What mobo as tender from Exe to Brixham?(!)

[jrudge]

It depends on size of course. Some people cross the channel in them. Some are huge Other than Williams ( wholly unsuitable ) I know little about ribs ... but you are exposed and 15 miles in U.K. weather seems pretty unpleasant to me. Bear in mind you will have to do that 15 miles back after your cruise.

not sure how big a rib you will get for your budget.

 

[Ferris]

Well 15miles at 30kts+ is a 30min trip. To comfortably maintain 30kts in open sea, in a 21ft boat, in moderate conditions is some doing.

 

[longjohnsilver]

Yeah, I know easterlies would be out, though I don’t think that is the norm. But that is the sort of thing I welcome views on, so thank you. Know we’d have to use the car sometimes, but all the time would be a deal breaker - after 30 years in London I hate traffic jams!

Agreed
The A380 is dual carriage way most of the way to Brixham from the Exe
Do the trip in the comfort of a car with heating in the winter and air con in the summer.
It would be way cheaper as well.

Agree, we've driven from just outside Exeter, so not far away from Stranded, to Dartmouth, for 10 years. Apart from road works or the odd accident, the trip was generally fast and without being caught up in heavy traffic. I can't imagine the road down to Brixham would be much different. And Brixham yacht club is ideally positioned for the moorings being considered. It's always been a very welcoming place to visit. Not sure about parking, but iirc there is a large car park near by.

I've done the RIB thing many times over on the Exe. Great fun on the few occasions we actually used them, but in the end the hassle outweighed the enjoyment. And theft is unfortunately an increasing problem on the river. And then you have the issue of tying the thing onto a mooring at each end, has been a problem for the OP recently

Stick to driving.

 

[stranded]

Agree, we've driven from just outside Exeter, so not far away from Stranded, to Dartmouth, for 10 years. Apart from road works or the odd accident, the trip was generally fast and without being caught up in heavy traffic. I can't imagine the road down to Brixham would be much different. And Brixham yacht club is ideally positioned for the moorings being considered. It's always been a very welcoming place to visit. Not sure about parking, but iirc there is a large car park near by.

I've done the RIB thing many times over on the Exe. Great fun on the few occasions we actually used them, but in the end the hassle outweighed the enjoyment. And theft is unfortunately an increasing problem on the river. And then you have the issue of tying the thing onto a mooring at each end, has been a problem for the OP recently

Stick to driving.

???

 

[ashtead]

I have been looking at small RIBs for use on iow and while I have limited knowledge have formed the view that to get one of a reasonable size for cross Solent crossing and around £10k max is a hard ask but others might be along soon to give loads of examples. AHardy however looks just the sort of thing if budget permits a small spare outboard to be fitted . RIBs can be very uncomfortable at 30knots down the Solent where conditions might be more benign than the wilds of Brixham. I guess you are not looking for cheap ex services ones given location. Why not take a punt on the Hardy or suchlike and send in some pics of the test drive though .

 

[James L]

I'd say go for the RIB, give it a go and if you don't like it sell it next summer.
You won't lose much and really no one else can tell you if you'd enjoy it or not.

From what I've see around here, most of the guys with big yachts have a rib as well, and the rib seems to get more use than the yacht.

If you're travelling by car and the weathers bad you're going to have to don all the wet gear for the trip out in the tender anyway.

That's my ideal scenario if I could convince swmbo, a big yacht for going long distance and a decent rib for local trips.

 

[Richard.C]

Just another thought:

Have you considered keeping a reasonable tender at Brixham marina? Not sure of mooring cost but you'd be able to use the marina car park and the other facilities. Cost would be offset a little by not buying such a big tender as it now only needs to cope with the harbour conditions.

My father kept his sail boat on the trots in the river Dart above Kingswear and we kept an 11ft Dell Quay Dory at Darthaven. It worked out very well for us and the Dory meant all our luggage could be carried in one trip and we had a nice capable tender for when we didn't go out sailing.