Humbers

LURCHER · 04 October 2002, 16:16

I am thinking of buying a Humber 7m ex demo does anyone have any opinions on these boats ?

thewavehumper · 04 October 2002, 16:21

Me too I am thinking of buying a an 8 metre Humber ocean Pro to put a diuesel engine in I would also like some opions.

Humber tell me they are excellent, and I am not unimpressed so far

LURCHER · 04 October 2002, 16:25

Wave humper
can you phone me
07836 596619

Tiger · 04 October 2002, 16:26

I used a 6.5m last year, very good hull design, but the gelcoat was very thin (yes, i scratched it).

Many seem to be sold after 3 yrs by dive clubs, wear + tear maybe.

LURCHER · 04 October 2002, 16:34

At the moment I have a RIBCRAFT 5.85 which I like but a friend is thinking of joining me in ownership and we feel it would be best to start with an new boat.
Does anyone know if the Ribcraft is a heavy boat compared to Humbers ?

Pete7 · 04 October 2002, 18:50

Ribcraft are a very heavy lay up. When they first started producing ribs divers were worried that all the extra weight would mean slower speeds or less divers on board. This was in the days when twin 40s were thought to be big engines for a rib. I am not sure that weight is a good way of choosing a rib. What you really need to see is inside the hull when its being built. Early Ospreys (80s) were a bit ropey inside, but worked. With the introduction of the viper range things greatly improved with a series of half and full height GRP bulkheads every 25 cm. Light yes but it produced a very stong hull just by clever design. Deltas are also impressive if you can see inside them. Lots of thin ply boxes to give strength without excessive weight. Revenger showed part of a hull at one of the Earls Court boat shows one year. GRP hull, two longitute ply strips and a deck slapped on top. I bought the Osprey instead. Incidentally I would still like to know which Yorkshire Rib builder got caught using chip board for transoms in the mid 90s. See Colin Jones rib book, (but don't buy it).

Ribtec ? hmm Alan P swears by them, but I just think they are expensive.

Garygee · 04 October 2002, 19:26

Do a search for humber.

I started a few posts a few months back when I was trying to decide between Humber and Ribcraft and got some good feedback.

For interest I ended up going for Ribcraft.

Regards Gary

Phil · 05 October 2002, 09:37

If either of you can make it to Suffolk you are more than welcome to have a trial on my Humber

thewavehumper · 05 October 2002, 19:32

Phil, what times the next train, I'd love too, I need to Ring Lurcher about something else so perhaps we might come up together.

Cheers
Stuart

seafariskye · 05 October 2002, 23:26

I have the Ocean Pro, and the Extreme, 8.5 m and 7m
Both with diesel inboards, and used commercially, lots of hours on both, more than happy if someone would like to ask, or come up for a look.

Generally am very pleased, and would not hesitate to buy another,
in fact would not consider another make on the basis that what i have are both excellent.
Use both in very heavy seas, and between them both now have totalled over 2000 hours driving them.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Cheers

Pete

LURCHER · 06 October 2002, 07:16

Those are exactly the answers I was hoping for .Thanks to all .I am looking at a 7m with 100 Suzuki on it which iI think is underpowered but could have a 150 Optimax all for £16950 Iyr old your opinions gentlemen!

Off out in my Dart today which really beats ribbing anyday ! Out in breaking waves on CHI bar yesterday surfing along just fantastic! anyone want a go let me know.

Mike C · 06 October 2002, 09:29

John & Stuart,

And you're both welcome to have a try on my 6.3 too, if ever I get a midweek day off when it's not blowing 25 knot winds!

Very pleased with it.... and the 1.7 Mercruiser is using very little fuel. I havn't used enough yet to get a true figure!

Mike C

Alex Brown · 06 October 2002, 20:47

On the note of Humber, I have been looking at both the Ocean Pro and the Destroyer range, and reckon that placing an order could well be on the cards this week for the Destroyer......

Just out of interest though, is the hull pretty much the same on the destroyer as the ocean pro (apart from the extreme high sheer bow)?

From the reviews I can find, they all seem pretty complimentary about the Destroyers, but finding other users with them locally is quite hard. Other local users who have Ocean Pro's, seem quite happy with them, which is good to hear.

-Alex

Mike C · 06 October 2002, 22:02

I think the destroyer is a narrower beamed boat. I discounted it for that reason because I wanted two seats side by side. Check the specs on Humber’s website!

wavelength · 06 October 2002, 22:10

more spray rails on ocean pro than destroyer