Hello (& help) on buying a RIB

[JMW]

Hi all,

After 12+ years of boat ownership in the Solent we have just sold our 36ft flybridge and now fancy a change.

To keep getting my boating fix I'd like to buy a RIB which will be stored in a local boatyard in Newhaven and used for evening and weekend run's and for going out with friends. Looking at the used market probably up to 10 or maybe 12 years old. Most of the time it will be me & wife or me and mate but it would be good to accommodate up to 6 adults occasionally.

The boatyard can 'probably' accommodate up to 6.5m but no problem with 6.0m so I am ideally looking at 6m but will push them for 6.5m if necessary.

I've been told (rightly or wrongly) the best out there for my type of requirement is probably Ribeye and there are a few 6m out there with 115hp Yamaha engines for around £22k to £25k aged around 2007 to 2010 and I don't want to pay any more than this and preferably less.

My initial questions are:

1. Are there particular marques that I should look for/avoid?
2. What makes a good RIB? We were told Ribeye rides the best and is therefore more comfortable and handles better
3. What should I be looking for on inspection?
4. Anything else I should be thinking about in terms of layout/style etc. i.e. are jockey seats better for stability or are they uncomfortable to use?

Many thanks for any help you can give!

Cheers,

Joe

[Pikey Dave]

That sounds top south coast money for a mid range 11-12yr old rig. If you’re after a leisure type layout, then Ribeye is probably going to be close to the top of any list. But be aware that the build quality has varied over the years depending on the fortunes of the company at the time. If you’re prepared to consider a more utilitarian layout, then your choice will widen. Boats will always involve compromise, either on size/HP/seakeeping/space/budget....etc. Buying used, will limit your choice to whatever is available, rather than what you ideally want.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by JMW

2. What makes a good RIB? We were told Ribeye rides the best and is therefore more comfortable and handles better

Many different things make a good rib, and they will be different for different people. Ribeye are certainly popular enough to have worked out the tick boxes for your sort of use. However I would treat with significant suspicion (as I suspect your post is doing) anyone who claims that one particular brand “rides” or “handles” best or provides more “comfort”. Even if a hull were truly a lot better than all the other competition at a particular size if you put a weaker engine on it, a helm who doesn’t know how to get the best from it, or load it up badly it could well handle a particular set of conditions worse than a supposedly worse brand.

Given most hull length variations are stretched versions of each other you might also suspect that some are closer to a sweet spot than others.