Drying/mud berth

[JMW]

Evening,

I am Solent based and may be offered a pontoon/finger berth which dries out. It has access for around 4 hours either side of high tide.

Obviously it will mean limited access and I will need to antifoul the hull. I suspect this will be from April to September with the rest of the time stored on her trailer.

So my question is, as long as I lift the leg, is there any problem with leaving my RIB in the water for this length of time and sitting in the mud for several hours a day?

She is not new but in good order and I would like to keep her that way so want to be mindful of the pitfalls!

Thanks in advance for any shared wisdom.

Joe

[Dry Run]

I think you may regret that5 decision if you want to keep your Rib looking half-decent. We lift and pressure wash many ribs that are kept on moorings and I can tell you that the ones that sit on the mud suffer from heavy staining to the hull - even through the antifoul, barnacles and weed and it will wreck your tubes (where they sit in the water/on the mud.

[Fender]

Originally Posted by Dry Run

I think you may regret that5 decision if you want to keep your Rib looking half-decent. We lift and pressure wash many ribs that are kept on moorings and I can tell you that the ones that sit on the mud suffer from heavy staining to the hull - even through the antifoul, barnacles and weed and it will wreck your tubes (where they sit in the water/on the mud.

+1

I'd pay the extra and dry sail, if your budget doesn't stretch that far trailer her

[JMW]

Thanks. Suspected this would be the answer but kinda hoped it would be the opposite!

[HDAV]

Put it on a floating dock aqua block job? They can be picked up for reasonable prices if you Can collect may be a few coming out soon and always a few when fees are due......

Like these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274429772298

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Put it on a floating dock aqua block job? They can be picked up for reasonable prices if you Can collect may be a few coming out soon and always a few when fees are due......

Like these
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274429772298

I thought the same except a DIY job, floating bunks or something.

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by Limecc

I thought the same except a DIY job, floating bunks or something.

Lemonade bottles?

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by GuyC

Lemonade bottles?

Good call
Four 50 gallon polypropylene drums attached to some sort of wood frame that holds it all together.

[Dry Run]

Originally Posted by GuyC

Lemonade bottles?

You'll have to empty the petrol out first

[ribber]

Originally Posted by Dry Run

You'll have to empty the petrol out first

He didn't literally mean, blow it out the water

[treerat]

marketplace had one of the scissor lift style up for grabs earlier in the week - be worth looking to see if it's still there.

Off the mud and out the water would be my first choice.

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by Limecc

I thought the same except a DIY job, floating bunks or something.

Do able might be a bit of a challenge to make stable enough would need to be part submerged yet buoyant enough...... needs some maths and thinking

[GuyC]

The benefit of the block type arrangement is you have a lot of volume. A 6m x 3m dock would support a 1.8 tonne RIB and only sink by around 100mm. This means you can drive on and off them and the draught of them doesn't really change.

If you go for a frame work and floats, then you start to need the ability to pump water out or air in to get them to rise enough to get the boat out of the water. There's also a stability aspect that you need to consider. Whilst it's do-able, the block method is simpler.

[Limecc]

Originally Posted by HDAV

Do able might be a bit of a challenge to make stable enough would need to be part submerged yet buoyant enough...... needs some maths and thinking

Assuming there's enough buoyancy in 200 gallons displacement, just fill each barrel equally with water until submerged to the correct level and seal the containers.

After docking probably best to use stainless ratchet straps to fix boat to frame to make them one unit.

Bigger ribs might need 6 barrels, or 8 etc

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by Limecc

Assuming there's enough buoyancy in 200 gallons displacement, just fill each barrel equally with water until submerged to the correct level and seal the containers.

After docking probably best to use stainless ratchet straps to fix boat to frame to make them one unit.

Bigger ribs might need 6 barrels, or 8 etc

That’s what I thought initially...... but think there may be more to it, calculate the mass required to keep the assembly low enough in the water to the get the hull on, then pour concrete into the barrels then top up with foam. It’s basically a cradle that floats but keeps hull clear of the mud when tide is out .......

[lakelandterrier]

Also think about how it will be secured. Most drive on docks are tethered to pontoons to keep them straight and provide resistance against the considerable force of the boat driving on. If tied to a single buoy, won't the RIB just push it around?