New club boat

[tue]

My BSAC club is considering buying a new RIB. We already have a 90hp Mariner fourstroke purchased 2 years ago so only need a RIB to go with it. It needs to be fairly cheap £5000 to £7000 (RIB and trailer). We need it to be able to carry maximum 8 divers (normally 6). Any suggestions? Looking at maybe Humber Assult 5.9m or Destroyer 5.8m. Comments/suggestions please.

[Pete7]

Tue, a 6m rib will only just do the job if divers are using single cylinders etc, however if they turn up with twins then you really are going to be pushed. However it will take six.

However 90 hp is nothing like enough. I ran an Osprey viper 5.95 with Yam 115 and that only just got on the plane with 8 divers and took an awful long time to do it.

The club might have to consider other options like a 6.5m Ribtec and Mariner 200 for example. That would do nicely.

Pete

[Rupert Bear]

We always used 6m RIBs for 8 divers and two cylinders, just takes a bit of organisation.
The 5.8m Destroyer is a good boat but I have never seen less than 125HP on the back of one and the one I used had 150HP. I suspect 90HP may be slightly on the low side. It really depends on just how fast it needs to go and whether it will get up onto plane easy enough. I suspect the answer is that it will but may take some time and effort with 16 cylinders and 8 on board.
I have an assault and while it is ideal for personal boats I wouldn't recommend it for a club as it is narrow and has low tubes, things that make it easy to handle and launch with one person but are a bit awkward for large groups.

[swginn]

Have a look at XS-Ribs. New to the market and very reasonably priced. I've got one on order for May. The XS-600 would probably suit you best at £5495 for a new, ready-to-go rig. It has a high lift, wide beam hull so it may suit your engine(the reccommended hp is 75 -135). Just don't be expecting to go anywhere fast with 6 divers + kit with 90 hp on the back. Have a word with Laurence Lock at Barnet Marine, who knows a lot about rigging diving boats.

www.ribs.co.uk

He has a used Tornado Viking 580 with a 115 Yamaha for £9995, set up for diving(bottle rack, etc.), so you could also consider trading in your engine against this boat or a Humber /Ribcraft with a bigger engine.

http://www.boat-finder.com/12460/details.php

[Turbodiesel]

I would look at a RIbcraft boat, we have just got one at work and its very well made and not silly money either. Not sure what size boat they could build for a Twin 90 set up but have a look at there web site.

[David Hickman]

I think a 6.5 Ribcraft would take twin 90's. It takes a single 225!