Piers
Well-Known Member
This is all so helpful. I've now so much to read and learn.
Thinking of a RIB
- Thread starter Piers
- Start date
Mr Googler
Well-Known Member
How about a whiteshark.
Seem to hold their money well.
Larger ones even have a loo!
Seem to hold their money well.
Larger ones even have a loo!
Piers
Well-Known Member
Really want a RIB, not a hard boat.
Piers
Well-Known Member
Lots of good reading here, but as far as an Axopar is concerned, it just doesn't 'look right' in my book. That's the more sensitive language for 'ugly'!
Mr Googler
Well-Known Member
Ferris
Well-Known Member
Haha, you just have better taste.
[165042]
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I had a 265. Great hull but had a HPDI on the back which was frankly bobbins.
Keith-i
Well-Known Member
My shortlist when buying a few years ago was Ribcraft and Osprey. I'd add Redbay to that now. They can look a little bit utilitarian compared to the likes of Zodiac, Shearwater, Cobra etc but sunbeds aren't really much use when tackling wind over tide through the Russel. Depends what you want it for, how far you want to go and what creature comforts you'd need. Length and engine size are more important than looks IMV for our waters.
Fender!
Member
PITA? That is unless your manoeuvring and twins are far superior to a single, not forgetting the redundancy of a second engine. Worthwhile...............definitely, if you ever own a twin engined boat, it’s VERY hard to go back to a single.
Kawasaki
Well-Known Member
Watched thread with interest
In No particular order, my thoughts
We have a Humber 6.5 in the 'Fleet'plus a Ribeye 7.85 a Redbay 8.4 and a Ribcraft 9
If I was to choose one of them for my own use it would be the Redbay
The Humber is a brill training boat
The Ribcraft by the way of its seating a great Trip boat
The Ribeye is a jack of all trades but suffers so
The Redbay is on a Par if not better in some areas than the Ribcraft as for build quality
IMHO the Ribeye is not as good as all tothers, neither is its seakeeping
Nowt wrong with it , it's just as good as tothers, hull shape tube configuration etc
Where you are is similar to Me in that you have loads of current which when its 'wind against' you have to on your mettle and need a boat/rib that can handle the short choppy seas You will encounter on occasions no doubt
All the above 'Makes' I have indicated do not make a bad or poor boat
If I was going to choose the engine
We have Yamaha, Evinrude and Suzuki at the moment
Honda prior on the Largest, the Ribcraft, which we changed to Evinrude e tec (twin)
E TEC on the Ribeye and Suzuki on the Redbay
Oh on another rib we have a Suzuki too!
Forgot about that one but it is an old hull and the makers are no more
I would be hard pushed to 'find' a favourite engine
Lean towards the new Suzuki 'lean burn' I think for leisure use
Easy to service is one advantage
Although Honda were the first to market large outboards, in my experience the power to weight ratio has been surpassed by the other makes mentioned
Just my thoughts and experience over the last few years operating RIBS commercially and for leisure.
In No particular order, my thoughts
We have a Humber 6.5 in the 'Fleet'plus a Ribeye 7.85 a Redbay 8.4 and a Ribcraft 9
If I was to choose one of them for my own use it would be the Redbay
The Humber is a brill training boat
The Ribcraft by the way of its seating a great Trip boat
The Ribeye is a jack of all trades but suffers so
The Redbay is on a Par if not better in some areas than the Ribcraft as for build quality
IMHO the Ribeye is not as good as all tothers, neither is its seakeeping
Nowt wrong with it , it's just as good as tothers, hull shape tube configuration etc
Where you are is similar to Me in that you have loads of current which when its 'wind against' you have to on your mettle and need a boat/rib that can handle the short choppy seas You will encounter on occasions no doubt
All the above 'Makes' I have indicated do not make a bad or poor boat
If I was going to choose the engine
We have Yamaha, Evinrude and Suzuki at the moment
Honda prior on the Largest, the Ribcraft, which we changed to Evinrude e tec (twin)
E TEC on the Ribeye and Suzuki on the Redbay
Oh on another rib we have a Suzuki too!
Forgot about that one but it is an old hull and the makers are no more
I would be hard pushed to 'find' a favourite engine
Lean towards the new Suzuki 'lean burn' I think for leisure use
Easy to service is one advantage
Although Honda were the first to market large outboards, in my experience the power to weight ratio has been surpassed by the other makes mentioned
Just my thoughts and experience over the last few years operating RIBS commercially and for leisure.
Kawasaki
Well-Known Member
I agree in some respect Fender!
However a rib does not react to other twin engine configurations in the the motors are quite close together
Therefore the 'twin' reaction is not as pronounced as per shafts
If you think about it a rib does not have that much 'windage' and therefore is easier at close quarters than a 'plastic' boat
In deed I often find when coming along side or mooring etc I revert to one engine at a time anyway
Yes, you quite correct twins are handier when 'parking' but not the be all or end all with a rib
Consider this
The type of 'prop' on a rib is designed to make the vessel perform best whilst in forward propulsion (like most boats!) but in 'astern' a performance type prop(like on a rib) is not designed to function the same way, ie pretty useless until the prop has had chance to 'grip' the water
So the 'equality' of directional balance is not the same
Hey!, I am no 'prop' expert (who the effin Hell is!) but I hope you get where I am coming from
If I was going to order a rib with twins I would make sure the fuel systems were independant
Thats the best advantage I can see
My priority if I was building a rib or looking for one for leisure use would be its ability to cut through the rough stuff
Some look lovely but bang a bit in a seaway
A rib that has its tubes aft whilst at rest, ie at anchor or on a Pontoon 'in ' the water will tell you about its ability
Check out how 'Fine' the entry is on its 'stem' forward
Clues like this will offer you a good idea as to how She will handle when the Sh*te hits the proverbial!!
longjohnsilver
Well-Known Member
I’ve had various RIBs. I guess my favourite was a Cobra 5.5 with a 150 Merc, boy did that accelerate fast! I also rated the Ribcraft I had some years beforehand. There is so much choice now, most makes look pretty good but contrary to almost everyone else I would suggest not going too big, my preference would be around the 6m mark. Anything much bigger and it will become more problematical with finding space for it, more difficult to handle by yourself and ultimately less fun cos you probably won’t end up using it as much as you currently think you will. That’s the main reason all my previous RIBs have been sold, lack of use.
Assassin
Well-Known Member
[165042]
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Not in my experience. I've had twin outboards (2 x Yamaha F200) and happily went back to a single (Suzuki DF300). Half the servicing cost and 2/3 the weight on the back.
z1ppy
Well-Known Member
Having had a few ribs in my time preference would be.. 7.5 to 8.5 meters. Single outboard 250 / 300 Hp.
4 jockey seats, rear bench seat and large locker in the foredeck.
ideal to use alone of with a few friends but lets be honest, you dont really want to take more than 4 people any distance or at any speed in a rib.
ideal to run into the beach, shallow water, plenty big enough to drive in the rough stuff.
Dont go too light on the horses.. when it gets rough the extra power allows you to "drive" the boat in a comfortable way and you will be grateful for the extra power when your climbing the back of waves or keeping the bows up in troughs.
both of the scorpions we had were fantastic. the 7.5 (225HP Optimax) was a delight to helm and so easy to keep level, the 8.1 was better in the rough (the extra length gets you across the wave tops) but the Verado was a bit heavy for her.
4 jockey seats, rear bench seat and large locker in the foredeck.
ideal to use alone of with a few friends but lets be honest, you dont really want to take more than 4 people any distance or at any speed in a rib.
ideal to run into the beach, shallow water, plenty big enough to drive in the rough stuff.
Dont go too light on the horses.. when it gets rough the extra power allows you to "drive" the boat in a comfortable way and you will be grateful for the extra power when your climbing the back of waves or keeping the bows up in troughs.
both of the scorpions we had were fantastic. the 7.5 (225HP Optimax) was a delight to helm and so easy to keep level, the 8.1 was better in the rough (the extra length gets you across the wave tops) but the Verado was a bit heavy for her.
ben331
Member
I had a Scorpion 8.1 with a Yam 250 for a couple of years, it was the best seakerping boat I’ve had and great build quality, looked at Cobra but it seems to me they try and copy Scorpion. Just my opinion....
Hambleite
Well-Known Member
We've had a 6.5m Scorpion since 2004. With a 150hp Optimax Pro XS she'll do 44 knots.
The Scorpion has a very fine entry at the front and deep v throughout. There's a reason why they've won quite a few long distance records and why they were the choice for BAR Racing chaseboats, Team Oracle chaseboats and Richard Branson's fleet...
Other ribs that I'd recommend are Ribraft - a bit more 'utilitarian' than a Scorpion but if I was out in the rough, I'd also be very happy in one!
Size wise, I wouldn't go any smaller that 6.5/7.0m, based on sea-keeping and usable space. Our '6.5m' is actually 7.0m if measured and dwarfs other '6.5m' ribs- so well worth trying a few for size / layout. Launching and recovering single handed was a doddle but we've been dry-stacking for a few years now.
Ultimately, it depends on the budget and what you want to use the rib for.
The Scorpion has a very fine entry at the front and deep v throughout. There's a reason why they've won quite a few long distance records and why they were the choice for BAR Racing chaseboats, Team Oracle chaseboats and Richard Branson's fleet...
Other ribs that I'd recommend are Ribraft - a bit more 'utilitarian' than a Scorpion but if I was out in the rough, I'd also be very happy in one!
Size wise, I wouldn't go any smaller that 6.5/7.0m, based on sea-keeping and usable space. Our '6.5m' is actually 7.0m if measured and dwarfs other '6.5m' ribs- so well worth trying a few for size / layout. Launching and recovering single handed was a doddle but we've been dry-stacking for a few years now.
Ultimately, it depends on the budget and what you want to use the rib for.
Fender!
Member
Personally the higher servicing cost of twins is a very small price to pay for the extra advantages, I’ve been fortunate to own a number of boats and I’d not by choice go back to a single engine - life would be boring if we all liked the same things!
timbad
Well-Known Member
Agree with previous comments
I’ve had a few ribs, Revenger was a great Hull, Ribeye 6.5m with 150 Yam was an anazing boat superb fuel economy and didn’t seem to give up. If I had the money would be looking for a 7.5 - 8m Scorpion
Why not pop over to the ribbed forum, lots of friendly impartial advice
I’ve had a few ribs, Revenger was a great Hull, Ribeye 6.5m with 150 Yam was an anazing boat superb fuel economy and didn’t seem to give up. If I had the money would be looking for a 7.5 - 8m Scorpion
Why not pop over to the ribbed forum, lots of friendly impartial advice
Piers
Well-Known Member
Thanks so much everyone. This has been hugely educational. The plan is to have one for next season. Let's see where this ends up....