Cobra Lovers

hard1 · 17 October 2005, 21:46

Since there are so few out there (but don't tell Dave Picton), I thought I'd share mine with you. She's earned good money for me these past 2 years so be nice......

Hugh Jardon · 17 October 2005, 21:48

post some more pics 4 us, front rear sides etc, inside

does look great

hard1 · 17 October 2005, 21:55

Hi Huge. Yes will do, when I take her out again, prob at the weekend. Notice the anti-seagull platform at the rear (disguised as an A frame). She was formerly owned by the 5th Scunthorpe Sea Rangers you know...

pressman · 17 October 2005, 22:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by hard1

Hi Huge. Yes will do, when I take her out again, prob at the weekend. Notice the anti-seagull platform at the rear (disguised as an A frame). She was formerly owned by the 5th Scunthorpe Sea Rangers you know...

Glad to here that we thought it was a former sas landing platform!!

Hugh Jardon · 17 October 2005, 22:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by hard1

Hi Huge. Yes will do, when I take her out again, prob at the weekend. Notice the anti-seagull platform at the rear (disguised as an A frame). She was formerly owned by the 5th Scunthorpe Sea Rangers you know...

are you sure it was not formally owned by the sas or sbs or cis......you never know

Hugh Jardon · 17 October 2005, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by hard1

Since there are so few out there (but don't tell Dave Picton), I thought I'd share mine with you. She's earned good money for me these past 2 years so be nice......

just had a chat with Dave and he is taking you off his christmas card list!!!!

he is going to send one of wales finest down to sort you out.....but they dont want him back....they will blow up the bridge if they have to.....he is ex sas,sbs, and goes by the code name......3.15.4.4.5.18.19

pressman · 17 October 2005, 22:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hugh Jardon

just had a chat with Dave and he is taking you off his christmas card list!!!!

he is going to send one of wales finest down to sort you out.....but they dont want him back....they will blow up the bridge if they have to.....he is ex sas,sbs, and goes by the code name......3.15.4.4.5.18.19

We know him, he's a mate of ours!

We can crack the code too!!

hard1 · 17 October 2005, 22:15

Noooooo not Dave! AAAAaaaaaarrrrggghhhhhhh! I'm outa here!

codprawn · 18 October 2005, 02:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by hard1

Since there are so few out there (but don't tell Dave Picton), I thought I'd share mine with you. She's earned good money for me these past 2 years so be nice......

I have always said they are good boats - but then again what would I know???

Nick Hearne · 18 October 2005, 08:09

Looks very nice, I also have always liked the look of Cobras!
Whats the ride like?

ADS · 18 October 2005, 11:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Looks very nice, I also have always liked the look of Cobras!
Whats the ride like?

The 7.5 Cobra I have driven is like a magic carpet -although i am used to a 4 metre

hard1 · 18 October 2005, 11:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Looks very nice, I also have always liked the look of Cobras!
Whats the ride like?

Very stable, quite wide & 'cos tubes at stern low almost in water althought the new ones are higher following latest trends, very stuffing resistant 'cos quite full in the bow tubes, deep forrard 'V' so tracks well, medium 'V' at stern so ride a bit hard in short chop, turns well. Good all rounder really. Looks 'pretty' which is quite important in the charter business. Good choice of pod or bench seats depending on weather. Can seat 14 if required. Fill in forrard 'V' gives 6' sun bed. etc etc. Just very different from latest pod filled boats. People sit IN this RIB not ON. Not only charter but makes a good family boat too. Feels like a boat. You know what I mean?

Rodan · 18 October 2005, 12:43

Who do you charter through? Thinking of putting mine up next season to cover some of the more irratating running costs...

Nick Hearne · 18 October 2005, 13:56

Yep, always thought they make great family friendly boats!
But I had heard some bad points about the ride!
Good to get some info from someone who runs one, although we all have the best Rib, don't we

Alan · 18 October 2005, 14:22

I did a bit of boating in a Cobra 7.5m in Suffolk/Essex over the past couple of years with Mark a buddy o mine. Ride was OK in moderate conditions but not a patch on a similarly sized Scorp for example. The medium V being the achillies heel. This particular boat was spectacularly stuffed in a short sharp sea in the Thames Estuary, because of too many passengers upfront riding on the sunpad. Broke the windscreen, filled the boat with water, lost mobiles & personal possessions and some scared passengers.

Arguably the crew should have been redistributed to better seating/weight balance as conditions deteriorated (it was a sunny fine day if a bit breezy). Thats not the boats fault. What was a concern was the rear seat moulding only has one or two small bore scuppers to enable water to drain through and out of the elephant trunks. When the boat was filled with water it could not be evacuated as quickly as you would want or as would happen on a boat without a full width moulding. In this instance not a major drama but in a serious sea offshore would be a concern for me.

Other than that, build quality and finish of this boat was excellent. They are good looking bits of kit for sure. Just not certain that they are serious offshore boats.

hard1 · 18 October 2005, 14:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rodin

Who do you charter through? Thinking of putting mine up next season to cover some of the more irratating running costs...

I am registered with most of the leading event companies plus I have product awareness of my own out there. I do work in teambuilding anyway so I do have some useful contacts. They like the newer boats and MCA coding although mine is locally coded. There is a lot of competition now compared with 5 years ago, but at least it's regulated (by MCA) and there's few cowboys left. It can be fun and best when you skipper yourself for max profitability. Fuel costs are not so much an issue as you might think!........

Boat size is min 7.5 metres and seating min for 10; (pods favoured) and usual suspects are: Ribtec, Ribcraft, Ballistic. Grey tubes are favoured as most easy to match with other makes. You will need full safety gear + waterproofs + coding so allow up to £1k extra for everything and then PB2 min with commercial endorsement, First Aid. So maybe another £500 there if not already qualied.

hard1 · 18 October 2005, 14:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

I did a bit of boating in a Cobra 7.5m in Suffolk/Essex over the past couple of years with Mark a buddy o mine. Ride was OK in moderate conditions but not a patch on a similarly sized Scorp for example. The medium V being the achillies heel. This particular boat was spectacularly stuffed in a short sharp sea in the Thames Estuary, because of too many passengers upfront riding on the sunpad. Broke the windscreen, filled the boat with water, lost mobiles & personal possessions and some scared passengers.

Arguably the crew should have been redistributed to better seating/weight balance as conditions deteriorated (it was a sunny fine day if a bit breezy). Thats not the boats fault. What was a concern was the rear seat moulding only has one or two small bore scuppers to enable water to drain through and out of the elephant trunks. When the boat was filled with water it could not be evacuated as quickly as you would want or as would happen on a boat without a full width moulding. In this instance not a major drama but in a serious sea offshore would be a concern for me.

Other than that, build quality and finish of this boat was excellent. They are good looking bits of kit for sure. Just not certain that they are serious offshore boats.

All good points and valid too. For the Solent and inshore, the boat is fine and gives a better (drier) ride than the Scorp, is more comfortable and stable. Offshore, you'll want a Scorpion but only if you are driving the boat hard. Most comments regarding any boats characteristics are made following severe use. I have been out with 8 clients in 45 knots of wind and a steep following sea and brought them home safe and dry in the Cobra. As for allowing the foredeck to be used in anything other than a flat calm, then that's plain inexperience. This goes for any make of RIB.Even occupied seat pods forrard of the console make things a tad unpleasant ride-wise. In a sea, you'll want the bow up not flattened by sun worshippers! As for flooding it and testing the "scuppers" - I don't. Agreed the medium 'V' makes for a harder ride, but it's faster too. Ever been out in a Ballistic? Faster AND harder! Finally, the Cobra suits me well as it is a "pretty" capable, comfortable corporate charter craft (!) If i was doing more "extreme" work though, I would be looking at something quite different.

Scary Des · 18 October 2005, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alan

........ only has one or two small bore scuppers to enable water to drain through and out of the elephant trunks. When the boat was filled with water it could not be evacuated as quickly as you would want ......

I think this is an issue with a lot of leisure style and inboard Ribs.

I’m not convinced that any real thought goes into the sizing or design of the drains and I think that we are being let down by the designer / builders.
An analogy for under sized drains would be to have a foot brake that stopped you fine while braking gently but failed during an emergency stop.
Without cuddy or foredeck Ribs take on more water when stuffed than an equivalent sized and powered hard boat so much more thought should go in to how the boat recovers

Des

hard1 · 18 October 2005, 16:29

True, but I am a bit puzzled as to how this has become a serious issue with (mainly) inshore boaters. If you work in the North Sea or are in Rescue, fine, but insurance and coding precludes me from going out above a certain wave height anyway. I have driven all kinds of boats for 40 years and never "stuffed" one ever. I have seen a RIB stuffed into the overfalls off Hurst and washed a few punters backwards and flooded the boat, but that was purely the drivers fault. But that's the only one I can think of in the last 8 years at least. Why would you want a winch on the front bumper of your people mover if you were a taxi driver? RIBS are inherently safer than hardboats anyway. You could drive a hardboat under until it never recovered.

I am not arguing against you here, merely debating what RIB designers should include on all RIBS as standard? Are they funboats or workboats? The trouble is, we the punters take leisure boats and use them as workboats and then complain they don't do the job right! A RIB with restricted rearwards water flow and without 3" trunks and 2 pumps will take longer to bail, that's all. It won't be any "less safe" per ce. Provided the engine is not flooded it will move forward at a speed to eject water through gravity. As regards the Cobra for example, even if there were no "scuppers" you could never bail out a boatload quickly enough to stop the stern sinking beneath the weight of water. If the water were restricted from completely flowing rearwards then the boat's balance is maintained while the water flows back in a controlled manner. Just how quickly would 3" trunks eject a boatload? I reckon at a speed that would not be affected by the "scupper" arrangement in a Cobra, as the trunks operate out of a sump, not the RIB floor. In fact the arrangement on a Cobra may well be safer than a completely open deck with a flat floor. So, the only difference would be in where the water lies while it waits to be ejected.

This thread should be moved now I think. It is an interesting subject though. I have always thought the best design was a "skeleton" transom that is open to the sea and sloped down to the water level. Er, did anyone mention Ocean Dynamics?

codprawn · 18 October 2005, 17:17

No transom is definitely the best bet - the Ocean Dynamics boats can shift 2 tons of water in seconds - no scuppers could ever match that!!!

There is one interesting school of thought that has been debated on here before. That is that a waterlogged boat become instantly a lot more stable - a RIB full of water still won't sink but because it's sitting so low it will never flip either - bit like a submerged railway sleeper!!!