XS Ribs- Any Good?

Mollers · 12 March 2026, 13:56

A pal of mine is eyeing up a new rib in the sub 5m range. At the moment he's weighing up Ribcraft vs XS. He's complaining that Ribcraft appear to be none to bothered whether he spends £35k with them or not, which is shame. Not returning his calls etc.

I'm a bit out of touch. Which other British builders of sub 5m boats should I be pointing him towards?

beerbelly · 12 March 2026, 14:31

I haven't bought an XS rib but i have had work carried out on my humber by them .i dealt with a guy called James millet i think it was he couldn't do enough im self employed and only had Sundays available to drop the boat off he met me and opened the place up and stored it inside made me a cup of coffee and gave me a tour of there place .all on his only day off he kept me informed of progress even though i was spending under a grand .the boat was ready on the day he said it would be and all the work was top notch .i collected on a sunday too .nothing seamed to be too much bother . i would recommend them as a company certainly . do have a friend with a early 2000s xs 7.1 that is still in very good shape and certainly a very capable outfit

Mollers · 12 March 2026, 15:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by beerbelly

I haven't bought an XS rib but...

Cheers for that. My Pal has said that whomever he's spoken to at XS were very helpful.
Back in the day XS were rated as a bit middle ranking. Popular with sailing clubs.

Wave Rider · 12 March 2026, 18:18

XS ribs are good

beamishken · 12 March 2026, 18:27

I honestly think ribcraft have got a bit too big for their boots, more interested in bigger corporate clients than selling to & servicing private individuals. Which makes you wonder what aftersales will be like if any warranty issues arise.
Sailing club I was involved with a few years ago had an issue with a 7 year old XS which they sorted out to everyone's satisfaction even though the boat was well out of warranty, it did mean the club bought another 2 boats from xs where previously they were all ribcraft. I took the boat to xs & collected it & the guys were spot on. If I were in the market for a new boat I think id favour XS as I think they are every bit as good as a ribcraft & a fair bit cheaper & you get personal contact. Only decision is polyurethane or hypalon my personal preference is hypalon but xs like to build in polyurethane which does have some benefits over hypalon. They used to offer either material at the same price not sure if its the same now but best do your homework on which you'd prefer.

chipko · 12 March 2026, 18:30

Personally think XS can compete with Ribcraft on blue water performance with their plus 5.5m deep V hulls. Robust hulls, no cost choice of hypalon or pu tubes, custom built to accommodate your spec/layout and quality more or less equal to ribcraft in that ‘workboat’ sort of finish common to uk built ribs.

However, sub 5m the XS 460 and 500 have only medium V hulls (good safety boats as stable at rest with tubes in water) and efficient with smaller 60hp motors, but will not ride at speed like the deep V hull of the Ribcraft 4.8 in any sizeable chop/swell. The 4.8 Ribcraft really is the king in this size, just a shame Ribcraft have all but lost interest in the leisure customer.

All is not lost with XS though. If you can go up in length to their 515 then this hull has a deeper V, still fairly narrow, and with sea keeping/ride comfort more akin to the 4.8 Ribcraft.

69cmw · 12 March 2026, 19:58

Look on XS’s webpage, they have a few good deals on just now on prebuilt outfits.

fastasfox · 13 March 2026, 08:43

I have an original Tornado....now XS ribs. Back in 2022 I had my tubes ( sponsons) re done there.. They made a cracking job and for me I liked the fact that all the seems are welded.....including the baffles. The hull,s themselves are a tried and tested design and handle the rougher stuff.

Pikey Dave · 13 March 2026, 10:31

I agree that RC have lost interest in the retail leisure market, even though they advertise in the sector. They have joined Delta, Redbay etc in concentrating on the commercial high value big stuff. Unless you’re spending big bucks or catch them with a lean order book, they ain’t interested.

paulbrown22 · 13 March 2026, 11:55

I bought our sailing club a brand new XS500 with Mercury 60hp two years ago, custom built to my spec - Laurence and team were amazing to deal with as I iterated ideas and very engaging in the whole project.

Really happy with the boat for our usage on the tidal Thames, and wouldn't hesitate to buy another XS again - very impressed with the quality and attention to detail for the price, and not a mark on it after 350+ hours of (very variable...) club usage in it's first two years. Since then I went back to XS/Barnet to buy a brand new Suzuki 40hp outboard for one of our other club RIB's, again amazing service.

As above, the XS 460/500 are more medium V, but in our usage has been perfect and handles beautifully, very nicely balanced. I've been on plenty of the larger/deeper XS hulls and they ride very nicely too.