Hello from Hong Kong.

[marky116hk]

Hi all

I have found the forum great I have learnt the difference between a sib, rib and FRIB just to start. I am based in Hong Kong and arrived here 12 months ago from sunny portsmouth in the uk. Im looking to buy a rib here but there are few and far between as there is not a 2nd hand market. As a result I'm looking to ship one over from the uk as its about a grand sterling for shipping forty ft container.

Looking at 6 -6.5 and will be kept on a floating dock. Slip ways and trailers here don't exist, marinas are very expensive and so are dry docks. Can I ask why there are so many used 5 metre ribs for sale and not so many over 6 metres in the lower prices ranges?

I have also looked at buying new from china but the good makes are again out of my price range. Is 10,000 pound realistically going to buy me a rib with tubes with healthy life span on them. Not sure I could get it retubed here? Grew up pottering around on an Avon straight backed yellow ringed rib with a seagulls engine on the back, but hoping for little more this time around with my own kids any help or advice is very welcome back in Portsmouth for 6 weeks from the 30th June so will be looking then.

Just to add the more I read the harder the decision gets, rib,sib or frib?

[GuyC]

Welcome to the forum. I suspect HK has changed a fair amount in the nearly fifty years since I lived there, much more so than Pompey, which co-incidentally is where I live now.

How much leisure boating is there over there? What do the leisure boaters use - are they RIB's or hard boats? I'm only asking because you might find that the location is better for one rather than the other. I'd imagine tubes would have a hard life in the HK sun.

£10k sounds at the low end of the budget required for a 6m+ RIB, particularly one with decent tubes and, I guess, a decent engine.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by marky116hk

Hi all



I have found the forum great I have learnt the difference between a sib, rib and FRIB just to start. I am based in Hong Kong and arrived here 12 months ago from sunny portsmouth in the uk. Im looking to buy a rib here but there are few and far between as there is not a 2nd hand market. As a result I'm looking to ship one over from the uk as its about a grand sterling for shipping forty ft container.



Looking at 6 -6.5 and will be kept on a floating dock. Slip ways and trailers here don't exist, marinas are very expensive and so are dry docks. Can I ask why there are so many used 5 metre ribs for sale and not so many over 6 metres in the lower prices ranges?



I have also looked at buying new from china but the good makes are again out of my price range. Is 10,000 pound realistically going to buy me a rib with tubes with healthy life span on them. Not sure I could get it retubed here? Grew up pottering around on an Avon straight backed yellow ringed rib with a seagulls engine on the back, but hoping for little more this time around with my own kids any help or advice is very welcome back in Portsmouth for 6 weeks from the 30th June so will be looking then.



Just to add the more I read the harder the decision gets, rib,sib or frib?

Re the number of 5m v 6m RIBs.
The 5m class, 5-585m is the most popular size in the UK, easy to tow/launch/store. Hence the second hand market has more available. 6m+ & you’re into larger tow vehicles, dry stack or keeping afloat = more cost.

Given your problems with storage & launching, and that you want to “potter” about, I’d be considering a decent sized SIB, which I’m sure could be sourced locally without the faff of shipping half way around the world.
Just my two penneth.

[marky116hk]

As you can imagine there is everything here speedboats to junks and super yachts . The locals use a deep hull open top fibre glass boats that come in a variety of lengths. They used for fishing transport etc but you really have to balance them out and they are rocky when still.

Thanks you for your replies to my questions, the big one regarding uv has been a concern, how much can you counter act this through a good cover and treatments ? People have told me glue comes apart?

In relation to budget I was afraid that you may say that it’s not enough , it will get used most of the year so is it worth spending more but there’s no point if you can’t address the uv issue. how do they cope in Europe, Australia etc …

I have though if a frib but unsure of the capability with a family and those small tubes in a rough or choppy sea

[Trello]

Markey, the largest FRIB is 4.2 m, so much smaller than the 6m + size you are looking for.

I have a 3.6 m FRIB, and it is easily comfortable for 4 of us. It is rated for 4, but I think it could accommodate 6 at a squeeze.

[beamishken]

In all honesty if you want 5m+ your probably best looking at a local hard boat imho 10k wont buy you a 5m+ rib with much life left in it in your location. The best uv protection I've seen is an all over set of covers that stay permanently fastened to the top of the tubes, not glued but strapped or buckled on which protectsthe top of the tubes from uv & wear etc . You wont get an frib that size & imho they are the worst of both worlds, as expensive as a proper rib, hulls tend to be compromised by the need to fold & they dont fold as well as a sib it would be the bottom of my list tbh . You do see some larger sibs which may be a decent option as they tend to be a lot cheaper but they do tend to become a bit jelly mould like as they get bigger but when not in use they can fold into a pretty small package which may make transport a lot cheaper. Obviously the larger the sib the bigger the engine you need which then becomes a problem to handle when packing the boat away. A 10k 5.5-6.5m rib will be fairly old with probably an older engine which may be an issue. My thoughts are if theres a reasonable market for used local style hard boats then you may be better off trying a local style boat & see what its like to live with & if you find its not to your likeing then it should be reasonably easy to resell without too much financial loss. If ribs aren't very popular in the area then repairers etc may be difficult to find if you do have issues

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by marky116hk

Hi all



I have found the forum great I have learnt the difference between a sib, rib and FRIB just to start. I am based in Hong Kong and arrived here 12 months ago from sunny portsmouth in the uk. Im looking to buy a rib here but there are few and far between as there is not a 2nd hand market. As a result I'm looking to ship one over from the uk as its about a grand sterling for shipping forty ft container.



Looking at 6 -6.5 and will be kept on a floating dock. Slip ways and trailers here don't exist, marinas are very expensive and so are dry docks. Can I ask why there are so many used 5 metre ribs for sale and not so many over 6 metres in the lower prices ranges?



I have also looked at buying new from china but the good makes are again out of my price range. Is 10,000 pound realistically going to buy me a rib with tubes with healthy life span on them. Not sure I could get it retubed here? Grew up pottering around on an Avon straight backed yellow ringed rib with a seagulls engine on the back, but hoping for little more this time around with my own kids any help or advice is very welcome back in Portsmouth for 6 weeks from the 30th June so will be looking then.



Just to add the more I read the harder the decision gets, rib,sib or frib?

I’m struggling with the fact that you can’t seem to source a RIB locally. There are plenty of Chinese made RIBs & SIBS available here in the UK. Australia also seems to be a big market. I’d have thought that picking one up in HK would be a doddle.

[willk]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I’m struggling with the fact that you can’t seem to source a RIB locally.

You reckon they'd have some Spare RIBs somewhere?

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by willk

You reckon they'd have some Spare RIBs somewhere?

Boom![emoji23]

[marky116hk]

Hi don't get me wrong you can purchase new ribs here from Europe and china in Hong Kong e.g highfield, AB Zodiac etc .... AB also have factory in Thailand I believe however shipping is not that much different from Australia or uk. My main problem is that there is not a used market to here to lower the cost of purchase. However if I'm upping the cost maybe I start to think new. I know people rate highlands and leeway but these are still pretty pricy. Members have warned against purchasing unknown makes of Chinese.

I have met some expats that have been here 30 years who originally bought some ribs from SA but they are dying. They are also looking for replacements but the cost is prohibitive. Feel like I need to go back and think again and get back on the internet, heart says rib but logic needs to prevail. Thanks for all your advise keep it coming

modelshttps://yacht.holimood.com/photo/property/d0b46ef5c650bc4f945d36a9d7a4c51753d228c9.jpg

This is a typical local boat, maybe my solution is to make this a bit more comfy. I have also spoken to the owner of zoom ribs a commercial touring business however he keeps every thing inside which is big money. thanks Mark

[marky116hk]

sorry link for pic should be
https://yacht.holimood.com/photo/pro...1753d228c9.jpg

[marky116hk]

dear all can you tell me what hull this is thanks mark