Ribtec 645 any good ?

[MarkL]

Hi folks,

Newbie here so please be gentle ;-)

I've got to the point where I need to buy a RIB rather than donating stupid amounts of money to charter other peoples. It's main use will be for photography and video work with some 'fun' stuff thrown in for good measure.

Ideally I'm looking for a 6.5m with jockey seats that will provide a stable platform when stationary and also be capable of handling the rough stuff when required. So far I've been using 6.5-7.5m Ribcrafts and Scorpions but finding these second hand for under £17k is proving difficult. All out speed is not a major concern - as long as it'll do 30-35 knots..

The latest search has found this Ribtec 645 :

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/KMO009/

It's a 1995 with a 2004 Honda 130 with 50 hours on it - looks to be in good condition but will know more on Thursday.

Any comments/suggestions gratefully received...

Cheers,
Mark

[wavecrosschris]

That looks quite a serious bit of kit - black also being a great colour to keep looking good - just apply Autogylm vinyl and rubber care and it will have it looking like new no doubt! - I know this is a bit over the budget, but if the dealer was persuaded to drop it by a 1,000 then it would be a bargain...(maybe I'm dreaming, but I got a 1k off mine) I know they have had it at least a month - that was when I was looking for a RIB...

http://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/view/JBT243/

[nick wood]

Welcome to rib.net Markl,

I have Ribtec 645, they are a very good boat, mine is a 1994, with twin mariner 90hp good for 42kts, the one you are looking at looks identical to mine apart from i have bench seating all the way through, and my hull is yellow and tubes are blue which looks nice . Mine was custom built with large fuel tanks and live bait tanks, in deck rod holders, and that sturdy sampson post up the front which is exelent for tying up, there is not much to look out for the are pretty solid boat! Iv owned mine for 5 year now and have done about 5000miles in her, the seas off Jersey and the french cost can often be nasty and she copes very well. If you are going out in this black one you will soon see that she is heavy and positive in the water, if its anything like mine the tubes are in the water at rest giving it grate stubility at rest. Go for it but think the price is a little high, I considered selling mine a while back at about £12k ex vat.

Hope you have fun trying it out, let us know how you get on.

You will not be disapionted they are briliant boats!!!
Shame they dont make em like they used to.

Nick