Scorpion rib refurbishment

[Millermob]

Afternoon all,

Following some recent threads, I thought there may be some 'light' interest in my rib refurbishment project. Whilst many a vessel on here is much larger, I feel that a lot of the works carried out are similar to other rebuilds I've seen on here and I'm not sure of the engagement I'll get on the rib.net forum when it comes to Silvertex and fake teak decking unless I'm mistaken.

The rib is a 2012 boat that I bought in 2019 with less than 20 running hours.

Whilst I've enjoyed plenty of use, I've also enjoyed maintaining / cleaning / improving it.

I was never a huge fan of the yellow and was keen to replace the tubes with blue. These are the works that are currently underway.

• Tube replacement - blue replaced with yellow
• Fibreglass console refurbishment
• Reupholster with Silvertex Plata
• Fake teak decking (Permateek)

Based on a recent thread, I took some recommendations from @jfm and added some more texture and contours to the upholstery to break up the panels with rolls, stitching and bolsters. The only one left untouched is the jockey seat bases and this may be changed.

Next projects will be a re-engine project and all new nav gear as while the 7012 Garmin is serving me well, something more modern would be preferable. Plus there may also be some scope for new Fusion equipment and potentially some Lumishores and low level deck lighting - possibly a carbon dash panel to modernise things too.

In terms of recommendations, could anyone suggest a colour for Permateek? They have around 15+ colours and it's hard to tell online. I'm looking for a nice light straw colour.

When the works have been completed, plan is to have the boat trailered down to Mallorca - after three years in North Wales, I'm struggling with the cold and unpredictability of weather as windows to use the boat around work commitments are very tight. Beyond this, I'm looking into yacht shares based out of Mallorca (yacht-share.net) as time is limited to 4-6 weeks per year.

Grateful for recommendations on Nav gear and Permateek colours - tube colours and upholstery already set so hopefully not too many conflicting opinions there! Some photos attached of the rib in it's existing colour scheme.

Thanks, Freddie

 

[Millermob]

New colour scheme for the tubes mocked up by a friend of mine.

 

[Millermob]

Upholstery works done so far... (including one of the old fluted vinyl)

 

[Millermob]

Fibreglass polish up and disassembly!

 

[Millermob]

Proposed teak templating pattern. Thanks again.

 

[Parabolica]

That’s an interesting project and looks to be coming on very well.

Scorpion were the pinnacle UK rib manufacturer back then too. Not so nowadays but times change.
Using it in Mallorca you will love it but can i suggest you get a decent size bimini made for it too, for when you just need a bit of shade whilst sat at anchor. Boating in Wales it’s easy to lose sight of the need for some shelter from the sun at times.

Who did your trim, it looks very nicely done ?

 

[julians]

As per parabolic as post you will need some shade if using in Mallorca, I would also caution against Flexi teak ( or other fake teak ) in Mallorca, it gets exceptionally hot under foot. We had some fitted to the bathing platform of our previous boat in Mallorca and it was unbearable

The rest of the project looks good though

 

[Millermob]

@Parabolica - RE Scorpion, yes - when I was growing up, Scorpion were the best of the best for me. We had a few Avon Adventure (blue) ribs growing up that we towed up to the North West coast of Scotland and as far South as St Tropez. A few boat-less years while at University and early years of work in London / Hong Kong, I knew it had to be a Scorpion when I could source my own.

I think these days, all their focus is on the Superyacht tender market and they appear to be doing well there. A shame it's not a mainstream manufacturer anymore as with the likes of Cobra and Ribeye but they've been incredibly helpful and supportive since I've owned it.

I will have a look into a bimini, they did fit some from the factory and I will follow-up to see if they can still offer it or let me know who fabricated it for them. Something like this although I don't think this one is original: Scorpion 8.1 | 8m | 2011 | Boats and Outboards

Other consideration is an anchor windlass given we should be using this far more often but that can wait for next year...

All the refurb works are being carried out by Rodella Ribs (RodellaRibs | Rib repair, Rib re-tube, Bespoke design & make) - the owner, Giovanni, is ex-Scorpion and knows what he's doing (not sure if upholstery is done in-house or outsourced locally in Poole). Several other tube manufacturers offered to do the work but the quality wasn't in-line with the original works.

@julians - thank you for the advice. Having done lots of reading on this, I was under the impression that the latest 'technology' for this stuff had improved with temperature under foot. Will do some more research on it this week.

Thanks again for the advice.

 

[julians]

@julians - thank you for the advice. Having done lots of reading on this, I was under the impression that the latest 'technology' for this stuff had improved with temperature under foot. Will do some more research on it this week.

Thanks again for the advice.

Maybe things have changed, I cant say we tried every synthetic teak option available so maybe some are better than others for heat, ours was flexiteak fitted in about 2017 - it got stupendously hot in the summer, you had to keep hosing it down with the shower before standing on it with bare feet.

 

[dustywings]

Many years ago we had a Scorpion 7.5, great boats and well respected as stated.

We replaced our real teak decks a few years ago with Permateek and went for the Ash colour, you can see it here if it helps:

Squadron 58 Replacement Decks

 

[Millermob]

Thanks @dustywings - just read through your thread and we are also using Tye at Elite Teak, which is reassuring based on your comments! I think I'm looking more golden (which you referenced) and Modern is looking good to me at the moment.

Appreciate the help.

 

[Parabolica]

@Parabolica - RE Scorpion, yes - when I was growing up, Scorpion were the best of the best for me. We had a few Avon Adventure (blue) ribs growing up that we towed up to the North West coast of Scotland and as far South as St Tropez. A few boat-less years while at University and early years of work in London / Hong Kong, I knew it had to be a Scorpion when I could source my own.

I think these days, all their focus is on the Superyacht tender market and they appear to be doing well there. A shame it's not a mainstream manufacturer anymore as with the likes of Cobra and Ribeye but they've been incredibly helpful and supportive since I've owned it.

I will have a look into a bimini, they did fit some from the factory and I will follow-up to see if they can still offer it or let me know who fabricated it for them. Something like this although I don't think this one is original: Scorpion 8.1 | 8m | 2011 | Boats and Outboards

Other consideration is an anchor windlass given we should be using this far more often but that can wait for next year...

All the refurb works are being carried out by Rodella Ribs (RodellaRibs | Rib repair, Rib re-tube, Bespoke design & make) - the owner, Giovanni, is ex-Scorpion and knows what he's doing (not sure if upholstery is done in-house or outsourced locally in Poole). Several other tube manufacturers offered to do the work but the quality wasn't in-line with the original works.

@julians - thank you for the advice. Having done lots of reading on this, I was under the impression that the latest 'technology' for this stuff had improved with temperature under foot. Will do some more research on it this week.

Thanks again for the advice.

I’m not so sure that Scorpion are so busy these days tbh. I hope they are of course but good to hear they have been very helpful.
I wouldn’t expect a bimini to be much of an issue tbh as with all their product being manufactured in very low volume, the few with these would likely have been manufactured as one-off anyway. It’s the way of most boat manufacturers tbh and especially from when yours was first made.
That said, ask the factory as they may indeed have done one and then will have drawings to either repeat again for you or let you pay a license fee to get one made elsewhere. Just don’t underestimate the need to get some shade at times when out in the med.

re the flex-i-teak, i have seen Tye’s work snd it really is top level however, looking into this myself for my own boat which is in Mallorca, i opted to replace my worn thin teak with real teak once again (it actually gets completed next week), as the synthetic offerings regardless of what you are told, are impossible to walk bare foot on when the suns rays have been on it for even just an hour or two. And that’s even in the moderate months with just 20-24degC air temp. I tried (ouch !!!). A very blonde colour would help of course (white grp vs black is a good example as to why), but it’svstill a plastic snd plastic gets hot under the sun.

And for me, once on a boat we like to be done with footwear unless going down into the engine room.

So for UK use yes, definitely. But if you fully intend to use in the hotter climates, even just for a few occasions, avoid 100%.

 

[[165042]]

Scorpion have a new premises in Lymington - most of their boats are exported now which is unsurprising given they're £250k+

Some of their older boats suffer from water ingress throughout the hull as the deck wasn't bonded to the bulkheads.

 

[Millermob]

Refurbishment works now finished!

Very happy with the Silvertex Plato material / colour combination and the the new Permateek synthetic decking really breaks up the grey well (in my opinion).

Now ready to enjoy this summer. Re-engine and nav gear upgrade pencilled in for next year!

Thank you for the recommendations and suggestions - will let you know how I get on with the decking in the med sun...

 

[jfm]

That looks stunning. Like a new boat!
Re engine sounds interesting - from what to what?
I’m a bit worried about how you will Med moor. You will be bow inwards to the quay, and your bow deck hardware won’t work. You might have two bow lines in a V. So you’ll need to use the U bolt on the keel which is obviously strong enough but quite inconvenient. Worth thinking about.
You get this problem on any rib that doesn’t have a GRP moulding atop the bow, so I had it on the ribeye that I’m building. I chose to have a custom Samson post sticking up above the tubes. Worth pondering.

 

[Seastoke]

Looks great , can I ask how do you day boat guys deal with toileting .

 

[z1ppy]

Lovely work. I am a big fan of scorpions, we have had 2 and hands down the best ribs we have owned. The 7.5 was beautifully balanced, we had a 225 Optimax, an absolute pleasure And the bark when driving it hard in big seas was just so infectious!

Giovanni is a master craftsman, having seen some of his work on Scorpions and Huntons, you have selected 100% the right man!

 

[jfm]

Looks great , can I ask how do you day boat guys deal with toileting .

From about 7.5 -8m upwards, you can have a WC compartment with a decent flushing loo.

 

[Millermob]

Looks great , can I ask how do you day boat guys deal with toileting .

From about 7.5 -8m upwards, you can have a WC compartment with a decent flushing loo.

Not something I'd thought of previously as it tends to be myself and a couple of mates going from a marina. Now that it'll be med-based, I suspect I may need to think this one through some more as my partner (and her friends) are much keener on the idea of med-based boating.

Unfortunately, no room in the console, as is, but I know that some of the modern designs incorporate a WC as John mentioned. I'll see how we get on this season - longer term plans are for this to become a chase boat to something larger if everything goes to plan, so hopefully not an issue then!

 

[Millermob]

@z1ppy - Giovanni was great throughout and the quality of workmanship is incredible. Essentially, Scorpion factory standard! As for the boat & hull, it's a shame that Scorpion only service the very top end of the market now. I suspect if I can get my hands on one, I'll be looking for an 8.1 / 8.5 for a full overhaul in the next few years.