I don't doubt they're safe and versatile and oh lord, they're popular, so they hardly need defending. I just expected I'd find out why.

You're right about the noise though - maddening. :hopeless:
 
As far as the noise goes I quite like it. I have a saying that noise in the sound of life quiet is the sound of death

Imagine a Grand Prix with electric cars and no engine noise..................... No fun at all
 
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