Chinese Rib Builders

[tonymac]

Originally Posted by Inflatabob

Sorry but can't help but drop in on this thread. As a UK manufacturer, I have had first hand experience of my own "loyal" clients being swayed by the cheap offerings of the Chinese and the result has been a very expensive mistake in the long run for them. Perhaps the most insulting/reassuring outcome is when they bring their Chinese built item to us to make good and perhaps more importantly MAKE SAFE prior to installation. Believe me, in my experience, the Chinese (from what I have seen) do not care one iota about a)quality b)safety c) customer satisfaction.

In conclusion: Buy British or reputable European.

There endeth the lesson!!

Or IRISH!! Redbay do a very nice rib thank you.

[npm108]

Originally Posted by Inflatabob

Sorry but can't help but drop in on this thread. As a UK manufacturer, I have had first hand experience of my own "loyal" clients being swayed by the cheap offerings of the Chinese and the result has been a very expensive mistake in the long run for them. Perhaps the most insulting/reassuring outcome is when they bring their Chinese built item to us to make good and perhaps more importantly MAKE SAFE prior to installation. Believe me, in my experience, the Chinese (from what I have seen) do not care one iota about a)quality b)safety c) customer satisfaction.

In conclusion: Buy British or reputable European.

There endeth the lesson!!

The theory with buying British or rep. European should be the accountability side of things combined with consumer protection laws offered by the EU and and individual member state. Let's be honest once a boat had come down from China , the costs of shipping it back for repairs don't make economic sense.

That either means you are buying sold as received, taking pot luck and hoping that you a) chose the right factory to build your boat and B) they weren't having a bad day. Is this a one time deal, even if perhaps you buy a couple of hulls or are you planning to act as a dealer for that factory. I cant see most Chinese factories caring much once they've made the sale.

I know there are some companies in the UK and EU who have singled out a factory and started to build a brand. They offer the support and accountability for the consumer that might otherwise not exist and they should have a regular channel open with the factory to provide feedback and enhancements.

I've come across a couple of posts of quality British boats with serious build issues or QC problems, so its not like buying a EU RIB gaurantees you 100% that you won't have any problems. But certainly one would expect them to be the exception and one would expect he materials used and finish to be miles apart for their Chinese counterparts. Are they MILES apart....I would say that gap is getting closer and closer.

And then there's the resale value ....after spendng 40K+ on your brand new British built 6.5m RIB you'd expect it to really hold its value, and yet there was a recent post on here highlighting the number of good second hand deals at the moment with prices at least 50% off their cost for relatively newish boats! So in the current economic climate where boats are a luxury, you don't have the resale value reassurance, because I'm not going to argue that a Chinese made RIB would have any kind of decent resale value.

But ultimately the main issue is to say to oneself honestly , is it fit for my purpose and do i understand the boats limitations. Have I been misguided with lots of salestalk about what my Chinese or British boat can do or not.

It's highly unlikely that you will see a Chinese rib crossing the Solent in a Force 6 in one piece, but you are likely to see one happily plodding along in a Force 3 to 4 out in the Med for several years.

[Nightfisher]

I can understand the both the knowledge and expertise in locally built boat products, in particular -- Inflatables and agree to most of what's been said above.

This year I purchased an inflatable from a Canadian seller of a chinese product. Prior to buying the boat, I did a lot of searching to find the best bang for the buck. After reading the reviews of various boats and the quality v. price I decided to go with Seamax as it was the only Canadian Govt certified inflatable available here.

Time will tell of course as to the long-term quality of my new boat, but I was quite satisfied with what I purchased from the time I opened the boxes through my own examination of the boat, flooring and harware for quality. The "Oceon 380" is what I wanted and the price was extremely competitive.

Frankly, I tend to avoid all chinese-made products. Not for quality reasons but for the sake of buying Cdn, US or British made items for simple reasons of doing my part to help keep our people employed. However, as far as the boat, I did do a lot of soul searching before buying it.. it was what I could afford.

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by slate1234

I would agree that maybe the build quality is not so good but can everyone cast there minds back to when the japanese started makeing vehicles , OH how crap were they??? and how rubbish were there products!!!!fast forward, and transit lay 500 people off mmmmm wounder why in fact what do we make in this country of ours today I am very proud of our country and the products we do produce, but I'M afraid it is only a matter of time before the chinese are competing,,,, captain manaring there comeing lol

we can make this happen a lot quicker if we buy them

[mister p]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

we can make this happen a lot quicker if we buy them

Or let others to buy them first. Feels like cheating though. Although with the accountability part, if they're sold by a UK established importer then the warranty should stack up. Esp with Jap o/bs.

[Rogue Wave]

I think we are at cross purposes. My point was not too buy them. but hey its your money and your country. At least we can all take comfort in the fact that the guys who build these boats are doing it for less rewards than our boat builders get on the Dole.

[mister p]

Ok, but I thought you made sense by saying that if we buy them that will force their quality up. That's the way I read it.
What I was implying was that whilst I understand that they're cheaper, by buying from a UK established boatyard/importer, they will be the ones regulating quality and honouring warranties.......hopefully driving the former up whilst keeping the latter down.
Buy British by all means.......it's a watchword for quality, workmanship, seakeeping and durability. Don't forget that we don't make engines and our British boatbuilders are happy speccing their RIBs with Jap engines. Have your cake and eat it. Where does the tube material come from? Now it's CSM, a rubber product now that Hypalon no longer does Hypalon.
Will a UK re-tuber or boatbuilder really buy CSM from the UK if it can be got for 60% from abroad? The UK manufacturing industry sings "Buy British" but doesn't sing to the same tune when it buys it's stock, that's a fact and a little bit hypocritical. If a supplier sells Chinese kit and offers a warranty, taking build issues on the chin whilst driving up the quality from the Chinese builders, and clients are willing to risk the purchase based on the importers trust and assurance............can't see the problem.
The thing that UK boat builders have is quality.........the builder builder ( brickie ) thing hasn't spread here thankfully because it's not a cowboy industry.........it's based upon craft, quality, delivery and pride. There's still an Aston for every GTR and a Jag for every LEXUS, a Land Rover for every Landcruiser?
It can stay that way. We just need to face the inevitable opposition.

[spareribs]

Originally Posted by slate1234

I would agree that maybe the build quality is not so good but can everyone cast there minds back to when the japanese started makeing vehicles , OH how crap were they??? and how rubbish were there products!!!!fast forward, and transit lay 500 people off mmmmm wounder why in fact what do we make in this country of ours today I am very proud of our country and the products we do produce, but I'M afraid it is only a matter of time before the chinese are competing,,,, captain manaring there comeing lol

To be honest, they will only ever be a good as good copies , the build quality will never be that of an good old concrete searider. It like british steel, go to any bootfair and you'll find 100 year old tools that just need sharpening. I'm sure the chinese will get it right but they will have to make sure they are not forcing people to labour first, as you only get the best out of people when they want to do it. Apparently the old avon seariders were built in factories identical to that of an Asian sweatshop, well there werent any children slaving away, but open windows for ventalation and resin everywhere, however they were mainly concerened about qualitiy and reputation not mass production and profit. YOU PAY YOUR MONEY AND YOU GETS WHATS YOU PAYS FOR, NEVER A TRUER WORD SPOKEN.

[spareribs]

Originally Posted by spareribs

To be honest, they will only ever be a good as good copies , the build quality will never be that of an good old concrete searider. It like british steel, go to any bootfair and you'll find 100 year old tools that just need sharpening. I'm sure the chinese will get it right but they will have to make sure they are not forcing people to labour first, as you only get the best out of people when they want to do it. Apparently the old avon seariders were built in factories identical to that of an Asian sweatshop, well there werent any children slaving away, but open windows for ventalation and resin everywhere, however they were mainly concerened about qualitiy and reputation not mass production and profit. YOU PAY YOUR MONEY AND YOU GETS WHATS YOU PAYS FOR, NEVER A TRUER WORD SPOKEN.

Thats if you can find a fuel supply to export the goods before the oil runs out, and when it does, you'll just go back to living the way you used to and be quite happy............us on the other hand......well when I say us I mean none fisherman, i'll be fishing somewhere happily not participating in the chaos.

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by mister p

Have your cake and eat it. Where does the tube material come from? Now it's CSM, a rubber product now that Hypalon no longer does Hypalon.
Will a UK re-tuber or boatbuilder really buy CSM from the UK if it can be got for 60% from abroad?

Hypalon is CSM

[mister p]

I know hypalon is CSM, it's just not called Hypalon any more. That's why I called it CSM.

[paul tilley]

who has made hypalon / csm of any quality in the UK in the last 30yrs

[XOZ]

Looking for a copy of the VSR 5.7
Someone "making it far east"?

[treerat]

They do a 5.5 or 5.8 - RIB-Lingbo

[steco1958]

Originally Posted by treerat

They do a 5.5 or 5.8 - RIB-Lingbo

Safe driving on the 5m rib

[mick]

Originally Posted by XOZ

Looking for a copy of the VSR 5.7 Someone "making it far east"?

Our resident Chinese rib specialist is away at the mo

[willk]

Originally Posted by mick

Our resident Chinese rib specialist is away at the mo

Yeah, he's offski. I thought he was more into slow roasting?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by mick

Our resident Chinese rib specialist is away at the mo

Cooooeeeee! over here