Brand New to the Boating World and desperate for help please

[Charlie007]

We are looking to buy a boat for family use; wake boarding / skiing / bit of fishing / having fun on the South Coast...
We can store and maintain it at home so want it to be easy to trailer too (we are an hour from the coast). Ideally have the option of putting up a shade.

Firstly why are Ribs so expensive compared to a 2nd hand Bowrider style?
We went to the Boat Show today and looked at Ribs but even 2nd hand ones are pricey.
Bowriders however, seem to do the same job, look more substantial and are cheaper.....confused! Are they much more expensive to maintain / run?

We looked at shared ownership deals but aren't keen. We want to hook up and go without checking with other owners etc...

Any help / advice would be massively appreciated, thank you.

 

[Jeepster]

Did you factor in the price of the outboard/s on the RIB's or bow riders you were looking at?
RIB's are generally lighter than moulded GRP bow rider type boats so they have more buoyancy...This allows them to take bigger engines...Many RIB's are fitted with big, expensive, outboards of 150 hp or more, sometime two, but most bow riders will probably have smaller outboards and usually only one, both of which are considerably cheaper. A crude but effective rule of thumb for the price of an outboard up to 100hp is roughly a £1000 every 10hp an outboard has. For instance, a 50hp outboard will usually cost around £5000, a 70hp usually around £7000 and a 90hp usually around £9000...After 100hp this rule goes out the window though as a 300hp engine does not cost 30K, it actually more like 20K. Sellers like to pass the huge price of these outboards onto buyers. So while the boats themselves can be cheap to buy, once you stick an expensive outboard or two on them, you can expect to pay through the nose for them!

 

[Charlie007]

Thank you Jeepster. We looked at a Brigs Navigator 570 today which seemed a good option for us.
Its only now we've got home and seen a similar engine on a Bowrider seems to be a lot cheaper.

 

[ShinyShoe]

Bowrider isn't as versatile a boat. Doesn't mean it wont do what YOU want, but it might not do what everyone wants. The bigger buoyancy that jeepster refers to also means you can take it out in worse weather.

If the bowrider is heavier - it may affect your towing ability.

Are you comparing boats of the same age? Same engine hours? Same trailer?

 

[Charlie007]

To be totally honest, I don't know :ambivalence:
We need telling what to buy... imagine idiot complete novices....that's us right now!
What's suitable for our needs? 4 people, wake boarding, towing a ring, fishing, port to port trips...
Just read about bowriders not being great in the Solent and sinking Soooo confused as to what kind of boat we should be looking for..

 

[William_H]

Here in Oz the kind of boat you think you want is extremely popular. Something like 50% of all boats are this style. RIBs are not so popular here GRP or aluminium hulls being more normal. Ali hulls do corrode and get tiny leaks but GRP seems to last for ever but is much heavier. Our club have 3 support boats. One a 6m RIB with I think 60HP o/b another 5 metre aluminium with similar o/b and the larger one is 6m ali with 120HP which is left in the water. The RIB has got serious internal problems but is still in use. I suspect over inflated and got hot in the sun. I would not buy a RIB either new or s/h.
As you may have seen form this forum GRP hulls can be as cheap as chips although pretty tatty. It is the motor that deteriorates with age and costs a lot. I do however love the modern 4 stroke fuel injected motors. Just turn the key and go. Plus very economical on petrol.
Trailer is the next consideration and these do deteriorate with age but fortunately condition is usually obvious unless there is a lot of new paint.
The lastly what vehicle do you have to tow it? GRP is heavier but still not a major problem at the size you envisage.
Around here you can see some really big 8m cruisers GRP or ali behind a 4x4 or truck.Owners seem happy to launch for each outing. good luck olewill

 

[Concerto]

Charlie007 can I put another though for you to consider first. Get some training before you buy. It may cost, but you will learn how to handle a power craft and get experience in what you will really need to buy.

 

[Halo]

Charlie007 can I put another though for you to consider first. Get some training before you buy. It may cost, but you will learn how to handle a power craft and get experience in what you will really need to buy.

+1. Get some training in first. Then you will have more knowledge to base your purchase on. There are RYA approved training centres all over the place. Don’t buy until you have a clearer idea as selling boats is a right hassle and likely to be expensive.

 

[superheat6k]

A new business selling RIBs and other small motor boats on trailers has just been set up in Riverside Yard Blundell Lane Bursledon (top of the Hamble). Not sure what the prices are like but might be worth a trip, plus Whyboats and Premier at Swanwick nearby and not too far to tour the Hamble marinas.

However, be aware that trailer launching any boat can rapidly become a complete PITA and can easily put your partner off boating. Many trailered boats are rarely used because the tow, launch and recovery process is not so easy. Therefore dry stack storage is also worth looking at with many yards and marinas now offering this service.

 

[Topcat47]

Don't discount buying second hand. My BiL bought a 3m Dory on a launching trolley with a newish 25hp 4-stroke for a little under £2000 on e-bay. Now he is a frequent e-bay'er and this wasn't not the first boat he'd ever bought like that, but he did buy it unseen and when I collected it for him, I couldn't believe what a good deal it was. He also bought a sea fishing boat complete with a fish finder, plotter and a 35hp Yamaha 2-stroke for similar money. He swapped the 2-stroke for s Honda 4-stroke 20hp but got a good price for the stroker. Again, he'd not seen that boat either. It was a bit scabby IMO, but he's cleaned it up nicely and he's had offers substantially above his investment for the boat.

Get advice from a water ski club first, if you want to wakeboard as I'm not sure how much power you will need for that. There's will be a club somewhere near you. Whatever you buy will have to have an ability to plane. If all you wanted to do was fish and potter about you could get a displacement boat.

 

[simonfraser]

Def look at dry stack / yard operated trailer storage (they use their own tractor and help with launch and recovery), either will reduce the pain.

 

[jwilson]

RIBS are in general safer: very difficult to sink one.

Without any experience or training you are a potential accident waiting to happen. Please either go with someone experienced first a few times, or even better do an RYA course.

Personally I am not a great fan of small powerboats, though my children did enjoy waterskiing when younger. I regularly used RIBS, rigid v-hulls and dories are safety boats for sail training for many years, so was reasonably competent at the boat handling aspect. As a sailing yacht owner I could also navigate, though all you need of that is the absolute basics.

As well as the PITA of launching, consider also the fuel costs. A typical small planing powerboat/RIB might burn 30-50 litres an hour, a slightly bigger one or with a really big engine 80-120 litres an hour.

 

[VicS]

We are looking to buy a boat for family use; wake boarding / skiing / bit of fishing / having fun on the South Coast...


Any help / advice would be massively appreciated, thank you.

Not wishing to put you off but a quick look at some of the reports on mishaps with small power boats will emphasis what jwilson says

https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports?key..._of_occurrence[from]=&date_of_occurrence[to]=

The report on a famous accident a few years ago involving a high powered RIB and an experienced family out with their new boat, Milly, for the first time, just having fun, is well worth a read. Terrifying what can happen.
https://www.gov.uk/maib-reports/eje...e-injured-2-seriously-and-the-loss-of-2-lives

RIBS are in general safer: very difficult to sink one.

Without any experience or training you are a potential accident waiting to happen. Please either go with someone experienced first a few times, or even better do an RYA course.

 

[William_H]

Agree completely with the need for safety awareness. This class of boat and around here produces the most accidents by far and were in fact the cause of authorities imposing laws on driver licence and safety equipment requirements for almost all boating here.
This type of outboard (over) powered boat known as the "runabout" have the potential for capsize in big seas under power especially if you drive into the back of a wave and broach. Also the potential to be swamped from behind by your own stern wave when cutting power rapidly just to mention a few. I am not experienced in power boating although I was teaching power boat handling for many years and still teach our support boat drivers high speed handling (for approval to break speed limits) but to be honest all I can teach (emphasise) is be very careful with the throttle. This class of boat are kind of the equivalent of motor cycle on the roads. (can be deadly)
To add to the down side around here a lot of really nice water is speed limited to 8knots and it is generally windy so water
too rough for any comfortable speed. So I stick to my sail boat. (no motor) olewill

 

[mlines]

Whilst you will see doom laden stories about Bowriders, we found the truth to be more around the days you can go out being more restricted. We survived a bowrider for a number of years in and around the Solent/south coast but it was true to say that there were some days when we saw other people able to go out whilst sense told us we had to stay in. With the specific "wakeboard" boats they have a low freeboard which makes the problem worse. RIBs certainly ride better.

We still have a "small" boat compared to most of this forum and we are still having great fun in it. Ok, so we do not stay on it overnight, we do not go out in F3/F4 except where the wind direction provides a lot of shelter. Yes, we are fair weather boaters but then people have crossed the Solent on an upturned table on nice days.

 

[salar]

Go and have a chat to these people:http://www.boatability.co.uk/ based in Portsmouth, they can give you some training and advice before you part with money. When you are ready to start fishing have a look at my web site below. There is a free book on there to download on boat owning but that is aimed more at fishing than wakeboarding.