Scorpion rib refurbishment

[z1ppy]

There’s plenty around, sure you know Stewart at Lymington marine sales? He knows most of the boats about and can keep an ear out.

Scorpion have gone with the money and who can blame them? Been a long time since i was at their factory but was very impressed when they moved over to Ampress park, really a step up in what has always been a cottage industry in the true sense of the word!

 

[Millermob]

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.
View attachment 154152

Thanks John. A lot of time running through everything but mostly enjoyed the process. Nothing compared to your epic build but I’ve got to start somewhere…

The boat currently has an Evinrude E-tec 200 (small block on it). Very light for power but with the 260l of fuel and few extra people it could do with more.

Top Contenders for the replacement are either the new Yamaha 300 model with steer-by-wire or Mercury Verado. I’d be very happy with either.

RE med mooring, I see your point and have part considered it but not dealt with it in the refit. Scorpion did offer a Samson post and I like the idea of it but wanted to keep the cleaner lines for now and with the foredeck sunpad, didn’t want anyone to bash heads on it etc.

The other item I’d like to fit is an electric windless into the bow locker with an integral hull fitting as in your image. It appears to be possible to retrofit so I will cost that out for phase 2. Struggling to attach image from phone - will try from laptop in the office.

Depending where I get to, it may be better to find a better kitted out Scorpion donor hull and go from there!

Thanks for the kind words and advice.

 

[Millermob]

There’s plenty around, sure you know Stewart at Lymington marine sales? He knows most of the boats about and can keep an ear out.

Scorpion have gone with the money and who can blame them? Been a long time since i was at their factory but was very impressed when they moved over to Ampress park, really a step up in what has always been a cottage industry in the true sense of the word!

I've had a few chats with Stewart, yes. I think plan is to enjoy this one this year and see how I feel about a new project in 2024.

I agree, I don't blame the route they've gone down, just dries up the market for a specific boat that I really like.

 

[Millermob]

@jfm Samson post and anchor arrangements considered for future works on the boat. I'll have to give some thought for the immediate term though. Will let you know how I get on. Thanks

 

[julians]

Thanks John. A lot of time running through everything but mostly enjoyed the process. Nothing compared to your epic build but I’ve got to start somewhere…

The boat currently has an Evinrude E-tec 200 (small block on it). Very light for power but with the 260l of fuel and few extra people it could do with more.

Top Contenders for the replacement are either the new Yamaha 300 model with steer-by-wire or Mercury Verado. I’d be very happy with either.

RE med mooring, I see your point and have part considered it but not dealt with it in the refit. Scorpion did offer a Samson post and I like the idea of it but wanted to keep the cleaner lines for now and with the foredeck sunpad, didn’t want anyone to bash heads on it etc.

The other item I’d like to fit is an electric windless into the bow locker with an integral hull fitting as in your image. It appears to be possible to retrofit so I will cost that out for phase 2. Struggling to attach image from phone - will try from laptop in the office.

Depending where I get to, it may be better to find a better kitted out Scorpion donor hull and go from there!

Thanks for the kind words and advice.

Boat looks good.

Whereabouts in Mallorca will you keep it?

edit : we have the mercury verado 300 V8 on our boat (axopar 28), and its been pretty good so far - we've only had it 2 years, but its been trouble free, its very smooth and quiet (unless you switch on the sports exhaust) , and cheap to maintain so far....

 

[jfm]

Thanks John. A lot of time running through everything but mostly enjoyed the process. Nothing compared to your epic build but I’ve got to start somewhere…

The boat currently has an Evinrude E-tec 200 (small block on it). Very light for power but with the 260l of fuel and few extra people it could do with more.

Top Contenders for the replacement are either the new Yamaha 300 model with steer-by-wire or Mercury Verado. I’d be very happy with either.

RE med mooring, I see your point and have part considered it but not dealt with it in the refit. Scorpion did offer a Samson post and I like the idea of it but wanted to keep the cleaner lines for now and with the foredeck sunpad, didn’t want anyone to bash heads on it etc.

The other item I’d like to fit is an electric windless into the bow locker with an integral hull fitting as in your image. It appears to be possible to retrofit so I will cost that out for phase 2. Struggling to attach image from phone - will try from laptop in the office.

Depending where I get to, it may be better to find a better kitted out Scorpion donor hull and go from there!

Thanks for the kind words and advice.

Sounds good.
Yes I did weigh up the head bashing risk of the samson post but went ahead with it because I can't see any other easy way to med moor it (when not on a floating dock, which it will be most of the time). For the cross piece of the Samson post I'm using 25mm tube with bullnose rounded ends, not the 10mm bar you often see that is quite sharp on hands.

It's easy to think that you might be better with a RIB that has a GRP moulding on the top of the bow, like say Capelli. These are great for mooring, anchor handling and stepping on board, but they are no good on chase boats. With a chase boat you want nothing sticking out that might damage the mother ship if a slightly unskilled driver is running the RIB, and occasionally you want to use the chase boat as a tug boat so it needs an inflatable nose without any GRP to push the mother ship. Also on that score, Ribeye are setting the anchor further into the hull than usual for me.

Going next size up and getting a WC etc sounds like a great next move for you - and you would then not re-engine your current RIB I presume.

The yam/verado 300s are both outstanding and honestly I didn't know which to choose. I went with Yam in the end but told Ribeye that if there were any supply chain problems then fit the Merc. Both outstanding. I have gone for the steer by wire yamaha because you get an autopilot, and heading hold will be a useful feature. Also I was told that integration with Sleipner bow thrusters might come sooner with Yam than Merc, so I have specced a variable speed bowthruster and Yam joystick, with the hope of retrofitting the firmware later, so that the boat will move sideways using the Yam joystick.

 

[Millermob]

Your solution for the samson post sounds good and a nicely improved version that you usually see with the main weaknesses / issues addressed.

Completely agree on the GRP moulding on some of the ribs designed for med use. I see plenty of advantages as you've identified but personally, I feel they take away the benefit a rib brings being that there is far less to give when approaching directly on the bow. Personally, I don't think they look great either but that's a separate debate altogether.

I'm keen to see your final Ribeye spec - you mention about the anchor being further set back or recessed more than usual, this is a concern I've had with that type of installation but I imagine the ability to anchor from the helm negates much of that. Although with my level of OCD, I suspect a bruce anchor in that position, I'd be very careful approaching a high-lo bathing platform or equivalent in fear of dinging a mother ship.

Scorpion didn't really do much with their consoles on the open ribs (from what I've found), so if I want to accommodate a WC, I'll need to look at other brands or go down the Axopar route - however, I'd prefer to stick with a Scorpion for sea handling and address that issue with access to a larger vessel.

Bowthrusters on a rib is not something I'd considered and likewise, if I do keep this rib, I'll be happy with 300 yamaha or verado, I suspect it will come down to the best deal I can get at the time. It'll be a nice project alongside a couple of Lumishores, which I'm sure you'll be going on the Ribeye.