rib racing, covered bow

gtflash · 27 August 2013, 06:22

Anyone from the old rib racing days, find much improvement in speed by covering the bow? Ive heard a few people mention it, but trying to figure out a way of proving it soon. My rub rail isnt big enough to hook anything onto, and any deck or covered bow id fit, would obviously add weight

TomLinley · 29 August 2013, 10:31

The canvas tops used to add speed considerably. On 7m race RIB we gained about 6mph

Petter · 14 January 2014, 07:40

Any more details Tom?
Would be interesting to know speed/power and what designed this was.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TomLinley

The canvas tops used to add speed considerably. On 7m race RIB we gained about 6mph

biffer · 14 January 2014, 08:15

There were some French guys in a rib with a covered front when we went round Britain, it does make a difference, the wind come over the bow and creates a vortex.
There are two main ways of doing it, you can use an acrylic hood cloth or if you want it more permanent you can do a tech layup in GRP, obvious problems with mooring lines etc but worth doing if you want to be more competitive

Chris · 15 January 2014, 15:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by gtflash

My rub rail isnt big enough to hook anything onto, and any deck or covered bow id fit, would obviously add weight

what about gluing some fitting to take hooks under the rubbing strake.. ?

Roflhat · 21 January 2014, 10:20

I'd like to know more about this, what speed were being doing before and after fitting one?

gtflash · 22 January 2014, 20:33

I dont have exact details. It appears with covered lightweight bow most people gained 5ish mph. One person reported increased bow steer so used bow lifting props but nevwr settled the boat with cover. None of my data. Just what others told me

Roflhat · 29 January 2014, 18:18

hmm. covered bow on a thunder cat? has to be worth a go!

gtflash · 03 February 2014, 04:33

I think ill be trying it temporarily, if you can get it to stick some how. Why not

Cookee · 03 February 2014, 07:23

Have you got the engine height spot on? have you moved all the heavy stuff right to the back? Have you tried a few different props? I think all of these would offer at least as much if not more improvement in speed.

m3mm0s rib · 08 July 2016, 08:47

I think the regional systems less important when the hull is not built for high speeds