4.5m Rib with 65hp Suzuki - Advice

mjcorbs · 07 July 2012, 10:16

Hi, I'm thinking of buying the following rib. Gommonautica G45 which is a 4.5meter (7 man) rib with a Suzuki 65hp two stroke with oil injection.. Boat/Engine are nice and clean, year 2000

My questions are as follows, what sort of cruising speed and max speed could i expect from that combination, and how will that be affected with 4-5 on board.

Is it worth holding out for a boat with a newer 4 stroke even if the engine is say a 40-50?

longjohn · 07 July 2012, 11:26

Firstly don't be misled with the 7 man capability - it may be rated at that but space comfort and practicality would dictate otherwise. You will probably find that 3-4 is the practical maximum except in 'flat calm' conditions. I have a 4.7m rib with a 70hp Suzi 4stroke and thats what I find - admittedly my boat (Italian in origin) is configured for max deck/sunbathing space rather than seating. The Gommonautica also being Italian? looks configured similarly.
So if condition and price are good looks a nice boat - but if you regularly want 4-5 on board I would be looking at a bigger boat - at least 5.5m.

I would imagine performance would be similar - I find that 20-25 knots is a comfortable cruising/economical speed in most reasonable conditions with max of 35 knots attainable in suitable conditions.
A 2 stroke 65 is a nice power/weight ratio and would suit that size boat very well, an equivalent 4stroke usually being considerably heavier.

mjcorbs · 07 July 2012, 12:01

Gommonautica is Italian as well..

Cheers for the advice, the boat will only ever be used in Menorca around the coast line, pretty much just to go from a harbour to one of the beaches up to 10 miles away, and possibly tow a donut or something similar for a laugh.. On average i'd only be looking to have 4 people on there, every now and then a couple more if we were intending to meet up with others on bigger boats..

Do you know if the 65 is reasonable on the fuel in comparison to say a 4 stroke?

longjohn · 09 July 2012, 00:34

No experience of that engine so don't really know. Its generally assumed 4 strokes are more economical but I think only markedly so if you were doing a lot of slow speed stuff.