Long range small rib

[willk]

Originally Posted by GuyC

It actually arrived yesterday but he didn't notice.

Wasted on them!

[Poly]

Jon, have you used a 4m rib with half a ton of kit/people on board? I think you might find the performance sluggish compared to what you are used to.

Probably not very popular round here to suggest this - but if you want to travel really long distances in a small boat without refueling - it may be time to consider using the wind.

[GuyC]

Originally Posted by willk

Wasted on them!

I think it is what is known as stealth humour.

[otilly]

What about towing extra fuel behind you? Towed a small rib once (broken engine) and it worked surprisingly well on the plane.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Originally Posted by otilly

What about towing extra fuel behind you? Towed a small rib once (broken engine) and it worked surprisingly well on the plane.

might as well have a big boat than two

[jonp]

Originally Posted by Poly

Jon, have you used a 4m rib with half a ton of kit/people on board? I think you might find the performance sluggish compared to what you are used to.

Probably not very popular round here to suggest this - but if you want to travel really long distances in a small boat without refueling - it may be time to consider using the wind.

No I haven't, only used the 550 heavily loaded. This was before the four adults squeezed into the boat, for a roughly 500k trip. A large part of this load was dropped at the first island 80k offshore. My future plan is for a solo trip.

[SurfnRide]

I'm just sitting out here in California freaking out that you don't have netting and 10 straps over all of that. Jealous of all you peeps who have calm/flat waters.

Originally Posted by jonp

No I haven't, only used the 550 heavily loaded. This was before the four adults squeezed into the boat, for a roughly 500k trip. A large part of this load was dropped at the first island 80k offshore. My future plan is for a solo trip.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by Poly

Jon, have you used a 4m rib with half a ton of kit/people on board? I think you might find the performance sluggish compared to what you are used to.

Probably not very popular round here to suggest this - but if you want to travel really long distances in a small boat without refueling - it may be time to consider using the wind.

Crossed my mind too....Sea trials in some weather would be a good idea.
Bigger RIBs for a variety of reasons do have have longer legs...especially Diesel Models....but things like Comfort and Sea keeping and ultimately Safety come into play on long trips...
.A 100 miles fighting a heavy Sea and the stresses on Helm and Crew is a lot harder in a smaller Craft...it's not just a question of pure theoretical Range.
Having said that I do like you're attitude and would certainly wish you Luck on you're future adventures
Keep us informed and post some pics!
Another vote for a PLB!...for the money ..a must IMO theses days.

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by jonp

No I haven't, only used the 550 heavily loaded. This was before the four adults squeezed into the boat, for a roughly 500k trip. A large part of this load was dropped at the first island 80k offshore. My future plan is for a solo trip.

Only thing missing in this picture is an inflable unicorn pool toy.

As Roy Scheider would say... "we're going to need a bigger boat!"

[jonp]

Originally Posted by SurfnRide

I'm just sitting out here in California freaking out that you don't have netting and 10 straps over all of that. Jealous of all you peeps who have calm/flat waters.

Haha yes this was in the protection of the river before heading offshore. Also the photo is before the tarps and straps were tied down and cargo organised. The trouble carrying enough fuel, drinking water, food, sleeping gear etc etc is why I plan going solo on a big trip.

In regards to weather, due to the climate in this area, cool mornings mean light winds followed by an increase of fresh onshore 15-20knot breezes as the land heats up. Also fresh trade winds hit for weeks on end, our journey home was in 30knots and 2.5m seas. The weather 2000km south where I live is quite different once again, here we are exposed to large ocean swells often reaching 7m as well as the wind chop from land temps.

In comparison to 30 years of boating both recreational and comercial around the English Channel, I soon had a rude awakening to what rough water was when I first moved here. These first images were taken from an 80ft police vessel of us fishing our regular spot in 2m swell and 10-15kt of 1.5m chop (an average day). The second group of images are what we have to cross on a windless day but where 1.5m swell hits the shallow 5-8m deep reef, never had to contend with this back home fishing around the IOW. These are good days.

[jonp]

Just to add a little video I filmed of our harbour entrance on a flat day. Looks can be deceiving if you time things badly. As you can see we also have to avoid hitting surfers but these lads come in very handy when people flip their boats.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zD8N5025BOM