Im after a rib/tender

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SolentPhill

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Im after one of those jet ribs or one with an outboard with all the steering and seating. I will have to mount it on the back of the boat so its only a small one around 3m would be good. new or secondhand Im not that fussy, where do I start what make are good and what to avoid.

if anyone has one PM me and I will be interested,

thanks
 
Hi Solentphil, the only two I have experience with are the Jet Rib's being the 2 stroke Avon Jetrib and the 4 stroke Williams jetrib.

Firstly, 2 stroke you have got to try and avoid as they are smokey at slow speed. The Avon jetrib with 2 stroke has had a lot of problems with the jet impellor seizing and can be expensive to repair.
The Williams 4 stroke models are the ones to be looking for.
They are very well built, and so far reliable. They do not smoke are are smooth runners.
I believe the 285 models are the one for you but you are talkin around 285 - 320 kilos weight.
I know Williams have a secondhand 285 which is last year's and very low hours as my friend has just gone bigger in a swap. Oh, and their support / warranty is excellent.

Good luck.
 
As has already been mentioned they are going to be heavy. I used to have a jet ski on the back of my Phantom 42 and the pasarelle just about lifted it at 250kg (it was the lightest ski you could buy). When we bought the Princess I did a bit of homework and had planned to fit a Besenzoni foldaway crane that lived in a little dome when not in use. Unfortunately I never saw one at any of the boat shows and so it died a bit of a death. That and the fact I was looking at the thick end of £10k for it on top of £15k plus for a tender.

In the end we went a totally different route and one I have been absolutely delighted with. I bought an aluminium hulled tender around 2.8m which has a tube around it as per a normal tender but weighs under 30kg so can easily be lifted on and off the bathing platform.

A 4hp Yamaha with forward, neutral and reverse pushes us along nicely. Beaching is no problem, it's stable and the whole package cost around £1,300 from memory. A £24k saving!!!!!

I've been meaning to post some pictures and will do so in the near future.

Just another option if you didn't like fully inflatable dinghys.

Henry /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
What size is your main boat? 2 stroke jet ribs only really sit properly on boats over 40 ft, and for 4 strokes, the main boat really needs to be 45 ft+, otherwise they're just too heavy. Even those sizes are borderline, and you'll suffer some loss of performance on the main boat due to the weight on the back.

Take a look at the J craft 2.9m. It's a snazzy little RIB, that will take a 30 hp 2 stroke, or 20 hp 4 stroke.

j craft 2.9m
 
my boat is 40ft that includes a 4 ft swim platform. the jet looks too heavy a tender with seating/steering console is the way forward I have looked at BHG Marine and there are a couple there thanks

just want something to have a little fun with I need to get a new tender and am looking at the 3.1 honwave but one you can sit and steer must be more fun
 
A few years ago (after a comment from you I think Nick) I popped into J Craft to have a look. I think he makes them to order but as you say it is very impressive for such a small craft. Can take a substantial engine from memory.

Just for the record - JetRibs
OK so you have to try them (or even own one for a while)
BUT
Almost everyone who owns one lives to regret it.
A conventional RIB with an outboard is by far the best way to go, IMHO of course.
Now then - the big issue is this
How do you find something that is fast, powerful carries lots of people, can tow a skier/toys and yet remains light enough to carry of lift onto your boat.
The JetRib meets most of these criteria but definately is the heaviest option and in tidal waters you will have considerable trouble using it as a tender to/from the shore. In fact we broke the intake of the one we had when we let is sit down on the bottom as the tide went out.

A great RIB was the old Avon 350 (I think) which takes a reasonable sized engine and has the control seat right forward.

Here's what I mean

IMG_3327eMedium.jpg


But - Avon havent made them for a while now so when we were looking for a new dinghy for the new boat we went with a slightly bigger Walker Bay which gets as near as I can to the ultimate dinghy.

IMG_5075Medium.jpg
 
I was chatting to Mark from MB Marine (02380 388608) yesterday (as he was fixing my seized steering). He happened to mention he has 3 small ribs for sale on ebay. He is in Southampton, just had a look ebay & listing number is 300305911145 for a 3m one, just look at his other items to see the other two, one which is bigger, the other smaller. But these are unused but a couple of years old and I think he said obtained through a Honda rep just prior to Honda coming out with their own range of dingy's... so look good value. He is competitive on outboards & is very good at rigging up boats and outboards...I would think a lot cheaper and easier to maintain than a jet rib... but I might be wrong
 
Your rib with seating console and big enough engine to power it properly is going to look huge on your boat and I am intreagued as to how you are going to launch & recover.

Just be careful before you take the plunge and order something up. As has been mentioned already if you're not careful you're going to hinder your boat's usability for 98% of the time for the 2% of the time you blast round on the tender and the size of tender you'll end up with won't tow skiers or toys.

The whole tender thing has been much debated on her and everyone has their favourite solution. The trick seems to be deciding what you really want out of the thing on the back of your main boat. It's very easy to get illusions of grandeur /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I know I nearly did !

Henry. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Why do you have to have a centre console (taking up a load of space in what is already a small space) ?

Centre consoles work well on full sized ribs but on mini ribs I'm not so sure. Keep it simple, light, separate (in terms of propulsion) in case you need to take it off for work and won't go far wrong.

H. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
If you're looking to stick a (relatively) sizeable outboard on, so you can tow a ringo or lighter skiers, then I think a console is a good idea. For tender duties only with smaller outboards, then tiller is best.
 
You won't get anything on the back of a 40' including 5' bathing platform boat that will tow a skier or ringo with any success. The towee will pull the puller all over the place.

You need to sit the missus down and explain the laws of physics to her. You can't fit a gallon in a pint pot. There's a whole thread with dirty inuendos to run on from here.......

Seriously, have a chat. If necessary use it as planning permision to buy a decent beam 50 footer otherwise tell her she can have one if she can get it on the back of the boat (and keep both it, the bathing platform and the transom there in a bit of chop).

H. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
We had a 3.1m RIB with 20 hp 4 stroke, 110 kgs all up, and we could ski and wakeboard behind it. Yes, it pulls the boat about if you cut in too hard, but for a bit of fun on a calm sunny afternoon it was OK.

With the J craft and a 30 hp 2 stroke, you could tow a full size adult on skis no problem, with all up tender weight of about 120 kgs.

This is me behind current tender with a 30hp, albeit the tender is 3.4m

Picture148.jpg
 
A 3.1m tender on the back of a 35/40 footer is going to be quite noticable. We ended up with a 2.6m tender on the back of our Princess 42 which has a reasonable beam all be it with a bathing platform that's incorporated into the hull with butress protrusions covering half the platform at each end. A "stick on" bathing platform would be more open ended & I'm not sure what the Doral has.

We can board and disembark using the bathing platform when stern to in our mooring. Any more than the 2.6m and we'd struggle. Don't forget to allow for the engine overhang as well. With a centre console and associated engine hook up I assume you can't just pop the engine off and spin it round so the leg is in the boat.

Even at 120kg you'll need to do the homework on your davits etc to make sure all is well. I know the back end is quite stable in terms of bounce but you do still need to allow for a bit of extra weight at the bottom of the bounce.
Henry
 
Here's a 3m tender on the back of our F37. It needs a Whittall crane to get it on and off, and the Rhino Rider in this photo has been subsequently replaced with a (much lighter) Brig 300 Sport with a Johnson GT 15hp 2-stroke. I can't praise the Brig enough- it's a great bit of kit.

The kids have water skied and SWMBO regularly wakeboards off the back of it.

IMGP0243.jpg


This is the Brig, but not SWMBO ;-(
shop.jpg
 
RIB for Sealine SC35

Is it too much to hang the Walker Bay 310 RIB with a pair of Davits on the Swim Platform of the SC35?
Should I stick with the Walker Bay 270 RIB?
 
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