Small Tohatsu ribs

[Erin]

Does anyone know anything about the 3.3m Tohatsu ribs that come with a 20Hp 4-stroke. Someone I know is thinking of buying one fully rigged brand new for about £4k, as a cheap bit of fun for the family and light fishing .

[bradosh]

Originally Posted by Erin

Does anyone know anything about the 3.3m Tohatsu ribs that come with a 20Hp 4-stroke. Someone I know is thinking of buying one fully rigged brand new for about £4k, as a cheap bit of fun for the family and light fishing .

Yoyo on here had a twatsoo boat I think about 4.8m. Looked the part for 9months until the hull developed airline cracks then took buckets of water in Scary but he got a full refund.

[yoyo]

The one that I had was a 4.3m.
Tohatsu UK imported them from the far east as a budget rib. They had a number of warranty claims around 2006-7 including me

I got a full no quible refund with about 2 weeks warranty remaining. Unsurprisingly they then stopped supplying that particular (Korean I think made) rib.

I understand that they now once again import a rib badged as Tohatsu and I haven't heard of any claims on this new particular rib. I don't know the origin of the new badged rib either.

These imported ribs should in no way be confused with the larger Tohatsu 1 design Ribs that are British built.

[Erin]

Thanks for the info yoyo. There doesn't seem to be much detail or experience out there about them.

[J@mes]

I am looking at the Tohatsu ribs at the moment, the 4.2m rib Tohatsu Marine seams to be identical to the Seapro 4.2m rib SEAPRO :: Seapro Ribs not only in dimensions but the actual pvc material used!

I spoke to a Seapro dealer today, I was only calling them to get a price on a 50hp Tohatsu engine as I saw online they sold Tohatsu engines at a reasonable price. They asked what boat it was for so I said I was looking into the Tohatsu 4.2m rib and the guy said don't touch it, utter rubbish! He said the inflatable tubes are ok, its the hulls that are the problem, but he also said Seapro are ever so slightly more expensive but much better, so why not go for one of them. He said originally Seapro was made in the same factory in china as Tohatsu, but they stopped using them and moved (cant remember where he said, but I certainly thought to myself that it was a similar country! May have been Korea) to a another factory in a different country.

Reading from above, it seams Tohatsu obviously have changed suppliers (I know from my local Tohatsu dealer that the ribs sizes have changed), but it also seams to me that the ribs (Seapro/Tohatsu) are the same. Can anyone confirm this? Are Tohatsu and Seapro indeed made in the same factory, and just different badges etc separate them?!

I cannot imagine Tohatsu putting their name on a boat that is lets face it, is crap, but obviously this has happened (to yoyo!) and from the research I have done it seams Tohatsu engines are really up and coming and are holding their own with the big boys nowadays, so more reason not to ruin their name/brand!

I asked the Seapro dealer what he thought of the Tohatsu engines, and he said "bulletproof" which made me laugh, I said complete opposite to their boats then, he said yes. Maybe he is just saying this because he only sells Seapro ribs and Tohatsu engines?!

Now from my limited research and from me guessing, I think Seapro are the same as Tohatsu and the fact the guy said they used to be made in the same facotry but then Seapro moved due to quality, well I think Tohatsu must have followed suit as the Tohatsu's new range of ribs are identical to the Seapro ones, well the 4.2m one is!! Too much coincidence here I think!

Can anyone confirm this?

And more to the point, are either of these ribs any good? I understand they are PVC material, which is fine by me as I am on a tight budget and my current 3.4m zodiac (PVC) rib has been spot on for the last 12 years of holiday use.

Cheers,
James.

[J@mes]

Anyone?!

[kerny]

If the dealer in question is B.H. Marine seapro is his brand name which he uses and the boats he imports now come from and are made in Egypt. The Actual ribs are made by WAV

http://www.tigermarine.com/


Send me a p.m. if you want any more info.

[J@mes]

Yes it is. PM sent

[J@mes]

Hi Kerny,

Thanks again for speaking to me, I really appreciate it!


Yoyo... Do you have any useful information on Tohatsu ribs for me? Do you know where they are now made and have you heard any info of them/any more problems since you last posted above?!

Thanks,

James.

[kerny]

Originally Posted by J@mes

Hi Kerny,

Thanks again for speaking to me, I really appreciate it!


Yoyo... Do you have any useful information on Tohatsu ribs for me? Do you know where they are now made and have you heard any info of them/any more problems since you last posted above?!

Thanks,

James.

Your'e very welcome James, I hope you find what your looking for mate.

[yoyo]

Sorry James, I cant give any info on the more recent Tohatsu ribs. I understand that BH Marine have had warranty claims on the seapro ribs also recently. I believe that a previous poster in this thread has made a claim fairly recently.

The twatsoooo engines (Nissan) are bomb proof in my experience. many smaller motors are in fact re-badged tohatsu's. I have now owned 3 of them and none have given me any problems. I am actually now in the process of buying a fourth, a 115 for my new boat.

PM sent James.

[J@mes]

Hi Yoyo,

I have replied to your PM.

I wont be getting a seapro boat thats for sure after finding out bad things!

I want to look into Tohatsu boats more though, so hopefully I will find out where they are made and if their recent ones have had any problems?!

If anyone knows please say! Thanks.

[willk]

J@mes, have you ever paused to consider why someone would want to give you information by PM (Personal Message) rather than just post it on a public forum?

A closed mouth catches no flies

[J@mes]

True (hint taken) but by me asking on here, I would hope people would PM me if they are not willing to speak their mind in a public forum freedom of speech and all that!

Also one might think if I don't get many replies then there isn't much info out there?! Who knows?! I know one thing though, if you don't ask you don't get!!!