Avon Jet rib

DERF

DERF

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Has anyone any experience of these craft? I'm looking to purchase a used one(jockey style 3.20mtr) and wondered if there is anything I should look out for/ be wary of?

Do you know of a good one for sale???

Any help from you wise men/women out there would be appreciated.

Thanx



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There's one for sale in Exmouth, think it's an Avon. Needs a clean as it's not been used for a while, was the tender for a Squadron 55 but the owner didn't like it. Have no idea how much it is.

Phone 01395 269314 and ask for Robin Carter.

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sorry, I meant store in the water, need to be lifted or the jets get fouled, thats why I had to buy a rib with a 40hp, would have prefered the jet rib

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Thanx Rick & Wiggo.

TCM has strong views about most subjects.. I've read his scathing comments about the Targa 52! Can't say I agree with him.

Anyway what does a "poof in Yorkshire look like"?

Not all riding around on jet ribs are they?

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Yes, but I recall another post where the +/- bits were listed.

The one that struck me was that with a 'normal' tender you can replace the engine or the hull alone. I do not think you can do that with jet rib.

Of the people I know who have them all have had warranty issues and trouble....

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Thanx Andy.

Will look at the Williams as it has been recommended by somene who has one.

BTW No space in Port Solent at the mo, so boat will be in Med until sorted. Maybe. Will give you a shout when its here.

L

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I have the exact Avon jet rib you mention.

I chose it because it is a good tender and comfortably take 5 people ashore all with their own seat or a few more if they sit on the side of the rib.

It doubles as a fast rib for towing toys and is safe and great for that as well.

I keep mine out of the water on the bathing platform but have left it in water for a few weeks without a problem.

Using it is like driving a motorbike - you lean into the bends.

So as an owner/user of one for over a year now, I would choose nothing else - its a good all round rib.

I have slowly towed young children in a few feet of water (sandy bottom) with it. I have towed adults on toys at speed and I have used it as a tender in all sorts of situations.

So that's my pennysworth :-)









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I bought an Avon Jetrib 320 this spring as replacement for my old Avon Seasport 345 w. 25 hp outboard.
The outboard version is a better seaboat. It took less water over the bow. Also, the rib fall as a stone a soon as the boat jumps a little and the water intake is in the air. An outboard leg stay in the water longer and the continous thrust give a drier more stable ride.
Surprisingly the rib has more weight in the ass than the o/b rib. Combined with wrongly positioned lifting hooks this make it poorly suited for davit storage. The weight didn't affect my davit but the laminate is crackling in the hull of the rib arround the aft lifting hooks. The o/b rib had thru hull fittings with large ss plates on both sides. Avon claim crackling is my fault not using factory made lifting wires (bought mine from local Avon dealer though). Should not be a problem if you plan to store the rib on the platform. The jet has no neutral gear. Not a problem if used to it but trouble for occasional drivers. The throttle handle use very small movements, meaning that it is difficult to maintain a stable speed in choppy water. The old Mercury started at first pull every time. The jetrib is difficult to get started when cold and smoke a lot (old 2 stroke tech?). When warm it start up as should. Dont buy the factory supplied canopy, it is crap, you can have a better one made for the same money. Jets are not the best for watersports. Still this is the reason why I keep it. My 3 teens are knee- and wakeboarding and the prop of the o/b scared me watching their play ( it is easier to enter an o/b boat from the water as you can step on the cavitation plate). Well! Otherwise I'm quite happy with the new rib I guess!

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Jet ribs

I've used jet RIBs (not Avon) for over many years and qualified as a fast rescue craft cox using them way back. We use them primarily as a rescue boat onboard ships, but also as work boats. Steering them at low speeds is a knack, and you need to play the wheel the whole time. For that reason, we used to fit a knob (can't remember the correct term) to the rim of the wheel. Once you get the hang of them, they are very manuoevrable. They can be steered whilst stopped in the water, and unlike an outboard you do not reverse the wheel when going astern which makes it very easy to bring alongside (with a bit of practice). We had a mixture of jet and outboards, and overall the jets took less maintenance. A few pros and cons IMO:

Pros:

No propellor to foul so less danger to swimmers or gear in the water
Inboard installation so good weight distribution
Superb manuoeverability (with practice!)
Can be used in very shallow water

Cons:

Less efficient (ie less power) than propellor equivalent
Vulnerable to impellor wear - the impellor/tunnel clearance is critical and performance quickly drops off with blade wear.
Water intakes susceptible to fouling in heavy weed etc
Less space available in boat

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