Newbie - Which RIB under 4m

[Livefast123]

Another one of those which RIB / SIB questions......I'm returning to boating after around 10 years and fancy getting the family involved. I had a Bonwitco 449 last time round powered by a 50hp Suzuki which led to some interesting times! I fancy a more sedate experience now with the family onboard but still require something with the fun factor, hence turning to RIB's.

The issue I have is that the boat will have to be stored in the garage which limits the size of boat I can have quite severly (5.2m total length of garage). I only plan to use the boat for light costal and lake use so have been looking at the 360 and 380 class RIBs paired with a 15hp or 20Hp outboard.

I am open to suggestions of either new or secondhand models and will probably get a secondhand 2 stroke outboard as im from the era that loved to smell 2 stroke in the morning. I have been looking at a XPRO 360 console at the moment which seems good VFM for the use I intend to put it to.

[9D280]

Welcome to ribnet!

Sounds like a good old SR4 would be bang on. Something like that won't need a braked trailer (unless you are driving a Vauxhall Corsa or a car of that ilk!) , which instantly wins you about half a metre "Road LOA".

If you can live with dropping the engine every time you get home (as I have to) then as long as you don't get one of the oldschool long throw 2 cyl engines (that poke out a mile behind the transom), I bet you could get it in. The SR4 has fairly long toob cones, so the chances are your engine won't be sticking out much over the tip of the toobs.

If it helps to put things in perspective. I have a 5m boat on a braked trailer in a 5.7m garage, I have carpet down the back wall, and the engine needs to be both down & hard to port or stbd, then pushed hard against the carpet. At which point I have 1/2" clearance to the door panel. (if the hitch is in line with the door's frame it won't close!)

A trailer with an adjustable drawbar is kind of crucial unless you have done a LOT of homework first!

Food for thought. I'm sure others will be along soon with opinions on makes & models....

[Livefast123]

At the moment i've got a Golf which I assume would be man enough to cope with a light unbraked trailer. That sounds like a tight squeeze and a lot of fun to get the boat into your garage!

I guess it all comes down to the length of the trailer, the 380 / 400 RIB is not a problem as long as the end of the boat is roughly where the end of the trailer is and the drawbar isn't too long. Can you get trailers with an adjustable drawbar length then as it would be ideal to get this as short as possible without affecting stability. I was looking at a Indespension Coaster Micro, is that the kind of thing I should be looking at?

[PeterM]

I have 2 4m ribs at home ..I'll measure them on the trailers for 'total length' when I am home in a bit if that may help ?

What sort of budget are you looking at ?

[Livefast123]

That would be great.

I think that when the time comes it'll up to £5000 so I guess I'll be limited to the lower end of the market or secondhand. Hopefully will be in a position to start looking after christmas and pick up a winter bargain.

[PeterM]

So measured and ;

Avon Searider ( SR4) is 478cm total on its trailer - the tubes stick out further than the 40 HP Yam engine ( 2 stroke) .

Avon Adventure 4m is 460cm total on its trailer - the engine sticks out further than the tubes with a 50 Yamaha ( 4 stroke)

The second I had made to be as short as possible as like you it had to fit in a garage.

Pics of both I think are in my album...and £5k I feel would buy you a very nice SR4 and a decent Adventure - but they are totally differing boats despite both being 4m and built by the same company ( mine were anyhow)

Hope that helps .

[Livefast123]

So it can be done thanks

Both look nice boats and have some seating which would be good for the daughter and Mrs.

[Rogue Wave]

This looks to be a super package

http://www.rib.net/forum/f21/avon-se...0-a-51857.html

and a very fair price to

[NSS]

My Walker Bay Generation 430 on an Indespension trailer fits in my garage, which is a tad under 5.2 metres from the back wall to the inside face of the door. The sponsons are very short on the Generation models so the Honda 50 extends beyond the tube ends a fair bit more than on many ribs, so depending on which you choose I would suggest you could accommodate RIBs up to 4.5m in length. Watch the beam though, mine is actually a tighter fit between the door frame than on length.

[Livefast123]

That SR4 looks cracking and has certainly given me something to think about, it's a pity I have to sell a house first before buying a boat!

I think a secondhand British option is looking like a safe bet at the moment, what are the things to look for with a secondhand RIB?

[9D280]

Originally Posted by Livefast123

At the moment i've got a Golf which I assume would be man enough to cope with a light unbraked trailer. That sounds like a tight squeeze and a lot of fun to get the boat into your garage!

just a wee bit!

The vehicle handbook will tell you exactly what it can tow.

It did take a fair bit of planning, a wee rearrangement of the winch post and a couple of practice runs, but now i can park it with minimal sweat.

Somewhere on here is a pic of my winch post. If you can't find it, I'll repost tomorrow (on phone at the mo). Also good call Ref the width. Most single garage doors are 2.1m, but a whole lot of ribs are 2m beam to in through them.

[9D280]

OK, on a proper computer now...

Snubber pic:
http://www.rib.net/forum/attachment....9&d=1276090831
This is an early pic of it, and the winch has since been "packed out" by a 3x3" block of wood, so the strap now pulls horizontally. The crucial mod is that the bit with the snubber, as you can see doubles as the anchor post. Originally that was "free" and a third bar was used to form the triangle between post & chassis. If you can imagine that, the winch post was more vertical, meaning the snubber was at least another couple of inches aft , and that at "full forward" adjustment. Will get another pic of the current setup as soon as I get the wheels back on! (middle of the annual brake service!)

Also forgot to say that if you are buying a new trailer for a rib, be aware that most boat trailers are "sized" (e.g "to suit boats 4-5m") for hard boats. Ribs have toobs & cones poing out beynd the "hard" bit of the hull, so you can usually subtract a good half metre of your LOA for sizing a trailer. (Mine is sat on a trailer spec'ed at "max 4.5m").

[ian parkes]

on my last small rib 4.1 lodestar i had the small extreme marine trailer that is really designed for jet ski's i think . Extreme marine supplies it with a longer towbar and it was fine for the small boat . My mate now has that boat and trailer and he easily fits it inside a small single garage . Its also a narrow trailer so with the tubes let down the whole package is only about 1.5m wide or less

another trailer i used to have had a telescopic drawbar , i simply removed the hitch and fitted it to a box section that fitted inside the original , with a series of holes i could extend it or shorten it with a pin or bolt .

[9D280]

Yep, my old SR4 travelled around on the indespension jetski trailer.