My First Purchase Advice Required Please

[SpiderCrab]

Hi all,

New to this forum but have been reading as a guest for some time now. I am getting very interested in RIBs and feel I would like to make my first purchase. I am based in Guernsey and a RIB has come up for sale that looks interesting.

It is an Ocean 22ft RIB (can't find many references to this so assume it is marketed as the Ocean 650 or Ocean 680. The seller is asking £7,000.

I have attached some pictures. I would like to know what you guys and girls think of:
1. the price?
2. the type of boat for local conditions (I am looking at using it from cruising between the island - maybe when competent enough as far as Jersey and France)
3. the condition of the tubes (as you can see from the pics there is some wear on them that concerns me)
4. the engine (size for boat, consumption etc. this is the area I know very little about)
5. any other factors I should be considering or asking questions about?

Many thanks in advance.

[simmons0]

Thats a lot of boat for £7k. Oceans are a good solid sea boat, but they weigh a lot so don't expect it to be all that fast.
It'll be heavy on the fuel too.
H

[Tim M]

As long as the tubes hold air you should be ok. If the cosmetics worry you (as they would me) you can paint tubes with special paint which will make them look a lot better.

[Rogue Wave]

1 It's OK does it have a trailer
2 Good tough boats V well made. The stern part of the Hull is a little round I think
3 the toobs I would say are OK to poor. Is it wear( friction) or sun damage Can you show more detailed pics of the Tooobs. Wear is better than sun damage.

4 It's a good size engine for the Boat ( Gonna be thirsty, flog it and buy an Opti/etec when you can)

5 There are a lot of old oceans around which is a good thing.
Have a good look at the joins between toobs and Hull,
Open the bung in the stern and have a look with a torch to see if any GRP is flaking off.
Pull out a screw that is in the transom and see how mushy the wood is
Open up all the hatches and inspection plates and look for signs of corrosion or flooding

if you are really keen call a surveyor and a mechanic to check out the engine

Expect to have to rewire the boat if it's old Always a good thing

[mike]

my local sea school got an ocean 6 something which had a 200 optimax on the transom, it was a good ride and yes was heavy. The speed we cruised at was 26 or so knots.
I found the seats a bit difficult to stay in position on as there was no handhold for the second person on the triple rear seat but yours looks like it has handholds.( the school fitted toe straps)
The tube tops look like lots of UV (red can suffer) it may be worth having a top layer put on (there was one done for a ribnetter so may be worth a search. i had strips put on a boat last year and she was perfect afterwards.
Is it a mariner opti?
general advice check all switches and bits work and allow for a few surprises as something always needs doing, otherwise its a test drive an ake mind up time. Good luck.
does it have a trailer if not do some research before you buy.

[SpiderCrab]

Thanks for the speedy responses people. I guess the boating day is over

Right. Let me try to answer your questions and give a little more detail.

The engine is a Mariner 200 V6 but I couldn't see much more detail then that on the engine itself so I will have to speak to the guy and get more details/service history/hours.

I guess the tubs are sun damaged as it looks to be in too random places to be friction wear. The tubes seem to be holding air for the time I've been looking at the boat but the warm weather may have helped this and I guess if the guy is selling it he could be keeping them topped up. But seems OK. I am a little concerned about the cosmetics of it but seaworthiness has to come over good looks . I'll search for the paint and find out costs etc.

Thanks Rogue Wave for points to check out.

It doesn't appear trailered where it is currently located although the picture on the advert attached to the boat shows a low, old trailer so I guess it's a question for the owner. However, I was originally looking for a smaller boat than this and keeping it constantly trailered. With this size boat I am less keen on this option and so envisaged leaving it on a mooring so the trailer issue hadn't bothered me in the short to medium term.

The boat has also been anti fouled so this was another reason I am swayed towards mooring her up and keeping her in water rather than trailered.

[Limey Linda]

Hi There
I have just purchased a similar RIB in similar condition. See Project Lomax under Ribnet N. America. My tubes are worse than yours judging by the pics.That looks a really good price if the engine checks out and it has a trailer. Best of luck. Recon. of tubes is not really a big deal but takes time and a few hundred quid.
T.

[SpiderCrab]

This is the worst bit I found on the tubes. With the boat out of the water it's difficult to see the joins but good to see the underside I guess (unless the guy is trying to hide something in the boat )

Mike, you say cruised at 26 knots. The guy here reckons he gets a top speed of 47 knots...seem reasonable?

[mike]

47is quite a speed for this but I have only driven 1 for 2 days on a course.
It IS possible but verify it yourself if its important to you.
You need a test drive anyhow.
My theory is he's a little optimistic and on my limited experience I would guess 42 ish. The only was to find out is to run it.
That last pic looks like UV with a rope rub on the top.

I have had 4 ribs now and they have all been deep V non speed biased hulls the max I have had is 45 KNOTS but every hull is different>
My opinion of the ocean was that it was a good alrounder not speed biased so good in chop etc the one we went on had the same console and there was an awkward moulding on the console where I kept hitting my knee. I also noticed the deck was ply sandwich(nothing wrong with that) but on the one I drove there were fittings missing which had allowed water into the timber. So look at the integrety.

[Rogue Wave]

nasher hasa similar rig i think 200 suzi maybe talk to him about performance!

Red is an awful colour with rib toobz the sun hits it hard, Paint is not a winner at the end IMHO of the day the toobs look painted. Has the sun caused any delamination i.e can you go to the toobs and pick of the top layer of material?

[SpiderCrab]

Thanks. I may well speak to nasher or he may read this and comment. I must admit I am not too bothered if the performance isn't up to the quoted performance. It is still a much bigger engine than I originally planned.

Went back for another look today when it was a little cooler. There does not appear to be any delamination. However, today I noticed that one or two of the front compartments were noticeably softer than the remaining leading me to worry a little that there is some leakage from a compartment. It was cooler today but the temperature should have affected all compartments similarly, surely?

[psychopic]

why not put some large patches on the tubes in the badly worn areas? maybe in black so it's less noticable?

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by psychopic

why not put some large patches on the tubes in the badly worn areas? maybe in black so it's less noticable?

I agree much superior to paint. go back ib two more days see if theres ant diferece go early

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by SpiderCrab

Went back for another look today when it was a little cooler. There does not appear to be any delamination. However, today I noticed that one or two of the front compartments were noticeably softer than the remaining leading me to worry a little that there is some leakage from a compartment. It was cooler today but the temperature should have affected all compartments similarly, surely?

Not always the case - maybe some compartments are bigger than others - also depends on what angle the sun is hitting the boat. Still pays to be cautious though!!!

[Limey Linda]

Codders maybe right. The two aft chambers on mine are in the sun most of the day and therefore pressure is released and are soft at dusk.
T.

[Tony]

Hi Spidercrab
I'm in Guernsey, and i will pop down to take a look as well
I'll post later...

[SpiderCrab]

Thanks for the excellent replies so far guys. Thanks Tony that would be very much appreciated.

I spoke to the seller again last night and he gave me a little more information. The RIB is 10 years old. The engine is four years old. He has owned it for 2 years and engine has been serviced locally. Didn't get any engine hours yet but can always speak to the service agent as he gave me the name. The guy wasn't sure of range as they top up fuel tank after each run but thought it took £70 for a full refuel and people he bought from quoted 3 return trips Jersey to Guernsey. I can believe the £70 which I'm guessing equates to 100 litre fuel tank (!???) but i'm VERY dubious about three return trips to Jersey. I think calculate maybe one trip (just). Any ideas?

Seller also said tubes have been fine all summer (but then I suppose he would).

[SpiderCrab]

Tony....please don't say it is a bargain and that you've already put in an offer

[Tony]

Hi
I popped down to see the boat and i have bought it!!! sorry







Naaah not really.

Looks okish it will need a fair bit of cosmetic work done to it.
Large chunk of hull missing above bow ring
Tubes look knackered and they already have been patched
seats need redoing
transom has started to separate, doesn't look watertight
Hull has been painted? why?
electrics and cables will all have to be checked
looks almost"home made" inside around the bow locker area
Engine didn't look to cared for, couldn't see any grease around the steering.
It is quite a reasonable price, but i think it would take a lot of time and money to get it looking good.
Its not like buying a car, if it breaks or conks out when you are out playing you could be in trouble.....

Tony

[SpiderCrab]

Thanks for the viewing Tony.

I am not too bothered by the cosmetic stuff (seats). Obviously anything that causes problems or pain in the future is another matter. I did note the gash down to the matting in the bow but thought this would be a fairly simple gel coat patch up job (?!?).