China Made Ribs

[Pikey Dave]

I thought CE stood for Chinese Export

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I thought CE stood for Chinese Export

IIRC If it comes from China, it does. It's not quite the same design as a CE mark.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

IIRC If it comes from China, it does. It's not quite the same design as a CE mark.

I was being facesh...faceshu...faesheesu....sarky[emoji6]

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I was being facesh...faceshu...faesheesu....sarky[emoji6]

You hit the nail on the head though there is a ce mark which Chinese companies put on & stands for Chinese export as opposed to conform europe .
You can almost guarantee if it has a ce mark and it comes from china direct or from Ebay resellers then it's not a genuine ce mark.
Unless your dealing with a bonafide European based distributor or importer you can almost guarantee Chinese goods will have fake ce marks. & wouldnt comply with a proper ce certification

[SimonCh]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

I thought CE stood for Chinese Export

No, no. It's "Chinese Engineering"

[ShadowDiver]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

>>>CE marks as well, the stickers are quite cheap!


That was exactly my thought.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_f...acat=0&_sop=15

That sticker will definitely make your boat compliant

[intrepid_rib]

Originally Posted by ShadowDiver

That sticker will definitely make your boat compliant

Update on this. The boat arrived in a big box and I’ve spent the last month or so rigging it up. This weekend I took it out for its first run on a local river rather than coast as the engine was a £750 eBay job which I rebuilt so wanted to make sure it was all running properly (which it is).

I’m very happy with the boat. Some things I noticed which possibly differ from a branded or locally made RIB are:

- Some of the Gel Coat doesn’t have the same super high gloss sheen that might expect from a new boat. I expect it’ll polish up though although I haven’t tried as it’s still shiny and the issue is only in some localised areas and really doesn’t bother me that much.
- Some of the mastic work is not as neat as you might expect, but still fine and again not an issue, just me being super critical.

The teak is beautiful. The trailer feels super solid and tows well (comes flat packed and took a couple of hours to build).

The PVC tube material feels strong and is 1.2mm thickness.

Cushions are comfortable and feel well made. They pop into place on poppers.

The stainless rails/arch are neatly welded and feel firm. There is also a handy ski tow line which is solid and goes all the way down into the keel.

I’ve rigged it up with;

- Suzuki DF50. 450 hours. Bought on eBay with a dead high pressure fuel pump, blown head gasket and pitted valves causing low compression. Rebuilt now and running like new. Fitted brand new controls and cables.
- Ruddersafe. Designed to give control at low speeds (so makes the RIB useable on rivers without the annoying weave problem). It really works so I highly recommend it for anyone who has this issue.
- Raymarine 49E flush mounted
- Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro, flush mounted
- JBL Marine speakers hooked up to a Bluetooth marine head unit (another AliBaba special!)
- Twin 110 AH leisure batteries with selector switch
- Fuel/trim gauges and Tach.
- Blue LED deck lights
- USB charge point
- Number plate light (not provided on the trailer so probably not law as it is in the U.K. in China).

I’m going to put up some YouTube videos at some point to show the unboxing/set up which I can post a link to on here (if I’m allowed) if anyone is interested. If anyone has any questions on it I’ll happily respond as I quite like talking about it!


Attachment 137960

[SimonCh]

Originally Posted by intrepid_rib

Update on this. The boat arrived in a big box and I’ve spent the last month or so rigging it up. This weekend I took it out for its first run on a local river rather than coast as the engine was a £750 eBay job which I rebuilt so wanted to make sure it was all running properly (which it is).

I’m very happy with the boat. Some things I noticed which possibly differ from a branded or locally made RIB are:

- Some of the Gel Coat doesn’t have the same super high gloss sheen that might expect from a new boat. I expect it’ll polish up though although I haven’t tried as it’s still shiny and the issue is only in some localised areas and really doesn’t bother me that much.
- Some of the mastic work is not as neat as you might expect, but still fine and again not an issue, just me being super critical.

The teak is beautiful. The trailer feels super solid and tows well (comes flat packed and took a couple of hours to build).

The PVC tube material feels strong and is 1.2mm thickness.

Cushions are comfortable and feel well made. They pop into place on poppers.

The stainless rails/arch are neatly welded and feel firm. There is also a handy ski tow line which is solid and goes all the way down into the keel.

I’ve rigged it up with;

- Suzuki DF50. 450 hours. Bought on eBay with a dead high pressure fuel pump, blown head gasket and pitted valves causing low compression. Rebuilt now and running like new. Fitted brand new controls and cables.
- Ruddersafe. Designed to give control at low speeds (so makes the RIB useable on rivers without the annoying weave problem). It really works so I highly recommend it for anyone who has this issue.
- Raymarine 49E flush mounted
- Raymarine Dragonfly 5 Pro, flush mounted
- JBL Marine speakers hooked up to a Bluetooth marine head unit (another AliBaba special!)
- Twin 110 AH leisure batteries with selector switch
- Fuel/trim gauges and Tach.
- Blue LED deck lights
- USB charge point
- Number plate light (not provided on the trailer so probably not law as it is in the U.K. in China).

I’m going to put up some YouTube videos at some point to show the unboxing/set up which I can post a link to on here (if I’m allowed) if anyone is interested. If anyone has any questions on it I’ll happily respond as I quite like talking about it!

Attachment 137967
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Attachment 137962Attachment 137963Attachment 137965

Thanks for the update! I've been wondering how you were getting on. Would you mind sharing in the end were there any unexpected costs/issues that cropped up? There was great discussion about shipping costs at the time.

It's a really nice looking boat, will be interested to see how she holds up in the chop, and over the years!

Si

[Orwell boy]

Thanks for the update ,certainly looks nice ,its a very interesting thought if it can get more people on the water at a good price , which will only encourage boating in the future ,i suspect if managed correctly it will create more sales for the established uk manufacturers as people aspire to more ambitious activities in the future
I suspect there will be lots of disguised offerings from uk traders at the southampton boat show this year ,both ribs and the well accepted sibs !

Few final numbers may well prove interesting , thanks for interesting facts !

[Fenlander]

The update makes a very interesting read. Particularly impressed at the rescuing of a motor that could have been broken for spares at that price and now a good runner... well done.

[5M1T]

I've just taken delivery of a 4.5m aluminium hulled RIB, also bought direct from a chinese company (Lianya Industries, in my case). It was bought as an upgrade to a 4.3m SIB. It's still getting rigged up, so comments of ability on the water, but it appears to be well made - welds aren't super neat, but contiguous, tubes are good, whole thing is neat, and well presented. 1.2mm PVC, fuel tank built into the bow box, as requested, transom beefed up, and very pleasant dealing with the company representative. Didn't get the chance to inspect one in person, but got in contact with a few people in Australia who owned one, including for several years, and they were all happy.

Cost of the hull itself, with shipping, was about AUD4'700.
Taxes at import $550
Customs broker, to handle details this side, $125.
And port charges, about $1'800.
Delivery of the crated boat to my house -$250

All up, about $7500, with a lead time of about 4 months.

Prior to buying it, I'd enquired about purchasing a Highfield, within Australia, and was quoted 18'000 dollars for a bare 4.6m hull, with a similar lead time - not including shipping delivery charges.

So, the upside to me for buying direct, was, in addition to the 11k savings (which is handily paying for the new engine - Honda DF50 tiller), a great deal more customisability, layout and frivolous (even if it changes nothing about the handling, it was a great deal of fun to be able to choose colours and patterns of striping and the like).

That being said, it's not perfect, and I've already identified a few modifications I'll be making (seals on bow boxes, the latches are a bit rubbish and I'll be replacing them), but they're all small things, and I do enjoy tinkering with my toys.

Hopefully I'll get it registered and on the water in the next few weeks, on a day that's not pissing rain.



If anyone's interested, I'll get some photos, or if there's anything specific they're curious about, happy to take a look.

[Jameslong]

Hello Intrepid Rib. I have sent you a Private Message

[HuD_91gt]

Appreciate the updates from both of you! Keep us updated with whatever you find out. I’ve been watching these Chinese rib threads for years but never joined until now. Ha

[5M1T]

Guess I'll finally get around to posting these. Got sent away by work for a few months a few days after getting the engine installed, and have only gotten her out in the last 2 weeks.

The A-frame is an aftermarket install. Rocking a 50HP Honda.

So in addition to the previous small niggles (latches being a bit underwhelming, and lack of seal on bow boxes), I've identified a few others.

The soft handles are a little uncomfortable if you're sitting midship at speed, they're slightly too wide and stiff for comfort.

The flooring is quite slippery once wet, despite looking like it should provide good grip.

It likes to stick its nose in the air at around 8 knots, which usually wouldn't be much of an issue, but that happens to be the speed limit for a lot of the river I take it on socially. That being said, it's manageable by sitting on the tube, or having a passenger spot from the nose.

Not fantastic at cutting the chop at slow speeds, slaps around a bit, which ties into that speed limit issue, no trouble at higher speeds.

The elephant trunks were initially a pain in the arse. (mostly operator error ), but I'm getting the hang of them, and liking them more and more. Was looking at one way valves, but my research suggests that's more trouble then it's worth.


Cruises at about 20knots. WOT of just under 30. Fuel tank is a bit over 50L, in the bow box.

So far I'm incredibly happy with it. It's been a blast, and I'm looking at making it's first major run in 2 weeks, to Rottnest Island, assuming the weather continues the way it has been.

[ausaviator]

I didn't realise this thread had moved until I spotted the reply today, otherwise I probably would have commented again earlier.

My Chinese imported RIB is going well from HaoHai in Qingdao, China.

About 35 hours on it now. Would have been more if we weren't in the most locked down city in the world.

20 knots at 10.5 litres per hour.
Max speed 33 knots (It could go faster with a different prop, however hull maximum speed is around 34 knots, so I left a slightly coarse prop on it to keep the RPM and fuel usage down). It maxes at 5,100rpm and top end RPM for the engine is 5,600 to 5,800.

Overall, we are very happy with the boat. It does everything that I would expect it to. It's holding up well as expected, nothing has broken or broken off it and I'm very impressed with the Mercury 80hp 4-stroke. It's ultra quiet (as you can tell from the video below were we are zipping along with the Zodiac with the Evinrude 90. You can see in the video that up the front of my boat you can't even hear our engine at speed and when the Evinrude goes past you can hear it buzzing away quite loudly).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHuAwKsRhRo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtWtp2xKSr0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzlUI652rm8

[HuD_91gt]

Appreciate the replies guys! Been patiently waiting. I may jump on one of these to replace my little bow rider!

[intrepid_rib]

Originally Posted by HuD_91gt

Appreciate the replies guys! Been patiently waiting. I may jump on one of these to replace my little bow rider!

I made a short video on the arrival of my Chinese RIB. Will be making a couple more when I get some time over the winter;

https://youtu.be/X8kyWExRKkU

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by intrepid_rib

I made a short video on the arrival of my Chinese RIB. Will be making a couple more when I get some time over the winter;

https://youtu.be/X8kyWExRKkU

Good video. That trailer looks a substantial bit of kit!
Look forward to seeing more vids and your on the water reviews.

[Gwilkes]

Originally Posted by intrepid_rib

I made a short video on the arrival of my Chinese RIB. Will be making a couple more when I get some time over the winter;

https://youtu.be/X8kyWExRKkU

Very interesting post looking forward to the next video. That trailer certainly looks good quality well done for having the courage to take the plunge

[Salty Pete]

[QUOTE=5M1T;838569]




Hopefully I'll get it registered and on the water in the next few weeks, on a day that's not pissing rain.

At least the dams are nearly full.