Advice on Safety boat needed

[Jimbo]

Hi All.

My University Sailing Club is (hopefully) placing the order for a new safety rib within the next 2 months. Having looked at their rib of choice, I feel it needs a little refinement. They were looking at ordering an XS-500, with a 60hp 2 stroke Yamaha on the back, a frame, nav lights, Icom VHF, and Fishfinder, with a single jockey seat and external fuel tanks.

I am of the opinion that for safety work in a harbour with a 10kt speed limit, we should have a 4 stroke, the benefits as I see it being fuel economy, reliability, and towing ability.

I am also of the opinion that we should have 2 jockey seats, as there is minimal point having a fast safety boat which will permanantly have 2 people on it with safe seating for only one.

What do other people think? We will have a budget of £11-12k. We don't have room for anything more than a 5m (5.4 at a push) and weight is a huge consideration when we have to manually push it up a slipway. We are also poor students, so fuel economy, maintenance and durability are big on our list.

I agree that from what I've heard the choice of an XS seems a good one, as they have a good rep for build quality and sea keeping, but we are open to other brands.

Please don't post touting your boat for sale, as our Union will not even contemplate second hand, so don't ask!

It would be helpful, especially on engines, if you suggested different manufacturers and brands, as what with 2 stroke, 4 stroke, e-tec, optimax and all the rest of it, I tend to get quite confused!

Thanks very much for any help/suggestions.

[Richard B]

I reckon that your ideas are spot-on!

[LURCHER]

HI Jimbo,
For what its worth we ( HAYLING ISLAND SAILING CLUB ) run 9 ribs a mixture of Tornado and Humber all of them fitted with single jockey and a mixture of 50hp 4 strokes and now any replacements with 50 Evinrude Etecs . You may want to ring the Marine manager Nick 023 9246 3768 and ask his opinion on durability and economy as they have been keeping some records on fuel over the last year or two . The 4 strokes don't seems to last as well as the 2 strokes in the hands of inexperienced drivers !
The Humbers stand up to the abuse better than the Tornados .
There is also 1 Avon searider 5.4 with a 50hp 4stroke which has been around since Noah looks awfull but still in 1 piece and going strong.
My advice would be to get the simplest engine to avoid big maintenance bills .

[SDGANDER]

We will have a budget of £11-12k.

and

We are also poor students,

I wish I could be a poor student and get a new boat!!!

PW

[Matt Riley]

In terms of how well they will stand up being driven into a wall by a novice, then it goes Avon searider, Ribcraft, then Humber/Tornado. If you were buying second hand I'd buy a used Searider 4.7 or Searider 5.4, but since you're not, and I assume that you are looking to keep this for quite a long time, then the best new buy is the Ribcraft (IMVHO).

If storage space and weight is an issue, then the 4.8 is an excellent little boat. Indeed I can think of 10 or 15 safety organisations and sailing clubs within dorset alone which use them. The 5.3 is also a good boat, but I haven't driven it so only can give an academic opinion about it. The XS ribs also look good, but dont have the same length customer list as the ribcrafts, who seem to appeal to quite a lot of pro centres, harbour masters, lifeboat organisations and very big clubs in comparision to XS-ribs, but this could simply be because XS are a little newer.

Mariner/Mercury outboards are the most popular among sailing clubs/organisations, and I think you're bang on with the comment on 4-strokes being best for what you're doing, however I will say that there is V.little in terms of performance and durability between the mainstream OB manufacturers (Yammy, Mariner/Merc, Honda, Evinrude). Suzuki and Tohatsu are less vouched for, and cheaper but also good if you plan to replace the engine on a regular basis (ie every 3 years). Looking at all these factors however, I'd recommend the Merc/Mariners as the Barrus support has always been good, and the 4-strokes are what I would call 'solid' engines for smaller ribs, and you guys seem to want to keep this rib going for a good few years.

I think it is generally regarded that the seat is the helms privelege on centre and club boats although a more practical reason might be to do with working space within the boat. It is quite difficult to work at the back of a 5m rib if it has a double jockey seat, as you compromise quite a lot of deck space. It might be worth contemplating towing posts and/or double A frames instead of the usual single one. Although they take up more space, they make towing a lot easier! I'm intrigued by the fishfinder - are you going to use it when one of the dinghies sinks? Or are there some student sailing club chairpeople looking to take the club purchase out on some fishing excursions?

£11-12 K should go quite a long way!

Good luck,

Matt

[Jimbo]

Thanks for all your responses, sorry for my slow interaction, been doing my Advanced Dinghy Instructor course at Thorney Island (yes, sailyboats!!).

We are a very poor sailing club, with a tiny budget, it's the union that are funding the safety rib!

For what its worth we ( HAYLING ISLAND SAILING CLUB ) run 9 ribs a mixture of Tornado and Humber all of them fitted with single jockey and a mixture of 50hp 4 strokes and now any replacements with 50 Evinrude Etecs . You may want to ring the Marine manager Nick 023 9246 3768 and ask his opinion on durability and economy as they have been keeping some records on fuel over the last year or two . The 4 strokes don't seems to last as well as the 2 strokes in the hands of inexperienced drivers !

Cheers for that, I sail out of HISC every so often, and had a look at your ribs on Friday. They look to have weathered use well (although all look a little underpowered to me!).

I notice that a couple of them have Evinrude E-Tec's on them, what is your and other peoples opinion on these? I was chatting to a sailing coach who says that the E-Tecs are fantastic, as he reckons they give as good a performance as a 2 stroke, but with the fuel economy of a 4. I shall certainly be looking into them in more detail, especially as they look fairly small and light!

It might be worth contemplating towing posts and/or double A frames instead of the usual single one. Although they take up more space, they make towing a lot easier!

This is something I am looking into, however, it all costs money!! I'm also considering ditching the a-frame, as we don't want inexperienced clowns trying to tow off it. Double A-Frames and tow posts are good, but a tow post uses up a lot of room, and a double a frame hits the budget hard. My preferred solution is to have 2 reinforced eyelets on the back, and connect a pipe covered rope to 2 snap shackles, creating a quick and easy bridle.

I'm intrigued by the fishfinder - are you going to use it when one of the dinghies sinks? Or are there some student sailing club chairpeople looking to take the club purchase out on some fishing excursions?

With our larks, sinking is a real possibility...
I think the logic behind it was that we wanted depth, and a fishfinder was chosen for some odd but I'm sure well meaning reason! Might change that...

[The Jackeens]

Will this new purchase mean you will be able to get out there for the occasional (practice ) blast Jimbo?


Us

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by The Jackeens

Will this new purchase mean you will be able to get out there for the occasional (practice ) blast Jimbo?


Us

Ooh, I think so! As long as I keep it quiet, should be ok, after all, I am the Vice Commodore!

Was out in the Solent today, teaching own boat on a 7.5 Scorpion...

[CJL]

I was looking for a new safety boat a few years back fot the University of Plymouth. We had a very good look at the RIBCRAFT 4.8 with a 50hp four stroke on the back cause it was very good value for money and its aimed at exactly the market you are in.

If you are looking just to potter alongside dinghies go for a four stroke whatever you do. Extra tube armouring is a must and don't get the rubber cleats fitted to the tubes. They will last about a week when some muppet tries to tow a wayfarer or something on them!

I know of a centre that exclusively use Tornados but I'm not to sure on some of the recent ones build quality and how much value for money u actually get! They do seem very expensive for what you get.

Make sure you consider getting the engine with a maintenence package too. Its a lot easier to sort out and means thinks don't get forgotten.

If you want to PM me for more details I`ll spill the beans on what we went through!!

Chris

[The Jackeens]

The Universities of Portsmouth & Plymouth should add the possibility of going RIBbing to their prospectuses


BIG selling point

Wins out over the 'punters' of Oxbridge

Us