Valiant V520 or Ribeye 5/550

Oli. · 29 August 2012, 17:11

Hello all

I'm still looking to upgrade from my V400. The boat will be used for fishing, skiing, wake boarding etc etc, on the sea. We are a family of five.

Any thoughts on either?

My budget is £12-14k, so will be secondhand.

bad_moose · 29 August 2012, 17:59

I've got a V520. It's a good boat, plenty of space and it is easy to handle. We did a few trips across the Solent from Hamble to Cowes in it both in the day and in the dark, with conditions varying from glassy to pretty rough. It never felt out of control or dangerous although we did find that we had to take a lot of care in rougher conditions to avoid jumping off waves. We did however seem to be handling the conditions much better than several 7-9m RIB's we passed on the way over, going faster and with less slamming. I do sometimes wish that the console was a bit further forward to give you a better view of where you're going (especially in big waves) but it's not a problem. I wouldn't stick anything bigger than a 75HP on the back of it it's going to be sat on a mooring at all. Ours has a 75 and it is fairly stern heavy which means it gathers a fair bit of weed on the tubes. You definitely need a bilge pump if you've got a big engine on the back because the bungs are submerged until you are planing. Might not be a problem for you but we have to go along at 5 knots max for about 15 minutes before we can let rip and that's no fun with a load of water in the bottom. I'm not sure if we've just got a really, really good deal on ours but it cost us 5.5k. It's not in immaculate condition or anything, bit faded but it's a bloody good boat for the money it cost us. I'd recommend the 520 highly.

Bigmuz7 · 29 August 2012, 18:42

I had a Valliant V570 which I loved, not as deep a V as some hulls Ive had, but I had plenty weight in the bow and it handled brilliantly

, also because of the hull shape it was really easy to beach launch because of this , and also it had more length of tubes aft of the transom than usual, this gave the boat very early floatation for a beach launch which I found very useful indeed, infact if you started with 18" of depth on a fairly shallow beach, that was enough. Also, on the model I had the tubes were 500mm diameter which is slightly bigger than usual and aided the very safe feel to the boat, and improved its stability in the water.

Also having more tube behind the transom gives better flotation for heavier 4 stroke engines, again another plus. I never had to go near the tubes in 3 years with an air pump, their construction was excellent

The under deck tank filled easily from a filler in the bow locker, and I liked the quality of the GRP finish. For a 5.7, I found my Honda 90 gutless, but I think thats more to do with that engine, the perfect size would have been a 135 IMO

I sold mine for a little more than your money 3 years ago, so you could be in that territory for a similar aged boat

She was a lovely wee boat, and I'd have another anyday

bradosh · 29 August 2012, 19:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oli.

Hello all

I'm still looking to upgrade from my V400. The boat will be used for fishing, skiing, wake boarding etc etc, on the sea. We are a family of five.

Any thoughts on either?

My budget is £12-14k, so will be secondhand.

Ribeye 6m with a Yamaha 115 would be the right boat Plenty of power ( if required) also excellent storage under the bench seat and jockeys also the front seat is another good seating area with storage all points to take into account when using as a family boat with all the towables. Not quite sure the budget will match but good look.

Steve_B · 29 August 2012, 20:43

With that budget your definately in the V570 bracket. The size difference whilst small makes a huge difference for a family of 5. We had a 570 with a 115 Optimax, a brilliant combination and huge fun for all the family. We used ours for touring, round the IOW several times, skiing, wakeboarding and diving. Easy to launch and tow. As already stated, it is not a very deep V so can seem to slam more tahn others but the pay back is huge stability and huge confidence in in seas.
Try to get one with the consol placed forward, with jockeys and rear bench layout
Still miss it as a fun RIB even with the Parker
Steve

Pottsy · 29 August 2012, 20:52

hi
i have a v520 with mariner 80hp and my brother has ribeye 5.0 with yam 60hp so i have little experience of both boats.

v520 has a lot of free deck space in comparsion to ribeye. however the ribeye has a lot more storage space under seats.

v520 has a double bench seat with seating at bow and in front of console if u have ice box. ribeye has a bench seat at rear and jockey seats and seat in front of console. jockey seats are defo good in rough conditions as they allow u to stand up and give u support.

ribeye has a wider beam than v520, i dont know by how much but it might be a consideration for u when towing or storage.

asmentioed already v520 has more tube aft of transom which helps in different ways mentioned also helps to support heavier engine. mine has a mariner 80 hp 4s which is a brute and on the limit of manufacturer recommendation.

ribeye has a deeper v hull than v520 so imho it does handled better in rougher conditions. but i think the v520 gets on the plane quicker and appears take less to keep it on plane. we have been out in both boats under same rough conditions and the ribeye does make better progress. in calmer conditions there apperars to be little difference other than planing as mentioned.

ribeye appears to sit higher in water, dont know if this is due to my heavy engine.

all things equal, hard say which is best for sking etc as the ribeye has only a 60hp and would probably struggle in comparsion to v520 with 80hp.

ribeye is probably more expensive of the two maybe because it is fitted out with a lot more seating options.

i got v520 last year, two years old with 3 years warrantly left on engine. £12.5k from broker. im in nireland so probably paid over the odds in comparsion to mainland uk. wanted to purchase closer to home for a little piece of mind.

price will depend on age, condition, extras etc but u should get something fairly good in ur price range.

hope this helps.

treerat · 29 August 2012, 21:16

Pete has a tidy 520 for sale at present.

Oli. · 29 August 2012, 22:00

Thanks for the input so far. What's swinging me towards the Ribeye is the wider beam and the forward seat arrangement with the rear bench seat. I have a demo booked at the boat show in one.

Who's Pete?

treerat · 30 August 2012, 07:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oli.

Who's Pete?

Trades under boats&outboards - see this thread - http://www.rib.net/forum/f21/valiant...age-50255.html

Boats&Outboards · 30 August 2012, 07:43

Still,have it but it's not in the 10-14k class. More suited to first time buyer at £4,995.

We also have a Humber destroyer 5.8 available shortly, again more substance over style though.

treerat · 30 August 2012, 07:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boats&Outboards

Still,have it .

If it was the 4.9 you wouldn't

On the hunt for a 4.7 zodiac, 4.9 Valiant etc to px against mine if you see one Pete?

Storage is a 20' container so anything that fits in it really

Boats&Outboards · 30 August 2012, 07:57

Can you not just let the tubes down ? I reckon it's right on the money length wise.

treerat · 30 August 2012, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boats&Outboards

Can you not just let the tubes down ? I reckon it's right on the money length wise.

Don't want to go larger (so the wife says) than 5m as the tow vehicle is an Astra - and don't really want to have to inflate each time we go out

Boats&Outboards · 30 August 2012, 08:01

Fair points. Not much weight over the 490 but I get your points. Best find you a smaller one then

treerat · 30 August 2012, 08:12

80 ish kilos plus the larger engine required on a 1700 Astra Estate

She'll win this one unfortunately

I have 5.89 x 2.33m total size to play with.

- ta

Boats&Outboards · 30 August 2012, 08:48

Not trying to sell you ours - it won't fit. Your car would pull more than you think

I'm guessing it's rated to what, 1100kgs braked ? Or 750kgs un-braked.

The dr-520 is only 265kg dry, motor say 120kgs, trailer 100kgs. That's only 485. Add another 200 for rigging, fuel etc and your still under budget.

I'd agree a 490 would be better suited though.