What rib - 6.5 or 6??

Spot 48 · 02 February 2017, 21:00

Hi

I haven't posted for a while. A few years back this forum guided me wisely in getting a small rib rather than a sib and that advice served me well - thank you!! I got a Zodiac Pro 4.2m with a 40hp and although it’s been great, it’s feeling a bit small and i want to upgrade and would really welcome anyone’s advice.

Thinking of getting a 6.5m rib with 150hp. Main concern though is towing. Although we have a 3.0L mercedes E class estate with plenty of grunt, i fear getting stuck on wet slipways…do I need a 4x4 with this size of boat?

I want to be able to take up to 10 people (2 families with kids) so i reckon 6.5 is better than 6 - not only for the extra space but also better sea-keeping qualities etc. Is 6.5m much better than 6m?

Does anyone know much about open day-boats e.g. beneteau / centre console fishing boats as an alternative to RIBs? (I am expecting bias towards the latter on this particular site!). But they do seem like quite a good alternative - although I imagine the extra weight would be bit of a penalty.

Any other experiences / advice would be really welcome. I appreciate this question must get asked quite a bit, I will go to my local boat shop when the weather gets better, but I thought I'd start now!

Many thanks

Anthony

Fender · 02 February 2017, 21:17

I'd always opt for the larger choice, seakeeping, deck space and stability to name but a few advantages with a bigger boat. I went from a 6.6 to a 8m - the difference on the water is amazing. If your planning on taking 10 people out your going to need the room of the 6.5m and more! good luck

Maximus · 02 February 2017, 21:45

..10 passengers inc Crew is a lot....a real lot for a 6.5!
Or anything remotely close

Xk59D · 02 February 2017, 21:45

I don't know the car specs but engine size has little to do with towing ability so check what your towing capacity actually is before deciding. The other thing is you may not be able to tow it anyway depending on your licence so make sure your licence covers you to tow something this heavy. Depending on when you got your licence will depend what you can legally tow without doing extra courses.

Depending on your slipways will depend on if a 4x4 is required, the majority of the time it probably isn't to be fair on a 6.5m boat with a decent slip, worst case you will need to rope recover and launch but that is cheaper than buying another car!

I have a 6.8 with 8 seats but I can't imagine trying to get 10 on it with any regularity, 2 would need to sit on the tubes all the time and my boat has a lot more room than most 6.5m as wider beam but it would still be cosy to say the least. I'm not sure what performance would be like with 10 on a 6.5 but borderline comes to mind with 150hp. I guess it depends how regular it is likely to be and how far you want to go how big an issue it may be for you? I wouldn't personally dream of going out in my boat with 10 people on it but that is me.

A good 6m will be better than a bad 6.5m boat in terms of sea ability but the extra space will be welcome on something larger.

Your best bet may be a normal layout and some boat bean bags if you have spare deck space if 10 isn't a regular thing. With 150hp, 6.5m and 10 people I'm guessing you are not going anywhere quick anyway.

I took the liberty of asking Roy and this was his answer-

PAC22NI · 02 February 2017, 22:10

Pacific or artic 22? Good sea keeping, stability, storage, can sit on tubes etc. Just to throw it out there as a possible option. In mine the double jockey seat lift up and I have all the storage underneath in the hull where Inboard engine was - also great storage in the bow under the deck.

JTURNER · 02 February 2017, 22:21

Hi there, I am guessing the 10 may include some children and is probably 2 families. This is still rather a lot on a 6.5m, just having the space to move freely can be tricky. I have a Zodiac Pro Open 550. This is wider than most and has very big tubes, the extra buoyancy means it is officially rated for 11 people. But personally I have had 4 adults and 3 kids and that was a pretty packed boat!! with regards centre consoles I had a Bayliner Trophy 2352 before, primarily for fishing - was pre kids. This was a couple of years ago. It had a mercruiser 220HP engine. Sea keeping was exemplary as it was such a big boat and it was heavy (with fuel bills to match!). The centre console/walkaround style was good and I really liked being able to get to the front of the boat easily to fish from there, I even made it from the Holyhead (NW Wales) to Dun Laoighaire (nr Dublin) Ireland on its maiden voyage. That all said the fuel bills were eye watering, €300 for a simple day trip was not unusual. This was driven by it being petrol..... bad idea....and heavy. I sold it after a few years, because I didnt have time to use it, and mooring, storage, servicing and fuel were costing an eye watering amount for a boat i didnt use, and it helped pay for my wedding!!. That said I liked the boat and did look at getting a smaller one later. What changed was having kids. The RIB is so much safer and more stable. I first got a small Zodiac Futura with a 25HP engine this was the same size as yours. It was superb. I used it in Ireland to get the kids used to being out on the water (sailing is coming this summer). Last year we sold it and I bought the Pro Open 550 (second hand), for stability on the water with a family onboard and in the wilds of the west of Ireland where we have our holiday home it has, at least thus far, been brilliant. Towing Ringos etc it takes in its stride as it is so much more buoyant than a centre console. It is also with the suzuki 100hp much lighter on fuel. I would definitely get another RIB - If I lived in Florida - I might get a centre console for all the extra fishing I would do, but for UK and Ireland waters, the RIB is tops. My friends work on some of the bigger superyachts in the Med - they all have RIBs personally - that says it all. For me - with family the RIB wins - if I wanted to fish shark with big gaff hooks etc - I would have a centre console. Hope that helps JT

mikew4 · 02 February 2017, 22:49

No you don't necessarily need a 4x4.

Keep the car on the flat and use a tow rope.

Or perhaps a portable winch such as this:
4x4 Winches : Portable Winches for Towbar : Watling Engineers UK.

and also:
https://www.facebook.com/WatlingEngi...9173372449744/

I cant emphasise enough how useful front towbars are.

I had this fabricated for my trailer which also helps:
https://www.facebook.com/WatlingEngi...2886940745053/

(that's my boat and trailer in the video)

I have an XS 6.5m RIB with 150HP and it tows nicely behind my Sprinter based Motorhome, which has custom front and rear towbars fitted.

Xk59D · 03 February 2017, 08:38

I would forget the portable winch, been there and done that (I bought a 2500kg towbar winch and used it once). Just stick to the rope if you need it on a slipway you are not happy with.

mikew4 · 03 February 2017, 08:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xk59D

I would forget the portable winch, been there and done that (I bought a 2500kg towbar winch and used it once). Just stick to the rope if you need it on a slipway you are not happy with.

Why forget it? If you do not have the clear space to tow out using rope and vehicle is unsuitable for the slip, then winch is the only way*. After all, front mounted (and rear) towbars can be made for any vehicle.

(* well you could use block & tackle, hi-lift car jack but a lot of hassle)

Pikey Dave · 03 February 2017, 09:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikew4

Why forget it? If you do not have the clear space to tow out using rope and vehicle is unsuitable for the slip, then winch is the only way*. After all, front mounted (and rear) towbars can be made for any vehicle.

(* well you could use block & tackle, hi-lift car jack but a lot of hassle)

+1 used a winch many times over the years in tight spaces, also used them to recover a stuck vehicle & trailer off a beach. Ropes are ok if you have plenty of manoeuvring room as Mick & I did on Skye with a tricky launch. My next vehicle will be having a removable winch & watling front towbar fitted, in fact I'm just ordering the cable & Anderson plugs to install it[emoji106]

Xk59D · 03 February 2017, 10:09

I find they are too slow to be of any use with the loads and distances involved.

Towball mounted winches as you suggest only go upto about 2500lbs and then you need to get a bumper mounted job. I have the largest towbar winch they used to make, it may be more now but I'll let you check. even if you get 3500lbs now the limitation below still applies.

You are pulling a 6.5m boat that will be close to say 1300kg I guess including trailer so you are down at moving it 6-7ft a minute up what is likely a long slipway......you can do the maths how long it takes for your own slipway.

Most slipways even at high tide you are a couple of trailer lengths minimum to the flat, need to have more patience than me to winch that far.

If you think these will work for you then I'll sell you mine, used once

Pikey Dave · 03 February 2017, 10:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xk59D

They are too slow to be of any use with the loads and distances involved.

Towball mounted winches as you suggest only go upto about 2500lbs and then you need to get a bumper mounted job. I have the largest towbar winch they used to make, it may be more now but I'll let you check. even if you get 3500lbs now the limitation below still applies.

You are pulling a 6.5m boat that will be close to say 1300kg I guess including trailer so you are down at moving it 5-6ft a minute up what is likely a long slipway......you do the maths how long it takes for your own slipway. You are pulling close to 100 amps to do it so you won't be doing it long or winch will get warm. Mines was quite warm after maybe 5 mins so had to let it cool a little.

If you think these will work for you then I'll sell you mine, used once

I think we've been through this before, you are confusing dead weight with rolling load. My combo weighs around 1500kg, but I can move it by hand. I don't need a 1500kg/3000lb winch to shift it. I once recovered a boat & trailer 100m off a beach, yeah it was slow, but still faster than the incoming tide, which is all that matters.
BTW, what's the winch & how much? I could be interested.

Xk59D · 03 February 2017, 10:26

Not confusing dead weight with rolling load, it is sloooooow, I used it once and gave up after getting it halfway up the slip. I chalked it off and put a rope on it and winch has been in box since.

You are 2nd in queue to buy it, if that falls through I'll let you know.

It was a proper towbar winch kit I bought, I think it is this top one but it was a few years ago now so will check spec-

http://www.watling-towbars.co.uk/4x4_winches.html

Edit, yup it is that same kit I have.

beamishken · 03 February 2017, 13:18

A winch may be slow but it's preferable to going nowhere or even worse the car ending up in the drink
Even if only used occasionally it could be a lifesaver

Xk59D · 03 February 2017, 14:23

Car should be fine if you are at this stage, It is at the top of the slip on the end of the rope.

If you can't use the rope then of course you could go down winch route like I tried. YMMV from mine.

Fender · 03 February 2017, 14:43

You’ve got to laugh, OP wants advice on a certain spec / size of RIB and here we are ‘discussing’ slipways and winches, dead weights and rolling things………………….wake me up when we get back on topic

Last Tango · 03 February 2017, 17:50

OPs 3L Merc estate...... should do fine.
I never had any issue pulling my 6.5mtr up a slip with my old C220 No boot space for all my junk and piling it in the boat was going to push the trailer over the car's 1500Kg limit, that was the problem.
However the 6.5 mtr is rated at 1100Kg load but only for 7 people.

Pikey Dave · 03 February 2017, 18:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fender

You’ve got to laugh, OP wants advice on a certain spec / size of RIB and here we are ‘discussing’ slipways and winches, dead weights and rolling things………………….wake me up when we get back on topic

Actually, the OP did ask about the suitability of his current vehicle for towing/launching/recovering a bigger boat, even mooting a 4x4. In the big picture it's all pertinent. (IMHO naturally [emoji57])

Fender · 03 February 2017, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Actually, the OP did ask about the suitability of his current vehicle for towing/launching/recovering a bigger boat, even mooting a 4x4. In the big picture it's all pertinent. (IMHO naturally [emoji57])

You got to admit the tread started getting a bit of 'winch or not' willy waving

Bloke only wants to buy a bigger boat! Anyway, back on topic.......

willk · 03 February 2017, 20:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spot 48

...i fear getting stuck on wet slipways…do I need a 4x4 with this size of boat?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fender

Bloke only wants to buy a bigger boat! Anyway, back on topic.......

The bloke seems to have concerns about slipways that winching may address (or not, IMO). I'm happy that the discussion remains focused enough - by RIBnet standards anyway. Now, if there was an argument about the direction the thread was taking, or what defined "willy waving", then I may feel moved to provide clarification.