Newbie looking for first RIB...opinion sought

[ooglewoogle]

Hi there...after lurking here for quite a while I have decided it is time to stick a toe in the waters of ribbing. The boat will be used predominantly on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, mostly exploring with a spot of fishing.

Budget isn't great...not after anything fancy. Somewhere between £3-5k, although preferably not too near top end of that! (says the missus ).

I have been looking at the various sea rider 5.4's that have come up, along with 5.5m tornados and suchlike. These all seem ideal. Preferably I would have at least a couple of jockey seats on it.

I have been watching this on Ebay: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.d...m=150434378166 . Does anyone here have any knowledge of it? Or indeed any opinions? Seems like a little bit of a project to get spick and span...but I don't mind that.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[HUMBER P4VWL]

eBay item finished in 14th???

Tornado Humber ribcraft all have a good name, the seariders are similar but do get a high price and are competitively sought after. Good luck, your budget should get you something in that range as you have probably seen on the forum. I'd suggest the more you can afford now the happier you will be as for a 5-6 m boat 3-7 grand goes from unreliable old dog to a smart looked after second hand with plenty of life for personal use.

[ooglewoogle]

Thanks Humber. Apologies on the ebay link...now ammended to the relisted boat.

[bedajim]

How about this? little over priced maybe you could make an offer
At least it looks like the owner cares for this one

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?p=348323#post348323

If the bloke flogging the other can't be arsed to clean it and blow the toobs up what does it say for how the engine or other bits and pieces have been looked after.

I'd stay well clear

[9D280]

Welcome to Ribnet!

There are 2 ways of looking at that ebay sale:

- if they can't be biothered pumping the toobs up for a photo, how well looked after has it been generally?
- you could get a reasonable bargain, as the engine isn't attatched, so a lot of people might get put off.


I guess it boils down to how confident you are with rigging the engine and confident about repaiing things that may go wrong. Patching the odd puncture is no worse than a bike tyre repair on a bigger scale. Your definition of "repairable engine" Is down to you. Also check he has removed the throttle lever from the remotes as well, otherwise you'll need a new one of them for starters!



If it was me, I'd be giving it serious thought, but I should warn you I have an annoying (for my wife!) habit of buying cheeeep boats & resucuitating them, so I probably have a slight bias towards the "requires TLC" end of the market!

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by bedajim

How about this? little over priced maybe you could make an offer
At least it looks like the owner cares for this one

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?p=348323#post348323

If the bloke flogging the other can't be arsed to clean it and blow the toobs up what does it say for how the engine or other bits and pieces have been looked after.

I'd stay well clear

Seconded-you don't even know if the tubes hold air.

[Polwart]

Its quite clearly not in a good way but if the tubes hold air, the engine runs and the there is not too much damage then it might be ok as a project.

I'm local to it, although can't work out where it is in the photos. If you are on the western isles and want someone to go and see it, take more photos, ask some questions, pump up the tubes etc then happy to help. I am NOT a surveyor, and would not be giving an expert or professional opinion - simply a once over by someone who had a vague idea. But would save a wasted trip or maybe a missed opportunity. Not sure if you'll be able to see the engine running in its current situation. Without seeing the engine run - I'd suggest its not got much more value in it?

Whilst the rib obsessives here think it is stupid not to pump up the tubes and this suggests neglect - I'd be quite happy to buy a neglected boat from a stupid person IF the price was right.

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Originally Posted by bedajim

How about this? little over priced maybe you could make an offer
At least it looks like the owner cares for this one

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?p=348323#post348323

If the bloke flogging the other can't be arsed to clean it and blow the toobs up what does it say for how the engine or other bits and pieces have been looked after.

I'd stay well clear

I'd agree, looks much better looked after with a newish looking engine. (Though check the weight vs transom max as its a four stroke!)

[Rogue Wave]

if memory serves the tornadoes have UPVC tubes, I've seen a couple of old tornadoes with almost complete seperation of the seams and thats quite problematic to fix on UPVC, and may explain the lack of inflation.

It's not impossible but I'd definitely be having a good look at that boat before I bought . likewise the engine would have to be spun and compression tested, gear oil checked

but I can see the PAQ (Project Attraction Quotient)

[9D280]

I'm quite sure mine looked nice & shiny whren the sailing club disposed of it to the bloke I bought it from. But because it was hurriedly (brush) painted the paint then fell off & it now looks like I suspect it did before the "respray".


All I'm saying is that shiny doesn't necessarily mean good.......


The other way of looking at it is, for that price you got a Hull / Trailer with a free engine, or vice versa. I took that view when I bought mone, and have since replaced the engine with one I also paid not a lot of money for. It is now being rebuilt following a rebore, but for the price I paid, I will end up with an as good as new engine for the price of a reasonable second hand one.

Remember the seller may not have a degree in marketing!