Help selecting a small rib please?

[thejonesey]

Hi,
I am looking for a small rib. Our useage would be a family messing around, a bit of skiing and ringoing and some exploration up creeks. We have a motorboat and I plan to tow it behind so size is an issue.
Currently an Avon 345 with a 30 hp has caught my eye. Would this be man enough for ringoing and waterskiing?
What should I pay please? I link to two possibles
Avon rib | Christchurch | Gumtree
AVON Supersport s3.45 RIB YAMAHA 30hp Outboard Engine & Road Launch Boat Trailer | eBay

Thanks
Rob

[Jon Tallis]

You're going to struggle skiing behind anything with a 30 although a RIB that small will be as light as a feather which will help. I'd definitely experiment before parting with your cash otherwise you might make end up disappointed.
I can say from experience though that you can ski behind a Dory with a 40hp and if you can deep-water mono start behind that you can do it behind anything!

If you don't need to ski however that rig would be a right hoot!

[Northern Tim]

Rob, I have a 3.6m Tornado with 25hp on the back. It will happily tow a ringo with a child or small adult, but really struggles to get on the plane with a bigger bloke in the ringo. I have towed a wakeboarder before, but they were pretty accomplished. I wouldn't want to learn with so little power.

[paddlers]

We were watching a sib with a 30 on towing kids skiing recently. He set them off sitting on a ringo with the skis on then snatched them off before they sank. Wouldn't work with adults or a deepwater start. I used to ski behind a 35hp Chrysler 4 stroke in my youth on a 13ft hardboat but my 12 stone ( that was 6 stone less than now) was as much as it could handle and had to fit doel fins to get onto the plane!

[HDAV]

We have an Avon 340 with 25hp mariner 2 stroke and will pull a ringing but not very well with any weight I would look for 40hp min for a skier. In Avon that means the range above the rover. Also with towing most ribs don't have a pole which means the tow line runs down, not an issue for a ringo but can be tricky for skier/boarder

[spartacus]

To pull a waterskier, you'll need minimum of 40hp. That includes driver and spotter on board too, so I'd say 4.0 - 4.5m is the size you should consider. Plenty examples on the market including Zodiac Pro, Humber Assault (both shallow V hulls) which are fine for calm days but do tend to slap in the rough stuff. Avon Searider 4.0 sets the benchmark for a deep V RIB at this size. Again there are plenty decent, and of course used and abused examples out there.

Be wary of buying from Ebay or Gumtree unless you've done your research first. See the boat in daylight and the see the engine running from cold. Get receipts and plenty of them to check history and maintenance schedules.

Wills Marine have a couple of boats that would fit the bill at the cheaper end of the scale. You could of course consider a SIB with 40hp that's trailered with aluminium HD floor. Just a thought.

| Wills Marine Ltd

[beamishken]

We have a 3.8m rib & origionaly it had a very early 28 hp yamaha & I could ski behind that,had to start on 2 skis then drop 1 if I wanted to mono
I was about 12 stone then
Ringo was not a problem
The same boat now has a 40 yam & is obviously better but you can definitely ski behind 30 hp

[thejonesey]

Thanks for the advice. I think we will use it for messing around mostly so skiing isn't a deal breaker although it would be nice. I will have to keep slim!

[HDAV]

It's all down to budget and garaging, the 3.5m fit in a garage easily the 4m + tricky.

Zodiac SIB would suite a futura with a 40hp and console


Not the best config but great small easy to handle family boat.
http://m.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/Spo...ura-4-2m/41232

[thejonesey]

Just to open a can of worms... Would an older Avon SR4 suit me better as a boat type?

[HDAV]

Originally Posted by thejonesey

Just to open a can of worms... Would an older Avon SR4 suit me better as a boat type?

IT might but many of these are pushing 30 years old

AVON SEARIDER For Sale - GBP 2,500 - Surrey, UK - Boatshop24.co.uk

Equally
Avon 320 JET RIB with centre jockey console - £7,995.00
may suite (not sure on engine relaibility)