Hello from a new member.......

[neilda]

Having taken a few trips over to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth, I am hooked.

I don't have a boat (having spent most of my leisure time around cars), but I intend to buy one. However it seems an almost overwhelming subject to someone who knows absolutely nothing about boating - RIBs in particular.

My intention is buy a second hand RIB, probably 6.5m that can seat 6 or so comfortably. I'm looking in the for sale section on here as well as the many RIBs for sale sites, but it's hard to know what's good and what's not! It seems that a £15-20k budget should do it, along with having the boat racked somewhere rather than buggering about with a trailer.

My sea-going aspirations stretch as far as leaving Portsmouth and getting to Cowes for lunch - but having some fast fun en route, visiting a few beaches in the summer, so hardly the stuff of a real mariner.

Advice welcome.... thanks....

[PeterM]

Hi & welcome - best advice I'd give is get over to Ribex over the weekend & try some some stuff out, chat to a few people & then see what ' floats your boat' .

You can try all differing types & costs & while new costs can be high you can get good deals at the mo & a lot of 'trade in' boats that are for sale can be discussed with .

The day in cowes & ticket cost will pay for itself in about 5 minutes of trying a boat especially if you want the right boat for the solent - no better place to try it !

[Tim M]

Well worth coming over to RIBex this weekend. Both my self and roywebster will be exhibiting at the show, and can give you details of used RIBs that meet your criteria. If you want a couple of free tickets, drop me a PM on here and I'll get some over to you.

[neilda]

I will try to get over this weekend - Tim, thanks for the offer I'll ping you a mail.

Would I be right to assume that the car parks in Portsmouth are going to be rammed solid this weekend?!

[Tim M]

Probably - they are most weekends! The camber is probably the best place to start. Alternatively we are running a RIB over to RIBex from Southampton. There is plenty of free parking.

[Chris]

Originally Posted by neilda

Having taken a few trips over to the Isle of Wight from Portsmouth, I am hooked.

I don't have a boat (having spent most of my leisure time around cars), but I intend to buy one. However it seems an almost overwhelming subject to someone who knows absolutely nothing about boating - RIBs in particular.

My intention is buy a second hand RIB, probably 6.5m that can seat 6 or so comfortably. I'm looking in the for sale section on here as well as the many RIBs for sale sites, but it's hard to know what's good and what's not! It seems that a £15-20k budget should do it, along with having the boat racked somewhere rather than buggering about with a trailer.

My sea-going aspirations stretch as far as leaving Portsmouth and getting to Cowes for lunch - but having some fast fun en route, visiting a few beaches in the summer, so hardly the stuff of a real mariner.

Advice welcome.... thanks....

Neilda, you sound like a prime candidate for these guys. If I was looking to just cruise the solent area this would be my solution. You will save yourself a lot of money and have a much nice rib to boot (albeit a share in one)

They have several locations around the solent area.

[neilda]

Originally Posted by Chris

Neilda, you sound like a prime candidate for these guys. If I was looking to just cruise the solent area this would be my solution. You will save yourself a lot of money and have a much nice rib to boot (albeit a share in one)

They have several locations around the solent area.

Hi Chris, was there a link missing? Which guys?

I could be tempted into a part share - I had a part share in a rare Aston once. However that was only done so I could tell my wife I was 'borrowing it' and my mate used the same routine with his wife.

Unfortunately our cunning plan was discovered before the car was even delivered by the auction house.

That aside, I quite like 'ownership' rather than having to check with someone, boating for me would always be a spur of the moment decision based on weather....

[Chris]

http://www.ribshackmarine.co.uk

The Ribeye is a good Rib for what you want to do it is nicely fitted out and capable of handling the Solent Chop whilst providing a smooth ride.

[Chris]

Neil,

One thing I remember about RibShack was that the guy on here "Andy B" I was talking to explained that even if your shared boat is in use there is nearly always another available so he had never had a problem getting out when he wanted to.

[neilda]

Originally Posted by Chris

http://www.ribshackmarine.co.uk

The Ribeye is a good Rib for what you want to do it is nicely fitted out and capable of handling the Solent Chop whilst providing a smooth ride.

That sounds interesting for a beginner - looks like a quarter share in a boat? I wonder if, when you first take up the hobby, you want to be on the water all the time rather than one week in four? If you did a half share (circa £12k+) you're almost in the territory of owning it yourself.

It's a tempting package, but I suspect being slightly obsessive about my interests (only in that I want it ALL and I want it RIGHT NOW kind of way ) if sharing would really work for me?