Ring Rib Hulls

DaButt · 07 January 2005, 22:53

Hello everybody,

I have been looking to buy a Rib for a while now and have looked at A LOT of models by now (so please bear with me if I come back and ask for advice on other makes and/or models ). Recently I came across the new design by (inter alia) Jim Robinson. They are using the 7.5 and 8.6 meters offshore hull designed by Mike Ring. On that they have mounted, a newly designed, cuddy cabin which have a special appeal to the female gender as well as the younger members of the family, as I have recently learned. That the boat looks really nice had not made thing any worse/easier (see threads http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8128 and http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8360 for pictures). The creation goes under the name Shearwater.

My question though is how does these hulls perform in rouge sea, i.e. how is their sea keeping capabilities. I know that the hulls are really fast but you usually have to trade speed for comfort (on a rough day at sea) and the dead rise is ”only” 24 dgrs compared to e.g. the Gemini 730´s 28 dgrs. Since I am planning on using the boat for fishing in seas/conditions that can be rather nasty, this is a very important feature for me. Has anybody had the opportunity to test drive these hulls in rough seas? How do they compare to other ribs know for their sea keeping capabilities? I am primarily interested in the 7.5 m version since I am planning on putting the boat on a trailer. Does anybody know of any third party tests performed on the hull (used on the Ring Rib 750SR)? Also, I understand that the hull is used by some military services across the globe and it would be interesting to know which ones. Any feed-back is highly appreciated.

Thank you all for your time!

Regards,

DaButt

LeewayComposite · 07 January 2005, 23:39

DaButt
I have been in this rib and it handles very well in what we call rough sea's, (maybe not as rough as you get not shore never been to sweden). the rib is good for the family as you said. well worth a test run in there demo boat.

timboli · 08 January 2005, 16:33

I tried a ring 750 recently in a nasty solent chop (force 5-6,waves up to 3 feet)and was very impressed.The hull is a fast one and does have a reverse chine so rather then an out and out heavy weather boat,I would consider it a compromise between speed and seakeeping.
All of this is in IMHO and I would consider trying one in a nasty sea and also others for comparison essential if I was in the market.

DaButt · 09 January 2005, 15:34

I fish along the Norweigan coast line, and occasionaly a bit further out on the sea. The weather there have a tendency to change quickly so both speed and sea keeping capabilities are of importance. It is always nice to know that you can make it back to port in a reasonable time, even if you have been caught out on open sea.

My wife and I will fly to London over the week end and hopefully we will find the time to have a test drive in the Shearwater then. Let us just pray that the weather gods are throwing some rough sea our way then...

DaButt

Rogue Wave · 09 January 2005, 16:29

I'ts nearly always a bit bumpy at the entrance to chichester harbour

John Kennett · 10 January 2005, 08:48

I haven't tried one of these RIBs yet, but the hull design has been around for a while and has been used on a variety of RIBs and hardboats. I'm almost certain that the Shearwater is based on the Ring 21 hull as used in the Honda raceboats (AKA the Extreme 21).

I had a test drive in one of the first batch of Honda boats, and I've spoken to people who have raced an Extreme 21 who appeared to take quite a beating! Whilst it's certainly a reasonably quick design, and would make an excellent fast runabout, it may not be the first choice for an all weather offshore cruising RIB.

Definitely worth a sea trial though -- let us know what you think.

John

DaButt · 10 January 2005, 19:30

Will keep you posted, provided that I make it to IOW/Portsmouth. I also got a confirmation today that Boat Mart magazine will publish a test on the Ring Rib 750 (open version) in their February issue (available in stores on January 21). Could be interesting reading.

DaButt

Paul Beaurain · 10 January 2005, 20:03

Hello DaButt and John (of course)

I saw information on the Shearwater 750 with Cuddy cabin a day or so again. It looked inovative- and worth learning more.

John you said 'it may not be the first choice for offshore cruising'

Can you (and others) suggest some hulls in the 6.5m to 7,5m that may be closer the coverted first choice.
(seeing the politics of the site and people getting upset - any hulls you suggest could be shown in alphabetical order!

Thanks
Paul
(ps good generous offer on the Tsunami - well done)
(ps2 Joe in Ireland his user name is tsunami - His user name will not be seen in the same light again)