bombard ribs

[mark.fromage]

I have a brand new Honda 90 which I am thinking of fitting to a Bombard Explorer SB640.
It's mainly for family boating duties with the occasional kneeboarding and ski-ing use .
Has anyone had experience with these RIB's and what are their views . How do they compare with the equivalent Ribtec , Ribeye ,Avon and all .
Anyones experiences would be greatly appreciated .

[Ian Sharlot]

Originally Posted by mark.fromage

I have a brand new Honda 90 which I am thinking of fitting to a Bombard Explorer SB640.
It's mainly for family boating duties with the occasional kneeboarding and ski-ing use .
Has anyone had experience with these RIB's and what are their views . How do they compare with the equivalent Ribtec , Ribeye ,Avon and all .
Anyones experiences would be greatly appreciated .

I don't know much about the Bombard Explorer SB640 but I assume it is 6.4 meters, If so 90 hp is going to be under powered.

[Rigaud]

I have a 1998 Bombard Explorer 6.0 with a Yamaha 115 two stroke and it goes like a bat out of hell. I hit 80kph (50mph) with my 19" prop easy, very easy and it's a boat that goes up on step with little effort. With my 23 cleaver it's just too much for the weight of this boat for someone who has no experience. All in all it's a great boat and simply love it.

[Stoo]

A buddy of mine just took delivery of this Bombard... I believe it's 5.4m or so, powered with a 75 4-stroke.

The boat is rated for a 90, and if it was mine, I think I'd have gone full pop.

This day was fairly choppy with about 2-3' waves. Compared to my Hurricane, it didn't do too well, but was certainly respectable. I literally traveled at twice his speed... but my boat is probably at least twice the weight, and twice the horsies... but three times the price! (At today's replacement cost, my boat, motor and rigging sell for about $75K here... he paid $27K, all in, including the trailer...)

He's pretty happy with it, and for a sport boat, it looks pretty good, but I don't know it would stand up to really heavy use, long term...