Another newbie on the block!

Outnabout · 23 April 2003, 11:27

Many thanks to all who have put this v. useful site together!

'She who must be obeyed' and I are nearing the time to buy our first RIB. We've got some useful ideas from a mate with a Ribcraft 5.85 but we'd like some input from those that know!

We're looking for a boat for south coast leisure, (skiing, wakeboarding, etc) with family et al, and an annual summer outing to the Scillies for 3 weeks. (Launch at Penzance and cruise over, island hop, then back).

The budget is around 15-20K, 7.5m seemed about the right size for the Scillies bit, my mate suggests diesel, 2stroke then 4stroke, in that order, however I feel petrol is approriate to skiing and getting 'the power on'!
If we do go down the petrol route, any thoughts on engine type for economy vs costs (initial & servicing)
We like the look of the ProSport 7.5m. (Though trying to get Jason on the phone has so far proved impossible!) Pax load for slow inter island hopping in the Scillies needs to be around 10-12.

Having said all that, safety and longevity is high on my list so I'd like a boat with a solid build quality.

The RYA course next month, should provide a chance for some input from the instructors...but in the meantime any thoughts gratefully received before we shell out the readies!

Kindest regards

TIM · 23 April 2003, 11:57

My 2 pence worth is buy around the 6.5-7.5 M mark and I would suggets bit 4 stroke OB, as the extra cost of diesel is not worth it unless you do about 250hrs a year, and that will take a 1 - 2 years to pay for its self ,

Also get the biggest motor you can afford/ near max hp of rib, because if you end up with a engine slightly to small it will drive you around the twist.....

I dont know about Propulse ribs, but on this site I have heard no bad comments......

Hysucats are great too,

thewavehumper · 23 April 2003, 12:00

Looking at the boats for sale on this forum. The there is a Scorpion 6.5 yellow and a yellow Ocean 7.5 that would deserve a once over.

Likewise the Avon adventure is a good boat.

If you wan't one that comes with all the Kit then there are plenty of Camels around includiig mine

jools · 23 April 2003, 12:09

Welcome to RibNet! - I'm sure you will find lots of help here

Last year I bought a Ribcraft 5.85 with 90HP Mercury 4-Stroke - and its great for cruising along the coast/Solent etc - thats what we've done so far.

This would seem to fit into your price range for a new boat - Remember you will need some electonic toys, Radio, GPS, Plotter, Fishfinder etc. Ontop of the basic boat price.

Obviously a bigger boat will be better in bigger sees - although a 5.85 can cope very well. I was out at the weekend in the Solent and the Ribcraft stayed dryer than some of the heavier, bigger boats. - We just took things a little steadier!

I think the 5.85 is rated to 10 persons (we have seating for 6 - then more on the tubes)

The Ribcraft seems to be a very well put together boat - it is quite popular with people on this forum - if you are looking for solid build quality.

Plenty of pics of mine on my website (click the "www" button below) and any questions just ask!

Cheers
Jools

Aging Youth · 23 April 2003, 13:02

Hi outnabout,

Your fun is only just begining & welcome.

You will find lots of information that has already been posted on this site about buying your fist boat. Yours will not be last time this question will be asked. It is also the hardest to answer, so many different peramiters to consider. However, my thoughts are:-

what tow vehicle are you going to use?
Weight limits/legal issues to consider when towing. 4x4's great power to weight ratio's.

Where will you keep it?
Storage fees/ launch fees secrurity of trailer when on water. Club/Marina fees.

Consider size of craft when launching or manoeuvring. Try and stop a 7.5m from slamming a slipway!!!

Auxilleray kit can run up your bill by at least 1.5k plus on top of what you have already paid out. Unless it comes with boat, still allow extra for emergencies. Plus clothing & Life Jackets for all crew.

I opted for a smaller boat than I intended to buy based on the info that was available & associated costs once I toted it all up. Still able to cruise, ski, play, but maybe not quite as far without considering stopovers for refuelling, not all faciliites have Petrol but that is part of the fun planing trips.

I hope this helps & please do not let this put you off. I am pleased with my choice of boat, in hindsight might have done things differently, but then my budget was less than yours, (10K max).

Happy Hunting

geoff · 23 April 2003, 16:17

You definately want to think about towing when considering the size of boat. We have a 5.85 Ribcraft and do a lot of miles using a Discovery to pull it. Once you get into bigger boats then towing and launching and recovery gets that much more difficult. We took our boat over to the Scilly Isles and had a great time there. The boat works well for 6 people, performance suffers above this but fine in sheltered waters. We have a Yamaha 100 on the back which I would highly recommend although the 115 may be a better choice.

Have fun.

Alex Brown · 23 April 2003, 17:04

I'd definately agree with Geoff on this one...... my Humber 6m with suzuki 4-stroke block on the back including fuel, aux engine, trailer etc... weighs a fair bit. Although it's a fair bit less than the max towing weight of my fiat van (1.7TD), the thing does struggle a bit on the longer hills, and for that reason I don't think I'll be pulling the thing on the motorway anytime soon

- the turbo died about 2 weeks ago too, which meant that towing the boat over to the Suzuki servicing centre in Neyland this morning was not at all fun!!

Also, I have got stuck on steeper slipways around Pembs twice now, due to weedy stuff at the bottom of the slipway causing lack of traction - this is where the 4x4 bit would be really handy.

I had many many hours last year looking at boats, talking to people, reading these forums etc... finding out what to buy, knowing that I'd want to tow the thing, which pretty well ruled out the inboard option straight away (although some setups are not that heavy now).
Since I had a 5m rib last time, I really wanted to go for a metre longer, and get as much hp in as was possible given budget and restrictions on the boat. Although I could have put a 150 optimax on the back for a few bob more, the 140 Suzuki is quite a light engine for a 4-stroke, and still produces a fair amount of punch. Although my prop isn't quite right for the boat at the moment, with 4 adults on board + full tank of fuel, we max out at 39knots, and cruise comfortably at 26knots gps speed. 6 adults including lunch as well drops that speed down to around 37 knots, which is still pretty good going, although there is no way I go everywhere at that speed given the cost of petrol

As a whole, I am very impressed with the Humber / general setup. Getting it new meant that it was customised to my needs, which was very good and pretty painless as well.... apart from the 9hr drive back from Hull!! The hull handles very well in all weathers that I've been out in so far, including some pretty good chop with strong wind over spring tides.

Again, like jools, I have loads of pics including some videos of the boat up on my website.... look at www.ribseadrive.co.uk/gallery/ for them

Have fun looking around,

-Alex

dgpw · 24 April 2003, 08:32

Hi

Looking at what you want I would go for either a Ribtec or a Scorpion. These are both very very well built boats. I would defiantly go for one of the new tec 2 strokes as they are lighter and provide more punch than the 4 stroke. This is especially important when skiing. (and a bonus when towing) I would prob try to find a ribtec 7.4 with an optimax or a Yamaha hpdi on it. This would be alot of boat for the money if you can find one. The new 2 strokes are so much more fuel efficient than the old designs used to be you will be pleasantly surprised. The question is really whether you would like a new cheaper boat or a second hand more expensive one.

Brian · 24 April 2003, 09:25

I have towed a 5.5m a 6.2m and a 7.5m.
I am not the worlds best tower, and in each case used a 3.5ltr 4x4.
The 5.5 and 6.2 followed the car like little doggies.
The 7.5 was one hell of a mean tow. You really had to be carefull. The additional weight and length made a big diference to it's towability/manouverability.
Consider carefully the approach to your house/wherever you will park it.
I agree wholeheartedly that when it comes to ribs, bigger is better. But there are other considerations if you are towing.

Brian (Who definatley does not tow today)

Alan · 24 April 2003, 09:41

Agree - storage space, tow car availability and your own desire to tow and launch a large boat will be your key issues. I have towed a 6.45m with standard saloon car and now a 7.5m with a Trooper. I have to say the 7.5m tows wonderfully well but you do have around 30ft of boat and trailer behind you which makes manoeuvering a knack that requires some developing!
In terms of you wants for a boat you will be lucky to find any kind of decent diesel RIB for your budget I would think. Aim for a hitech 2 stroke - HPDI, Ficht or Optimax with as new an engine as you can get for your money. Actually what you really need is a boat like mine!

Outnabout · 24 April 2003, 10:32

Guys,

many thanks for all this info. I'm away from the computer till Saturday, so please don't think I'm being rude by not replying here or to your emails.

Your input is certainly valuable. I hadn't really considered the towing/launch bit (never having had to do it before!). Two stroke seems favorite, 6.5-7.6m sounds right for the Scillies passage, which only leaves the manufacturer and whether new or second hand! Easy really!

Thanks again and I'll follow up Sunday.

Colin

MikeL · 24 April 2003, 17:24

I will double check but I am sure that the maximum length you can tow behind a motor car is 7m, dependent on weight modt "sports" 4x4 will also fit into this limit.

Mike

jwalker · 24 April 2003, 17:55

Yeh. 7mtrs not including the draw bar. Unless, the trailer is 4 wheel and the towing vehicle is a commercial vehicle.
I would guess many of us are towing illegally. For over 7mtrs, you need a trailer which has a very definate drawbar because the law is vague on the definition of this.

JW.

Jelly · 25 April 2003, 07:28

Question:
Following on from the last post by JW and the vagaries of the law.
If the trailer manufacturers are supplying the trailers for a boat over 7m with the normal 'ball' style hitch not the 'pin' style, who is in the wrong?
Jelly

ribraff · 25 April 2003, 07:44

Check out this link, all the info you need on towing etc. http://www.ntta/law/law/dimensions.htm

Ribald · 25 April 2003, 09:37

Ribraff, the link does not work

Alex Brown · 25 April 2003, 09:40

I think he means http://www.ntta.co.uk/law/law/dimensions.htm

-Alex

Alex Brown · 25 April 2003, 09:54

Infact, if that's right, I'm glad I didn't buy a Ribcraft 5.85, cos it's apparently 2.4metres beam (according to the ribcraft website) which is 0.1m over the legal max for my van at less than 3500kg ..... that can't be right, can it?

My Humber is 2.28m beam, which is *just* within the limits according to that site.

-Alex

Ribald · 25 April 2003, 10:01

Thanks for the correct link, Alex.

The beam dimension is a bit of a bu**er - I was thinking of upgrading to a Ribcraft 585

Nice web site by the way - very informative

ribraff · 25 April 2003, 10:30

Thanks for the correction Alex! This is indeed a vary informative sight, we are towing ribs all over the country and it would seem some of them illegally after looking at this website, obviously we conform now!