Humber Destroyer 5.8m

[Knot Yet]

Hi All

Following on from my earlier thread regarding my first RIB - we have seen advertised a 5.8m Humber Destroyer with a Mariner 150.

Asking price 6.5k

In light of the fact we were after an Avon Searider - sub 5k - would this be a good alternative??

Age of boat believed to be about 1996



Many thanks

J

[BarflyRIB]

I think, it is priced too high for this year of built.

What year is the engine? Is it already patched?
What hours are on the engine?

important to know!

[JSP]

I likes the look of that. Anymore pics?
Going off the picture the hull looks good, tubes look a bit dirty but to be fair orange tubes will show up every bit of dirt there is. A frame and trailer look good 'uns.
I've read good things about destroyers on here. Not sure what second hand prices are like for that age though.

[BruceB]

Its quite an old one but if you look through my posts it might reassure you on what that exact hull is capable of and where it can get to.

[Nos4r2]

One thing I'd watch on a package that old is the fuel consumption. Unless that Mariner is an Optimax it'll be rather thirsty.

General rule for Wide Open Throttle (WOT) is 4 litres per hour per 10hp.

[jwalker]

Joan, the Destroyer is a a sound boat, very good seakeeping and it will look after you well. A much better bet than a searider for general use imho. Seariders can stuff their bows remarkably easily. You'd need to try hard to get the Destroyer under the water - all things are possible tho. 150hp on a 5.8 is a powerful combo and the boat will need to be well balanced to prevent it walking - we're talking about 50mph with that setup.

The tubes are now a fair age so it goes without saying they need a good looking at as does the area around the transom, especially around the knees, checking for cracks or signs of water ingress. Check under the tail of the tubes because that era of Destroyers had a poor design feature where the tube to end cone join had forward facing edges and they were prone to lifting by water pressure - not a big problem to fix permanently tho.

It's true that modern 2 strokes claim better fuel consumption but the figures most folk claim for the new engines are pretty much what i got with a number of different old-tech 2 strokes so I would have no hesitation in using one. However, the engine on that boat looks to be a Mariner, which is actually a rebaged Mercury, and of all the motors I've had the Merc was the worst built and I wouldn't be keen on having another. That said, if it's a good one then it's a good one.

A bit high in price for the year but if it's on a good trailer and in good nick you could easily buy worse but younger.

[BruceB]

My old dive club has a 5.8 Destroyer that is now 14 years old and, when new, was fitted with a 150 Mariner simliar if not exactly the same as the one shown.
Because it was a dive boat the extra power was needed to carry 8 divers and kit but when it was empty it really could shift, 50 knots IS a fairly realistic figure
They still have it athough I know it was fitted with a 4 stroke motor a few years ago.
I don't want to start the "my boat is better than your boat" thing as nobody has driven every boat and there are always issues or things one boat will do better than another.
.....BUT of all the boats I have ever driven the 5.8 Destroyer is the best handling hull I have tried so far, I never get tired of playing with it.........

[Jono Garton]

That looks a good package to me.

I agree with nos, it will be thirsty and range could be limited as its likely to have a 90l tank.

Well worth compression testing the cylinders on the engine before you buy.

Jono

[Knot Yet]

Hi All

Many thanks for all the advice and help - this really is a cracking place for a new RIB convert to learn

I think possibly the 150hp might be a bit much boat for us currently - clearly the Humber is another good choice for what we are after.

Have seen a few with 90hp's on the back - is that a good mix

Also a Humber Atlantic - but can find little mentioned about them??

Thanks again

J

[BarflyRIB]

...and if you take a good look, you see a patch on the part below where Humber is mentioned