Advice on 5mtr for training...!

[nikster]

Who would you say builds the best value 5 mtr Rib that would spend its life pontoon bashing for PBL 2's?

Look forward to your comments... :-)

[ashbypower]

Originally Posted by nikster

Who would you say builds the best value 5 mtr Rib that would spend its life pontoon bashing for PBL 2's?

Look forward to your comments... :-)

XS every time for me

[Chris]

Did my PB2 in an XS 550 with a 90 Merc... Great boat for first experience of ribbing.

Also Osprey Viper 5.25 is very much my favourite (it would have to be as it was my first boat) I don't think Osprey make these anymore however they do come up for sale from time to time.

I guess considerations have to be plenty of space, strongly built, easy handling oh and a good set of fenders!!

[Cypman]

I'm a Humber Ocean Pro 5m fan, allied to a 70 hp 4-Stroke outboard. Very strong and good when the going gets a bit rough!!

[codprawn]

I did my training in a Ribeye 5m ish with an 80hp Yamaha - great fun. My instructor has had the boat for quite a few years now and he loves it.

[SeaSkills]

We've had Tornado, Valiant, Humber and Ribcraft boats at the school - and of those, the Ribcraft has been by far the best. I've visited lots of other schools for their annual inspections or to run courses for them, and I'd also agree with those who like XS. (And I'd add Avon to my "like" list too).

When you talk about value, build quality is important - the best value boat for training isn't likely to be a cheap one, but will last well and continue to give good service despite treatment that from time to time is rather harsher than you might like!

[K&S]

Another vote for XS 550 - although i have just spent the last 7 days teaching in a Avon 5.4 good boat but prefer the extra width of an XS (of course i would say that as i own a 650 :-) )

[Matt Riley]

We've got some seariders (c. 1980), two ribcrafts (4.8 and 5.45 c. 2000) and 2 rib-x (5.2 and 6.5 c.2006) amongst others.

Obviously searider tubes are tough as old boots, so for pontoon bashing ability alone, a 5.4 or whatever would be ideal. But they're also a little bit agricultural looking to use with 'clients' and also are a tiny bit wet as well!

The two ribx boats look pretty, and the hulls are good but the fitout feels a little flimsy, and the tube quality is definitely not that good, and we've had a few significant problems on the smaller boat.

Which leaves the Ribcrafts. Both are very well made, dry, well fitted out boats with very strong tubes and a very forgiving and seaworthy hull design. However we find that the 4.8 is a tad small when teaching PB2 with three clients onboard. Given the heavy use they've had over the last 8 years, they're looking really good still!

That was just a really long winded way of saying 'go ribcraft!' When eliciting feedback, it might be worth thinking about whether the people recommending a particular brand are in some sort of 'close working relationship' with a particular manufacturer. As you can see by the mixed fleet and the fact that we're a university, we have no connection with any of the above manufacturers, aside from being happy customers.

Matt

[BassBoy]

Can't go far wrong if you've got the budget.

PM sent

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by BassBoy

Ribcraft 585 140 suzi 4stroke

That would be way more engine than you need on a teaching boat. I'd suggest that a 90 would be much more suitable.

John