re tubing tornado's

[martin s]

I have got a 5.3metre Tornado RIB which needs re tubing where is the best place to get this done and how much will it cost? If you can help please reply.

[Brian]

Nick (Gilbertson) of Sealion, Ed at Olmec Tubing and Paul Tilley all post on this forum. Do a search on members for contact details.

[robineff]

Greetings, one and all, from a new member and owner of a venerable Tornado 5.1, recently acquired in near derelict condition.
I had hoped to keep the old girl active for the rest of this summer but, sadly, one of the port side tube seams developed a grin like Julia Roberts.
I contacted all the replacers I could find on the net and in publications and most quotes were within a few quid of each other - with the exception of Olmec Tubing (www.olmectubing.co.uk) who were substantially cheaper. Accordingly, I towed the old hooker down to Dartmouth last Friday evening and met the boss Ed Carter - who lives in Dartmouth - in a car park and handed the beast over! A number of these early p/u tubed Tornados have come his way and he has cutting templates for most models. The new tubes will be in hypalon of a fetching shade of blue, which should go well with the orange hull.
The promised turnaround is pretty quick and I shall report on the finished job ASAP.

[robineff]

To my amazement, Ed Carter rang midweek and informed that he would be returning my Tornado, duly re-tubed on Friday evening, a few hours less than a week from handover in Dartmouth! He was en route to Sussex, so we met up in Ringwood, about 4 miles from home.
The job looks very nicely done, with new lifelines, and has completely transformed the old girl, all at a very keen price.
I don't know where you'd go for a better time-quality-price package.

Change of topic - can anyone advise me about increasing fuel capacity? The original tank stowage position is for'ard of the console, which is fairly cramped and could just accept 2 x 25L with a squeeze. I had thought to move the whole lot to the back of the boat, where there is much more space for another tank as well, but there might be a funny effect on the trim. The engine (Yam 80AETO) is apparently quite light for its output compared with the 4stroke 90 fitted to the current Tornado 5.4 at the Boat Show. The trouble with these older carburrated 2 strokes is their camel-like thirst (8 g.p.h. at full chat) and 50L doesn't give a huge range.
Any thoughts?

Robin