Another birth - Excalibur 8.5 wrap

[roycruse]

Sorry about the rant in my last post - just wanted to seperate my self from the boat polishers at boat mad

[Hugh Jardon]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Its not that disimilar to the rap around windscreen of the larger Redbays. Having sat behind one on a wet and windy trip in Oban I can confirm that they are superb bit of kit and sod the aesthetics.

Isn't this the difference between Ribnet who use boats as a form of transport and Boatmad who like to polish, admire and talk about it rather than do it

I agree that having a windscreen that is supremely effective is very important, and if it can look good at the same time to the majority of the buying customers then all the better. I will not be in a position to buy as it probably costs more than i am prepared to pay/can afford, so perhaps my opinion does not matter!!!!

I would suggest like Roy, it is not fair to belittle people giving honest opinions and pidgeon them as being boat polishers. Like Roy i have been out on the water most weekends and it would help if i was a bit more of a boat polisher as that is to me a big chore and is not done enough, three times in the last 9 years i think!!!

[Ronan Twomey]

[QUOTE=Mollulnan]

Originally Posted by Ronan Twomey

Get real! The Vipermax is one of the best looking Ribs out there, unless you're Frank Butcher!!

You seem to know alot of butchers, get to know some Real Ribsters and get The real picture

[Mollers]

[QUOTE=Ronan Twomey]

Originally Posted by Mollulnan

You seem to know alot of butchers, get to know some Real Ribsters and get The real picture

Hey Ronan, you're a funny guy.

[Ronan Twomey]

[QUOTE=Mollulnan]

Originally Posted by Ronan Twomey

Hey Ronan, you're a funny guy.

Thanks Bud

[HOL]

Originally Posted by Pete7

Its not that disimilar to the rap around windscreen of the larger Redbays. Having sat behind one on a wet and windy trip in Oban I can confirm that they are superb bit of kit and sod the aesthetics.

Isn't this the difference between Ribnet who use boats as a form of transport and Boatmad who like to polish, admire and talk about it rather than do it

The Excalibur 8.7 was ordered and designed for use without the top, in our case the top was only ever intended for mooring and getting the family home in a comfortable state if the weather turned nasty as well as being easy on the eye (or as easy as it could be).

From our experience to date I can honestly say that Joe has got the height and the angle of the screen absolutely spot on, you can look over the screen yet the water is deflected away, with four kids on board you have no idea how important that is (they all want to go ribbing again next weekend) on a dry day this rib certainly does not need a top and does away with wet gear.

We looked at the Red Bay prior to ordering from Joe but having spoken to some Red Bay wrap around owners we were led to believe that the cover was difficult to remove and replace and that is why you do not see the Red Bay wrap around with the top off too often.

Joe has obviously learned from experience and promised us a wrap around with a top that was first and foremost easily removed and replaced, (removal takes under 60 seconds) and replacing takes approx. 3 min, this should get quicker with practice.

I would like to thank the well wishers on this excellent site and if you are ever in our neck of the woods I am sure Joe would be delighted to give you a demo on our Excalibur.

[tsunami]

This is the first of the big Volvos we have fitted in our ribs and I have to say it is absolutely fantastic! Great power and very responsive.

I'm still a big fan of the Yamaha but not too sure about the new 315hp. Firstly its not available to buy until at least March! But more importantly it is quite a lot of power to be pushing out of quite a small block (4.2 litre) and it revs out quite high., 3900 rpm

The volvo puts out 350hp at 3500 rpm and is a 5.5 litre block. This obviously comes at a weight penalty of about an extra 200kg. If an engine is to be used a lot there is simply no substitute for bigger litreage.

On smaller boats I would probably still favour the Yamaha but on the bigger boats that can carry the weight I would definitely go for the Volvo. Most of the customers have gone for the Volvo and I've also ordered one for my own boat i'm building rather than the Yamaha!

[gavin]

Joe with the increased weight of the Volvo and the length, I was of the opinion that with Redbays they hard nose them, so as when surfing down a wave with a heavy inboard, you dont run the risk of a delamation, that is with the 8.4 s and upwards.

Is there any hidden design feature or change, I know that the Excabilurs arnt Redbays but what allows the design in the cabin Excalibur to run without the hard nose and a heavier lump, than say a Yam and build the rib with a tubed nose

[tsunami]

Hi Gavin,
a valid question but the two boats are completely different. When I originally designed the hard nose Red Bay's, the hard nose was done for the 9m and upwards. These boats all had twin diesels and therefore much larger beam and weight to accomodate these. The twin diesel red bays weigh over 4000kg. It would have been nearly impossible to design a comfortable boat that would have had enough buoyancy in the bow section to stop the tubes from stuffing into the oncoming waves.
With our Excalibur rib it is a single engine diesel boat, our boat also has a significantly higher bow than the red bay 8.4's and therefore a much reduced chance of stuffing the bow. It is practically impossible to stuff the bow with one of our ribs. If I had felt it was necessary I would certainly have put a hard nose onto it. You have to remember the red bay 8.4 has been in production now for over 10 years and it is only this year that they have put a hard nose onto it, i would imagine because of the extra weight the cabin has added to the boat which will have increased the chance of stuffing the bow.
With a boat that doesn't stuff it's bow you can maintain much higher speeds with less effort in rough weather. When I designed the Excalibur hulls there was various factors considered:- they carry weight exceptionally well when under way, The high bow was designed specifically for the Irish coastal conditions that give a very steep wave in many areas, the ride is very comfortable and hence very good sea-keeping
I suppose the ideal way to show this is to come and have a run in one of our ribs and judge for yourself.

[tsunami]

Mean't to add this to the previous post!!

[HOL]

Hi Joe

I have just been on your new website www.ribs.ie looking for images of Eyecatcher, I heard she went in the water today, do you have some images you could load here?

[Cork Rib]

Originally Posted by HOL

Hi Joe

I have just been on your new website www.ribs.ie looking for images of Eyecatcher, I heard she went in the water today, do you have some images you could load here?

Here you go then. Managed 40.5 knots on the maiden.

[Cork Rib]

more of eyecatcher

[tsunami]

Hi lads, just a few more pictures from yesterday. The website will be updated during the week with more details on the boat.