zodiac or Avon ?

[floater]

Hi All

after a bit of advise, basically after the weekend RIB Raid (which was great) the wife is coming round to the idea that a bigger RIB would allow us a greater scope of adventure and safety whilst still being managable

so as i usually do i will look at all the options, evaluate all the possibilities negotiate the best deals

then buy the first thing that i see !!

we think we like the med style boats and personally like the Avon 490 se/dl with a yam 100hp on the back or the Zodiac Medline with a 70hp poss yam again

there are a couple for sale on the net (although iam not ready to commit yet as probably need to see this season out ) Avons that is and a few of the zodiacs

my questions basically are

we want seats not jockeys as most of the time it will be used for family cruises but with the possibilities of a bit of extended use

what other options are there for good family RIBs

needs to fit in the garage (quite big as its a double but you coudnt get a bike in there at the moment

engines i have good experiance of Yams and they dont seem to have ever let me down (unlike hondas CRV's CDTI are a pile of poooooh and the most unreliable piece of mechanical crap ever to roll over the earth mainly on low loaders !)

i know that there are loads of others on the market and that budgets are paramount to the choice, not looking for brand new

i do like the look of the ribcrafts

has anybody any experiance or views on the Avon 490 dl and others

thanks Andy

[Hugh Jardon]

what sort of budget are you looking at?

[Andy_Rs600]

I think you'll be hard pressed to find a second hand RibCraft with a family type layout, most of them are commercial type layouts.

Have you thought about looking for something with a folding bolster/seat so you have something to sit on, and something to use if it's a bit rougher?

[LeewayComposite]

take a look on this website
http://www.leewayribs.co.uk

Excellent ribs at Excellent prices.

[Scotty]

Originally Posted by LeewayComposite

take a look on this website

Excellent ribs at Excellent prices.

Excellent plug

[UKPOWERBOAT]

Originally Posted by floater

we think we like the med style boats and personally like the Avon 490 se/dl with a yam 100hp on the back or the Zodiac Medline with a 70hp poss yam again

I used to have the Avon 580 dl sport, the one up from the 490, found it very spacious and so much storage, the 490 would have the same amount of storage as the only difference apart from the length is the 2 swivel seat for the driver and passenger next door. Those seats were very supportive and comfortable even in the chop. Also you very much sat inside it, we took our nephews out on it, aged 4 & 7 and felt very confident they were not going to fall out. Very good family boat.

[floater]

Originally Posted by LeewayComposite

take a look on this website
http://www.leewayribs.co.uk

Excellent ribs at Excellent prices.

i have had an eye on those but as i think i mentioned before where in the north on england do you get support ?

they do look nice

budget is not fixed but not stupid either (the wife will be getting new lounge and fire place first not like last year when fire place turned out to be a Avon adventure 400 ooopps but she came round) probably around 10k plus the avon

i still dont know of anybody who has one of the Avon 490 se dls



Thanks Andy

[floater]

Originally Posted by Nauti Buoy

I used to have the Avon 580 dl sport, the one up from the 490, found it very spacious and so much storage, the 490 would have the same amount of storage as the only difference apart from the length is the 2 swivel seat for the driver and passenger next door. Those seats were very supportive and comfortable even in the chop. Also you very much sat inside it, we took our nephews out on it, aged 4 & 7 and felt very confident they were not going to fall out. Very good family boat.

any reason that you changed to the RIBCRAFT 585 (which i do like but storage would be a problem ) ?

Andy

[UKPOWERBOAT]

Originally Posted by floater

any reason that you changed to the RIBCRAFT 585 (which i do like but storage would be a problem ) ?

Andy

Far softer ride, more stable at speed, plus wanted something a bit more rugged, and found the Ribcraft 585 to match. Plus I was looking to change to the 750 Sport and due to waiting time for production did not want to be boatless, so bought Robins 585 for the interim period.

[Polwart]

Originally Posted by floater

i have had an eye on those but as i think i mentioned before where in the north on england do you get support ?

I'm not sure (1) what level of support you think you will need. If the boat is built properly it shouldn't need much "aftercare". Probably the thing that needs looking aftersupport is the engine and any dealer should be able to do that. (2) do you actually find you get decent support from your local dealership for your avon/zodiac? I have always felt they knew very little, and were only interested in their commission for the sale - afterall they are sales people not boat builders.