Once the novelty of blasting up and down a relatively small stretch of water wears off RIBsters can turn their attentions further afield, and if the novelty doesn’t wear off they can become racers!

In recent years RIB cruising has pushed the boundaries further and further. Pioneered by Chris Kaye and the crew of Sabredrive who led the way in long distance cruising, the distances have steadily increased. In the summer of 1997 Alan Priddy crossed the Atlantic from America to England via the Arctic Circle in an open RIB, and went on to go round the world in 2002.

RIBs are ideal cruising boats because of their versatility: the high speeds of RIBs mean that large distances can be covered rapidly; their shallow draft means they will let you explore almost anyway there’s water, including secret caves and inlets which other boats cannot reach; their robust but light weight build enables RIBs to be beached easily providing access to secluded coves.

A week’s cruising in the UK could see you circumnavigating Britain, or exploring just a few miles of beautiful coast in the West Country. Cruises don’t have to be extreme to be fun — a day or a weekend cruise can be just as, if not much more, enjoyable if you don’t have the time or inclination to do a longer trip. Whatever sort of cruising you enjoy, RIBs have the flexibility to meet your needs, and to keep on meeting them even as they change.

One common objection to using a RIB for cruising is the lack of sleeping accommodation – although you can now buy RIBs with cabins that put most sports cruisers to shame. Whilst it’s true that some people “rough it” by either camping nearby or sleeping on the deck of the boat (and actually most marinas have excellent facilities including showers these days) the simplest answer is Bed and Breakfast. It’s not as expensive an option as it sounds when you compare the prices of a RIB and a comparable 2 berth sportsboat. The difference will pay for quite a number of nights in a B&B — and you even get breakfast cooked for you.

How to start?
OK, you’ve got your RIB, you’ve used it a few times in sheltered waters and you feel ready to take on something more adventurous. What now?

The most important thing to do is to plan your trip before you go, although it’s tempting don’t just rush off and launch your boat. Think about where you want to go, who you want to go with and what you’ll need. There are a few suggestions below but if you are new to the sport, consider taking a training course first. The RYA Level II powerboat course is a popular choice, and can be completed in a weekend. You can learn by experience, or from a book, but a course will save you from making too many basic mistakes. You can find a training centre near you on the RYA web site or the RIBnet directory.

Where to go?
This will depend where you live, what sort of boating you want to do and how much time you’ve got but again it’s important to plan ahead. Think about where you’ll launch and recover the boat, what the tides and weather are doing, how far you want to go and your route.

Who to go with?
One of the great features of the RIBnet forums is the ability to join up with other people. Either join in with a cruise that someone has started to organise, or post a message yourself in the RIB cruises section (suggest a date and a start point and see who else is interested). Another option is to join a club such as the Pathfinder Powerboat Club or the RIB club BIBOA and take advantage of their calendar of cruising events. Of course, you may prefer just to join up with some friends and do your own thing. Either way, unless you are very sure of your capabilities it’s best to go with at least one other boat.

What to take?
You should make sure that you and your boat are properly equipped. Mid Channel is not the best time to discover that your waterproofs aren’t really waterproof and your compass doesn’t seem to be working too well.

Equipping your RIB will require quite an investment, but if you plan to get the most from the boat you will need to make sure that you have the tools for the job. You may find it useful to prepare a check list like this one to use each time you use the boat.

Safety
VHF (A mobile phone is better than nothing, but a poor second best)
Flares
Throw line
First aid kit
Fire extinguisher
Anchor with chain and rope

Navigation
GPS
Compass
Charts
Pencils
Parallel rule/plotter
Almanac

Personal
Life jackets (enough for everyone)
Dry suits (not essential but highly recommended)
Waterproofs (they won’t actually keep you dry, but it’s a start!)
Spare clothes (don’t underestimate how cold it can be on a boat)
Gloves
Hats
Goggles

Miscellaneous
Tools
Fuel
Oil
Warps
Torch
Keys
Chocolate & some soft drinks

Documents
(depends where you’re going but these are important if you’re going abroad)
VHF licence
VHF operator’s certificate
ICC
Passport
Proof of insurance

These are a few suggestions to get you started — let us know if you’ve got any others. Happy boating!

Contributed by John Kennett

The post RIB cruising appeared first on RIBnet.

1 What is the background of the construction/marketing company?
Most builders are their own sales force, or have an officially appointed, soundly established agent with a properly equipped demonstration boat. The ones who bother my bank manager most are those who have changed company names and locations a couple of times in the past few years. they have left behind them a trail of unpaid bills, dishonoured cheques, deposits taken but no boats delivered and even have county court judgements against them. These few bad eggs seem to go down the financial Swanee, then rise again like a Phoenix from the ashes. They are well known in the trade and most honest dealers will steer you away from them, their products and their marketing consultants.
Happily there are some companies which have been trading in the leisure market for a number of years and you can deal with them with confidence. This is not to say that all their boats are equal, but they are what the author sincerely believes to be fair traders.

2 Who makes the tubes and how are they fitted?
Of the RIB’s two parts, the hull is usually so solid that it will withstand many years of abuse without complaint. the inflatable element however, is more vulnerable and can give trouble in itself and in the join between the hull and sponson.
The best sponsons are those which are shaped by template exactly to fit the curves of the boat in both the horizontal plane and in the sheer to the bow. Some companies make their own shaped sponsons, whilst others contract the work out to a tube specialist — generally Henshaw, whose reputation for quality is quite deserved.

The type of construction to avoid is that where the two sides are joined together at the nose to make a simple V-shape. This collar is then inflated to a very high pressure, attached at the bow, then forced onto the side of the boat by a couple of gorillas, whilst the brains of the team puts on some tourniquets. The ensemble is left to cure for a couple of days before being released to an unsuspecting customer, who does not appreciate that they might have bought a problem just waiting to happen. Ask.

The actual material is not a problem. Much of the Hypalon/neoprene used comes from the same source and there are quality builders who prefer military spec polyurethane. Both are good.

The best hull/tube joints are where the sponson is dropped down into a flange, which is shaped to the circumference of the tube itself. It is part of the RIB design philosophy that a sponson should give a little on impact with wave or wall, so the flange need not be enormous. it does, however, need to be adequate. A builder should be able to give you the exact dimensions.

3 How is the deck/floor constructed and supported?
This is the area where most change is happening. There is nothing wrong with the old way of supporting the floor on two or three fore and aft stringers, with lateral supports beneath the seating console, as long as the timbers are glassed over. If the long units are shaped up into an elbow which is itself glassed into the transom and to the after edge of the deck, you have a construction which is almost indestructible.
Also good is the practice of decreasing the weight without sacrificing strength and rigidity by constructing the cross members of a polystyrene former covered by a thick GRP layer.

The way of the future probably lies in propping the floor on a computer designed, plastic box form honeycomb matrix. This is already in use and has a number of pluses. Each unit is precise to a millimetre, so it should overcome the problem (very prevalent in shoddy boats) where the deck does not quite touch the propping up members, so it either cracks when subjected to the banging weight of people, or it warps and in some cases puts sufficient pressure on the hull to cause cracking. The honeycomb could also be tight enough to form a number of watertight boxes — possibly even to house the compass sensor and isolated in-hull speed and depth transducers — and would certainly be a very fine support for seats, dive bottle racks and A frame.

4 How is the transom configured?
After the deck, the transom is obviously the most important solid element and must be robust enough to stand the thrust of the engine. Transom support methods vary from the strong elbows already discussed, (make sure that they have drain holes to let water drain from the corners) to diagonal stainless steel bars which, I confess, are not my own favourites partly because they snag ropes and catch on things.
Good transoms are made of two separately glassed and bonded thicknesses of marine ply, solidly supported. An interesting and very sound design is used by Osprey, who use twin sloping box construction transom knees. One acts as trunking for the cables and the other is a small personal effects locker.

A water draining well just forward of the transom is more complex and costly to construct, but brings the advantages of extra floor/transom rigidity and collects all that irritating water which comes in on feet and swills around the deck to annoy dry footed passengers. The well also means that it is simpler to insert the bolt holes for engine mounting.

All hulls eventually get some water in them — condensation, seepage through bow eyes, console fixing bolts etc. It is not dangerous, but is better removed, so I prefer to have the excavation bung egressed into a well rather than touching the sea outboard of the hull.

5 What fittings are standard?
There is often a substantial difference between what is shown in the brochure picture and what your basic price brings to the factory gate. Rubber grab handles are essential, not so much for passenger comfort, but for moving the boat and trailer on land. We were recently appalled to learn of a boat with no basic grab handles (4 is the minimum) included and to be told “Fitting them would only cost you an extra £100″. I get fed up with being told that something basic will only cost X pounds to add to an already expensive product.
the areas to ask about here are not the obvious seating and steering, but such things as lifelines, bow eyes, ski hooks, double cladding on the topsides, stainless steel console rails, battery stowage, transom capping and non-slip floor. These are all relatively low cost, but tot up to a considerable budget of extras. Other areas marking generosity from penny pinching are the inclusion of good quality inspection and access hatches and the addition of an anchor locker. Here, caveat emptor because what is often described as an anchor well is no more that a transverse piece of timber to stop the anchor sliding back down the boat.

6 What sort of organisations buy your boats?
If this is important to you, make sure that you get the full story. Claims that RIB companies sell to very prestigious customers can mostly be taken with a pinch of salt — with the exception of long established companies like Avon and Tornado, who have passed all the tests and build to stringent military specifications and controls.
Very often, the public service purchasing agent has little experience of RIBs (he also buys vehicles, specialised equipment, buildings and the fuel contract) and is very influenced by his budget and shopping around for a good deal. There has certainly been one public body who bought what experts would consider to be one of the worst boats on the market and plenty of other dodgy deals. The answer to those who say “we supply this and that police, fire, airport, coast service body” is to say “So what does that prove?” If you know the full story, often not a lot.

7 Package deals or separate suppliers?
There is no real budgetary problem here. The professional will always get a better price for trailer, A-frame, engine, navigation gear, radio etc than you will obtain. It might make you seem a bit of a pain, but you could ask what each of these elements costs to add and then compare this price with the rrp, or discount prices in magazine adverts. Some builders add a big percentage (other than for fitting) whilst others are content to pass on the savings in order to sell a boat.
A word of caution here about engines. Ask about arrangements for the essential 10 hour service. Can it be conveniently done close to where you live and without hassle. If not, you might be faced with a 200 mile drive to get it done.

Summary
Ask the same questions about what the warranties actually cover. Does a 10 year warranty on tube material also include seams and seam tapes? What happens if you sell the boat? Does a 2 year engine warranty cover the electrics? If an instrument like the GPS is warranted, do you deal direct with the supplier if a fault occurs, or do you have the delay of passing it through the boat builder, then his supplier, before reaching the repair source?
These are the basic questions you should be prepared to ask about every RIB on the market. There are others concerning whether the payload quoted in persons means a slip of a thing, or a 20 stone diver and his equipment. There is also the question of the delivery date and whether the builder will accept an entirely reasonable and binding financial penalty for lateness. There are certainly some agents who will take your deposit against a quoted date, then put you further down the queue if another order comes in from a pushy cash customer insisting on immediate delivery.

This piece has been written under separate section headings, but each major question also poses several minor queries, even before you ask about spray rails, hull configuration and whether the seat is a mere box, or slightly pyramidal so as not to bruise your legs.

The best advice is to make a written list of all the questions you want answered and to have it openly to hand when you discuss spending several thousand pounds of your hard-earned money. If the supplier does not wish to play your game of twenty questions, go find somebody who does.

Contributed by John Kennett

The post Buying a New RIB appeared first on RIBnet.

was going to get the bolt on ones and just pay the 200 quid but i thought ach i’ll try and make a set.

FYI everything is galv tube and stainless hardware.

setup as follows-

• 16x 1.25″ mounting tube which bolts to the trailer. (doesn’t stick out past the arch)
• 60×1.75″” tube inclusive of a 90 degree bend at 12″ for my app.
• plumbers pipe lagging for round the upright.

plates will be welded onto the mounting tube tomorrow so it can all be bolted securely to the trailer-width is adjustable by upto 16″ total.

2 drop pins hold the uprights on securely which allows easy removal for towing. (you will see screwdrivers in them jus now as the pins are not here yet).

the mounting method in these pics was purely to get a size for the plates to be welded onto the tubes so don’t copy this folks, it won’t work - i’ll update pics when the plates are on and it’s all bolted together.

hope this maybe of use to someone who fancies making a set.

cheers

Contributed by dubrus

The post Docking Poles DIY Style appeared first on RIBnet.

1. First part of year I clean it up good. Then apply some WD-40 to screws, seams, and other such parts. If I find any screws or such that are rusting/corroding, I pull them out (assuming you can)…and replace them with new marine grade stainless. Mind you, I have only had to replace things about 5 times over 25 years…cost me about $30.
2. There are lots of choices for plates…just find ones that work for your boat. These should be replaced at least every 2 years, or every year…depending on deterioration
3. After EVERY outing, wash down EVERYTHING with fresh water.
4. After you wash it with fresh water, give another quick bath with something like “Salt Away”…just attached the connector to the hose and spray away. You can just leave it on the boat. Remember, plain water will NOT take out all the salt, it can create bonds with the metal…using something like Salt Away will take away those last bits of salt…also great to use when flushing the motor (and it is environmentally safe to boot).
5. At the end of the season, do #1 again.

Thats’ it…once you get a rhythm down, you are talking about a whopping 10 minutes for wash down, and maybe 1 hour prep-time at the first/last part of the year. 25+ years from now it will still be working/looking fine…hell, I still have a 1950′s 7.5hp Evinrude I put on my sons first boat (the one I mentioned above)…damn thing probably weighs as much as he does!

Contributed by sablack

The post Best Corrosion Protection for Aluminum in Saltwater appeared first on RIBnet.

A.) cut some card board to represent shape that you are looking for

B.) transfer card board shape to section of acrylic, always have acrylic longer than req for now,

C.) the acrylic, best choice lexan (but bloody expensive) makralon ready available, most sign makers will give you an off cut,,or main suppliers are amari plastics, William cox, Robert horne, thysenn Garfield, autohass to mention a few, plexiglass also come’s cheap which I use more frequently than any thing else, only cause its free (sure I can find a suitable piece here)

D.) back to business, this is the diy way, I make templates from ali as its not a one of job for me, tape acrylic central on console as shown using good heat gun; (again I have a radiant heater)warm up acrylic till it starts to move, let cool off slightly then heat again till soft enougth to form, pull around console edge as shown, warm up when in position then hold till cooled of, repeat procedure for other side,

E.) after cooling cut with band saw or jig saw and taper or radius, as you desire for your application LITTLE TIP- use selotape over cut line before cutting this will lubricate blade as you cut and with lexan/makralon stops it melting back together,, sand all edges nice and smooth, then further wet dry as best as possible, now I am spoilt I have a MEK flame polisher, lovely finish, but its possible with Duraglit and some elbow grease, this is Bayer Green in photo clear acrylic but green edge when polished,(D>M> sir this is your’;s)

F.) fitting I always use white nylon number plate screws, if it goes tits up and some one does grab a screen with out a rail around it, it will snap the screws before decapitating you or being broke.

G.) Heating product twice helps it stay in shape and forming is easier, take your time it will move so easy once warm do not force it, gloves are good for obvious reasons, I use a bit of 1.0mm fomex as I like my hands,

H.)Drilling, so many break them once complete, std metal drill 6.5mm for me get it and just quickly drill it into concrete just on floor or some thing 2 sec’s just to take the edge of it, stops it snagging, plus take your time, after all the hard work you have done why ruin it now, be patient.

I.) Polishing, MEK is ace but not really a DIY product, plenty wet n dry 800grit then glitto or brasso will get you the same finish, worth the effort me thinks,

Contributed by nugent

The post How to Make Your Own Windscreen appeared first on RIBnet.

Now Mrs 250kts has expressed that she would like somewhere on the boat to strech out and take in some rays. I looked into obtaining a sundeck from Valiant, who wanted £450+VAT! So a few hours later and some £93, this is what I produced.

Pic 1 = Before
Pic 2 = The first cushion of the anchour locker (to be recovered in the blue)
Pic 3 = Stage two
Pic 4 = The complete deck in position, suitable for two 5’10″ persons to lay out

Any or all are easily removed for storage on or off the boat.

Contributed by 250kts

The post DIY Sundeck appeared first on RIBnet.