Hiring a rib - North Devon or St. Davids

EdwardH · 11 July 2005, 01:00

Hello all,

I am back in the UK in August and looking to hire a rib for a few days in August in either St Davids or North Devon for some gentle cruising (pregnant wife and elderly parents aboard)...

I hold an aussie Boat licence and have my own 5 metre rib down here (gemini with 85hp yamaha) - does anyone know...

1) of any establishments that hire ribs in these areas?

and

2) if my Boat licence is sufficient or do they require an international certificate etc...?

all suggestions gratefully received.

Thanks,

Edward

Richard B · 11 July 2005, 06:52

Hi Edward,
I don't think that your Australian licence will help - I would guess that you'll need an RYA level2, that was the requirement the one time I chartered a RIB.

Don't know of any charter companies in the area, although there is one in Cardiff area if that helps (don't know if he does bareboat charters though) and there is one in the South Devon area who covers the whole country (at a price, I guess).

Good luck with sorting it out.

Bern Hanreck · 11 July 2005, 13:17

Try http://www.ruddersboatyard.co.uk/

who do offer a hire service from Burton Pembrokeshire ( just upstream from Milford Haven .

They may offer a training course , if not Pembrokeshire Watersports just across the river at East LLanion . I've used them both in the past for training & ( skippered ) charter . Some very gentle cruising up the Cleddau River from there , or much more interesting out to Skomer , Skokholm , Grassholm & Ramsey Islands.

I'm sure some of the local Ribbers can advise further.

EdwardH · 12 July 2005, 03:11

Thanks Guys... much appreciated info...
anyone else got any ideas at all...?

John Kennett · 12 July 2005, 07:30

I don't know of many places that do bareboat charter around there. There aren't many anywhere actually.

Is there a friedly RIBnetter out there who would be prepared to lend Ed a boat for a couple of days?

John

codprawn · 12 July 2005, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bern Hanreck

Try http://www.ruddersboatyard.co.uk/

who do offer a hire service from Burton Pembrokeshire ( just upstream from Milford Haven .

They may offer a training course , if not Pembrokeshire Watersports just across the river at East LLanion . I've used them both in the past for training & ( skippered ) charter . Some very gentle cruising up the Cleddau River from there , or much more interesting out to Skomer , Skokholm , Grassholm & Ramsey Islands.

I'm sure some of the local Ribbers can advise further.

Just spoken to them - RIB is a Humber 5.3m (8 person max) Destroyer RIB with a 100 HP four stroke Yamaha outboard. Rib is fully coded.

price is £195+VAT per day ex fuel.

Based in a stunning area - a boaters paradise for anyone not familiar with the area.

They want a powerboat level 2 but may waiver that if experienced enough I suppose - ask them!

woot · 12 July 2005, 17:56

Ed
I,ve done a lot of diving in the area and there are several people that may be worth contacting. Steve Lewis who runs Pembrokeshire Dive Charters has a number of boats of all shapes and sizes that are used for tourist trips, dive trips, training etc do a search for details and give him a ring.
Likewise for " West Wales Divers " many moons ago we used to hire a sqiudgy from them for £40 a day! but a lot has changed since then, I know however they have a 5.85M Humber with a 140 suzi on it for dive charter.
Try Len at " Dive Pembrokeshire " he has a huge website with lots of good info and links.
There is also dive centre called "Nemo's" which is attached to a boatyard but I don't know if they have a website.
Alex Brown from the forum works for Milford docks so will know more than me drop him a pm or mail as he doesn't visit the site so often at the moment.
Let me know specifically what days you will be in the area, I have a boat in the area unfortunately I sold my Rib and replaced it with a floating Lounge Bar peppered with cupholders ( see previous threads on cupholders ) so it would obviously be thoroughly unsuitable for use at sea. The attached photos were taken this weekend by Alex on a 40 mile round trip from Neyland around Skomer and back.

Alex Brown · 12 July 2005, 21:39

Sorry I'd not spotted this post sooner - the others have covered pretty much everything locally in this part of Pembs.
Rudders is about 200metres down the road from me just up the river from Burton Ferry. I think you'll find that hiring a rib from most local companies may require a cert of some form at least - will ask Steve at Pembs Dive Charters when I next see him (he's on Dolphin surveys the next two days, so it's likely to be Friday).

Even if you can't hire a rib, there are plenty of rib trips run locally both from Neyland and up at St Davids. For instance, Pembs Dive Charters do the three islands in South Pembs - Skomer, Grassholm, Skokholm and then you have more operators running trips around Ramsey like Voyages of Discovery.

-Alex

EdwardH · 13 July 2005, 03:57

Many thanks guys...

I will give Rudders a call and see if they are happy with my level of experience...

, but it may be a condition of their insurance as my research is indicating...

I actually do have a mate with a rib which he never uses but I much prefer to rent than borrow 'just in case' - especially as most people's insurance certs seem to specify PB2.

I find I am (probably like everyone) sometimes prone to 'silly mishaps' when boating, through carelessness, hangover or just rank stupidity and I would hate to damage someone's pride and joy...

EdwardH · 13 July 2005, 04:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by woot

Ed
I,ve done a lot of diving in the area and there are several people that may be worth contacting. Steve Lewis who runs Pembrokeshire Dive Charters has a number of boats of all shapes and sizes that are used for tourist trips, dive trips, training etc do a search for details and give him a ring.
Likewise for " West Wales Divers " many moons ago we used to hire a sqiudgy from them for £40 a day! but a lot has changed since then, I know however they have a 5.85M Humber with a 140 suzi on it for dive charter.
Try Len at " Dive Pembrokeshire " he has a huge website with lots of good info and links.
There is also dive centre called "Nemo's" which is attached to a boatyard but I don't know if they have a website.
Alex Brown from the forum works for Milford docks so will know more than me drop him a pm or mail as he doesn't visit the site so often at the moment.
Let me know specifically what days you will be in the area, I have a boat in the area unfortunately I sold my Rib and replaced it with a floating Lounge Bar peppered with cupholders ( see previous threads on cupholders ) so it would obviously be thoroughly unsuitable for use at sea. The attached photos were taken this weekend by Alex on a 40 mile round trip from Neyland around Skomer and back.

Nice boat Woot!! Thanks for the offer - we are very fluid on dates as i am combining business with pleasure on this trip so will be at the beck and call of work... which is another reason i wanted to try and rent - i hate to mess people about.

Thanks again though...