My first RIB

dawktah · 26 June 2006, 17:29

Hello All!

I am new to the board and I am due to take delivery of my first RIB in a few weeks!

I am acquiring a Brig F450HL with Evinrude E-tec 60hp. I look forward to it! This is my first powerboat purchase and I come from a sailboat background. The boat will be kept in a dry storage facility with forklift in/out when I need it.

The prop that was recommended is the 13" 17 degree pitch prop. What can I expect from this prop and how will I know if I need to change to a greater or lesser pitch? The boat will sit on average 3 to 4 months between uses. The E-tec is supposed to be super easy to "put up" anybody have personal experience? I am in the USA but boat is in the Caribbean. Since the 60 hp is not a saltwater engine I am planning on flushing it thoroughly at the end of each day of use. Any known issues with Evinrude E-tec 60 hp or Brig F450HL boats.

I can see maybe upgrading to another boat once I have children, but not to exceed 6m unless I am blessed to get a Banana Shark 770!

I still want flexibility to beach (partially) it.

hannah · 26 June 2006, 17:46

Be sure to post some piccys when it arrives!! nice one

What made u go from a sailing boat to a rib ??

dawktah · 26 June 2006, 17:50

I have begun doing a lot of diving and it serves as a much better diving platform. It would take all day to go between dive sites on a sailboat and if conditions weren't right and needed to change.

CJL · 26 June 2006, 21:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawktah

Since the 60 hp is not a saltwater engine I am planning on flushing it thoroughly at the end of each day of use.

Don't worry too much about the flushing. The saltwater/offshore stuff is a gimmick by certain engine makers.

Just a squirt until the tell tale tastes fresh and you'll be fine.

C

jyasaki · 27 June 2006, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by CJL

Just a squirt until the tell tale tastes fresh and you'll be fine.

Or, alternatively, simply follow the manufacturers flushing directions. Your tastebuds will probably thank you.

There are no major manufacturers motors which are freshwater only. They're all designed to do either fresh or salt (though, if you do exclusively fresh, you might want to look at changing out the zinc anodes for a more freshwater oriented material. Magnesium, was it?)

The E-Tecs are supposed to be self-winterizing, which would generally include fogging the head, and purging the cooling system of water. The water part won't be an issue for you (more to do with expansion as the liquid freezes), but the fogging will be.

You probably want to look into some fuel stabilizer as well (or get around that by either running the tank dry, or draining it.) 2 to 4 months is about the length of time it takes fuel to start going off.

Congrats on the boat, and enjoy;

jky

dawktah · 29 June 2006, 19:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by jyasaki

The E-Tecs are supposed to be self-winterizing, which would generally include fogging the head, and purging the cooling system of water. The water part won't be an issue for you (more to do with expansion as the liquid freezes), but the fogging will be.

You probably want to look into some fuel stabilizer as well (or get around that by either running the tank dry, or draining it.) 2 to 4 months is about the length of time it takes fuel to start going off.

Congrats on the boat, and enjoy;

jky

I'll be running it as close to empty as I can so I'll put it up dry, I'd opt to row it in the last few 100 feet. With the cost of fuel in the Caribbean I'm gonna use it all! I use fuel stabilizer for my lawn tools and they start up with a little coaxing each Spring.

dawktah · 31 July 2006, 19:36

I have had a chance to enjoy my new boat. I was teased by some saying its not a boat but a dinghy! Sounds like a Xerox or Kleenex type of argument.

I have a picture attached:

I have some serious questions and some fixes needed.

1. The boat is hard to get on plane. I open throttle wide open and rpms stay at about 1,000 with nose up in the air. Even with some weight up front (wife) it only lowers bow but still slow to get on plane. Once on plane however the rpms just to 5,000 and the boat is going entirely too fast. Have to throttle back to 4,000 to even feel comfortable. Spent most time at 3,000 - 3,500 rpm. I plan to put 100 lbs of lead in bow anchor locker with an 4 lb. anchor and rode. Anything else to change? Prop?

2. The self draining valve in transom works fine underway but cap is way to hard to screw into place. Had to manually bail boat since, re-threading and re-tightening doesn't seem to help.

3. The local shop didn't give me any paperwork, so trying to get my hands on it. Lost on put up! Will be back in 4 months

4. Speedometer didn't work, so they are correcting that.

5. Battery is of type with no switch, should I have this changed?

--Chris

Nos4r2 · 31 July 2006, 19:57

Sounds like you're overpropped. I'd look for a smaller pitch prop before adding weight. 5000 rpm at WOT is quite low. I googled your engine and apparently WOT should be 5500-6000 rpm.

codprawn · 31 July 2006, 19:59

I take it you do have power trim? Sounds like your probs are trim related. Don't bother with lead - use sacks of sand - much cheaper and they can go overboard if you need to get rid of them in a hurry!!!

Poly · 31 July 2006, 20:08

I think this might be the same set up as FJarvis on here. Never seen his bow take off - but he certainly can move if he wants to. might be worth PM'ing him to see what prop etc he is using. He doesn't have any "lead" in the bow - only a grapnel shaped lump of steel that pretends to be an anchor.

dawktah · 31 July 2006, 20:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Sounds like you're overpropped. I'd look for a smaller pitch prop before adding weight. 5000 rpm at WOT is quite low. I googled your engine and apparently WOT should be 5500-6000 rpm.

I'm sure it would have kept going up! Whoa Nellie! I had to pull it back to keep from losing control and racing accross water way too fast. I have to take it out on a flat day to see what 5,500 feels like.

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

I take it you do have power trim? Sounds like your probs are trim related. Don't bother with lead - use sacks of sand - much cheaper and they can go overboard if you need to get rid of them in a hurry!!!

Power tilt and trim, it was all the way down.

Nos4r2 · 31 July 2006, 20:29

hmm... that sounds odd!

Trimmed out too far from rest maybe? Or water in the hull moving astern(unlikely if it's that fast and a new boat but worth a look!)

dawktah · 31 July 2006, 20:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

hmm... that sounds odd!

Trimmed out too far from rest maybe? Or water in the hull moving astern(unlikely if it's that fast and a new boat but worth a look!)

Nope, pretty dry. Wife up front me in back, slow to plane. We had it loaded up with gear earlier and it still was slow to plane. I am worried about it since I had no ability to crawl over waves. I had to fly instead!

Nos4r2 · 31 July 2006, 20:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by dawktah

Nope, pretty dry. Wife up front me in back, slow to plane. We had it loaded up with gear earlier and it still was slow to plane. I am worried about it since I had no ability to crawl over waves.

Sorry, I meant water inside the hull between the skins. Is there a drain?

dawktah · 31 July 2006, 20:50

It was drained and plugged by boat yard. I didn't see it out of the water to verify this only went on the guys word. New boat first time use. As fast as it was going on plane I'm sure it was dry inside or a negligable amount. Will do research on a new prop.

dawktah · 02 August 2006, 01:32

After going out this past week, there was a small craft advisory issued my last 2 days on vacation, I can see moving to a bigger boat. I am liking the RedBay boats a lot....6.5 or 8.4

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