FAmily Rib?

[Lindow]

I am looking for a rib that I can use for my family with safety.

The Main area of use will be North Wales.

My child is two years old - is this too young for a rib?

Any ideas? I would like to pay no more than £7-8K

PS I am RYA Skipper Certified with lots of hours on dinghies and Cats and many hours on 35ft plus yachts

[Simon Guest]

I'm planning to do something similar - except I have 3 kids, who will be 2, 4, and 6 next season. I've found that everyone has a different opinion about this. Having listened to lots of different views, here's my conclusion (aka personal opinion!)

I'm trying to fit 2 adults and 3 small children safely in a reliable RIB that won't cost too much (whatever that means), and will be easy to handle.

Reliable means I don't want to buy a second hand engine.

Safe means everyone has a proper seat. Bench seating is no good, with respect to bouncing off sideways (over the side). So, it has to be one long jockey seat. An adult seated at the back can brace against the back rest, put their arms around the two smallest children immediately in front of them, and everyone is safe.

Cost and handling (and e.g. tow behind a family saloon) mean no more than 5m.

Engines: 4 stroke desirable, as quieter, cleaner, and more efficient. 4 stroke engines get much more expensive above 50-60hp.

So, I've narrowed my options down to a Humber 5.0 Assault, or a Ribcraft 4.8. Both probably with a Mercury/Mariner 60hp 4 stroke (but I just heard there's a new Yamaha 60hp 4 stroke which must be worth a look). Seating is the key - but a single long-enough jockey seat can be done by both these. Suggest you contact the manufacturers direct. Cost is slightly above what you had in mind, but with the Humber, not that much more.

(The other reason that I'm thinking to buy new is that I've seen almost nothing around second hand with suitable seating.)

Comments welcome!

(I've been listening in these forums for some time now, learning a huge amount, so thanks to all the regulars here for the informative discussion.)

cheers,
Simon

[Garygee]

Hi Simon

I recently (well 10 months ago now) went through the same route.

Have two kids 5 and 9 and two adults, myself and wife. Went for a Ribcraft 4.8. After talking to Mark at Ribcraft he managed to get a single helm seat and a double jockey seat in line (just).
The kids and wife sit wife at back the the youngest then the eldest. While this works quite well ther are a few things to think about.

The eldest has caught her mouth a few times on the back handle at the rear of the helm seat.
Holding onto the yougest means the wife cannot hold on to anything.
This arrangement does put the weight at the rear of the boat.

I have made a sort of foam deck at the bow, built up form lots of foam sleepting mats stuck toghther and the kids pick this every time over the seat. Soft the sit/kneel on with rope handles to hold onto.This keeps then in sight and if it gets rough enough to be a problem with them there, the kids dont want to go out anyway.
One thing I have tried is having people on the tubes which does not work verywell.

The other thing is I have a 50Hp 4 stroke which is fine but put one extra adult on board and it becomes quite marginal and if you plan to keep the boat for any time kids only get bigger!.

Hope this gives you some thought I think i made the right choice but totaly agree that bench seats are NOT the answer for kids.


Regards Gary

[geoff]

We started on RIBs with two boys aged 7 and 9 and I would be very cautious with children any younger unless you are planning to stay in sheltered waters. We had a couple of cut lips and bruises in the early days because they forget to hang on and you cant watch them all the time. Also one bad experience can put a child off for life so my advice is to take it very easy to start off with. Having said that we have a great time in the RIB and wouldn't give it up for anything.

[nreid]

Garygee, can you say more about the performance of the 50 4-stroke on your 4.8 ribcraft. With how much load is the 50 perfectly adaquate? Any idea of speeds with various loads? Thanks. I'm trying to get some performance data on the 4.8/50 HP combo, as I'm thinking seriously of purchasing same. Do other users have data?? We're a family of four and all fairly big!

Nick

[aladdin]

Just a few of my thoughts/experiences.

I have a 5.25m Osprey that I cannot praise highly enough, although relatively small (compared to todays market) the boat has a lot of deck space with high tubes. The deep V hull provides a very responsive and smooth ride.

Powered by twin Mariner 40s does not have "racing" performance but easily copes with a family of four including 2-3 visitors. (& also handles six divers with ease)

Both the children love coming out on the boat (ages 3 & 5) although my son (now 5 started ribbing aged 2 weeks!) does not like it when it gets bumpy! so we are obviously careful about the trips he does.

(Note for Alan - Since Chatham James does keep asking me to buy a bigger RIB with a "roof" - thank Mark for me!)

If anyone is looking for a RIB around the 5m mark Osprey Viper range is certainly worth a look.

bye for now