Delta ribs, any good??

chrisangus · 25 August 2009, 18:11

Hi, thinking of buying a Delta 5.5m rib with Mercury 125hp.

I've mainly been looking at Tornado and Humber but this one looks well, it's about a 1994 and the motor is about four years old.

Are Delta any good?

chewy · 25 August 2009, 18:14

Most of the enclosed wheel house daughter craft I have seen offshore have been Deltas. Well made boats. I think one of the reps from Delta posts on here.

The other two your looking at are good boats too although production of later Tornadoes was moved to China, make your own mind up about that?

codprawn · 25 August 2009, 18:49

Is the Pope a Catholic???

Maximus · 25 August 2009, 19:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Is the Pope a Catholic???

He may be now,when he was younger........?

boomer · 25 August 2009, 19:32

Deltas are very good boats, the Irish Naval Service operates a fair pile of them (exact numbers are needless to say hard to confirm, the Delta rep may be able to say) but they stand up extremely well to the punishment that is metted out to them by the Atlantic Ocean while they are out on patrol.

A good endorsement is that the Irish Naval Service ordered more and is in the process of refurbishing 6 of the original batch.

Poly · 25 August 2009, 21:34

what are your criteria for good? e.g. speed, comfort, rough water handling, dry ride, build quality, fuel efficiency, aesthetic styling etc. All boats have to compromise on some of these. If you want the mix that Delta specialise in then they have a good reputation but otherwise you might find something more suited.

severncoxswain · 26 August 2009, 15:18

Delta's are great boats esspicialy for rougher weather as far as am aware! Most of the Police Forces use Delta's but with twin engines!

eilean mor · 26 August 2009, 15:26

I'm with Polwart on this, you need to decide what it is you want - its all a compromise, and deciding whats most important,
so general answer, yes Delta's are probably very good, but as with all things, it might have had a hard life, or a really quiet one,
the design features are what will separate those choices out - narrow down what is right for you

chris.

CJL · 26 August 2009, 17:29

One of the best Ribs on the market if you ask me!!

ribdraft · 27 August 2009, 01:44

most days i'm out cruising its with a delta5.5, ones my brothers and the other is a friend, one has a 90 hp on and the other 115 yam same engine as my own , i've a 5.85 ribcraft and a ribcraft fan, but have to say the delta is great sea boat,the bigger the sea the better, in a following sea i won't be able to keep up with either [big raised noise], there dry and very quick, [tubes don't touch the water] they are very tuff and well made,. down side for me is set up, there narrow, [even the 6.5] so console are usaully single 3 in a row and even with that there is not that much space and no storage ,can be a bit un stable , [thats the tube thing ] and price. there expensive, usually . hope thats some help

tonka · 27 August 2009, 04:33

i used to own a 5.5 with a 140hp on it , used it for diving one of the best ribs i have owned,

chewy · 27 August 2009, 06:12

I think it was in RIB International that one of the writes said the 5.5m Delta with a 150hp on was one of the best RIBs he'd Skippered due to been able to place it exactly where he wanted.

MarkWildey · 27 August 2009, 06:54

My first boat was a 6m Delta 'X' and it was a fantastic boat. As has been mentioned in previous posts many profesional bodeies use them because they are built to withstand a hard working environment.

I did many miles in mine and never felt that the boat would let me down.

On the negitive side they are a wet and hard ride, compared to other boats. The wiring on mine was very poor but this I don't think is unique to Delta and over the last 20 years things have improved a lot.

Regards

Mark

matt h · 27 August 2009, 07:19

i looked at that that one on e bay, the boats are fantastic but the engine that seemed to be a problem, i went on a Mercury usa forum and it seems to be a troublesome engine, rarely runs right, out of tune quickly and can drink quicker that you can fill it up were some of the comments on the 125 two stroke, anyone ever had one?

Poly · 27 August 2009, 07:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkWildey

On the negitive side they are a wet and hard ride, compared to other boats.

Someone else (who should be well place to comment) said that to me too... but then:

Quote:

Originally Posted by ribdraft

there dry and very quick

MarkWildey · 27 August 2009, 08:39

Feeling a little nostalgic about my Delta so I've dragged out a couple of photo's, and converted them from sepia to colour.

The first one shows what ribdraft was saying about the nose being very prominent and the tubes being clear of the water. I have stuffed ( big time ) the Delta, but it's much harder too than compared with other RIBS's.

ribdraft · 27 August 2009, 13:43

i'm only comparing the 5.5 to boats of its own size, you can stuff any boat, last outing i had i stuffed rather big, ripped the tubes back 1 metre either sides from the noise, had to limp to nearest slip way to get trailered back leaving the older delta's and redbay to carry on, ? i just think for its size it has to be one off the best boats out there, haven't heard any thing good about the engine, wouldn't be a fan

chrisangus · 27 August 2009, 14:39

Thanks for the heads, mostly positive

chewy · 27 August 2009, 14:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by ribdraft

i'm only comparing the 5.5 to boats of its own size, you can stuff any boat, last outing i had i stuffed rather big, ripped the tubes back 1 metre either sides from the noise, had to limp to nearest slip way to get trailered back leaving the older delta's and redbay to carry on, ? i just think for its size it has to be one off the best boats out there, haven't heard any thing good about the engine, wouldn't be a fan

What boat did the tubes come off?

ribdraft · 27 August 2009, 15:37

585 ribcraft, yes a ribcraft!!!! oh the shame