Gidday from New Zealand - Pics of my unusual RIB??!

troutboyNZ · 25 May 2007, 00:38

Still in the development stages but getting there! I brought as a bare shell and did the lot myself. It's a Mac 4.2m pontoon design with a whopping 2.2m beam!!! - the stability is such, you can sit 3 big guys on the side and it hardly moves an inch.

Quite a big floor area with the seatbox removed, I'm going to put it on sliding rails. The hull is 10 - 12mm thick and she handles any sea you can throw at it... but you WILL get wet in anything over 15knots of wind from the side. the sides are low, but I find this great for the style of fishing I do, especially flyfishing.

The pontoons are foam filled to coastguard standard, so she cannot sink, and will float level if swamped. The motor is a Merc Lightning aka, Tohatsu 40hp 3cyl and is a cracker. Top speed for the 550kg rig is 51.5kmh, which I think seams pretty reasonable, drops to 47kmh with two on board.

The console is a factory fitment and only cost me NZ$200. They are an awesome console with lots of internal storage - I can get two full 25l tote tanks in there plus more! I originally had the 3.6m version which also is a wicked craft and much more manageable, but smaller in fishability!

Since these photos I have put in a fully carpeted anchor locker which doubles as a seat and some full stainless bow rails. I run two 15l tanks which is ample for a days fishing as the engine runs on the smell of an oily rag. Nearly all onboard has been made from scratch - i.e. the windscreen is made of a grabrail, an upside down boarding ladder, an old deck chair and some old perspex. The only thing I dont really like is the huge rear boarding platforms - they are a feature for divers and I've yet to decide what to do with the, as I see it wasted space, although they make a fabulous swim/dive platform.

The hull has an 11degree deadrise, and being poly soaks up waves up to a metre with ease head-on, being quite dry, as the spray hits the pontoons and gets thrown out to the side. I have had it majorly airbourne a few times which is quite fun. The average wind here blows 15knots so saftey is paramount. I was out the other day in 30 knots + which it handled well, but I was soaked from head to toe! I mean saturated by the short steep harbour chop.

A few of the shots below were before finishing and during testing the setup.

jwalker · 25 May 2007, 01:06

Neat.

And welcome to Ribnet.

Biggles · 25 May 2007, 01:16

Looks like a very seaworthy boat.
You say 30 Knot winds. Thats pretty serious stuff to be out in, do you get big waves with that sort of wind ?
How easy is it to get water out of the boat ? Do you have a bilge pump and or Elephants trunks ?

NR.

troutboyNZ · 25 May 2007, 01:26

Hi Biggles, yes they are great sea boats, but as mentioned, sometimes wet with the wind from the side. I have installed twin independant 12v fed 1000gph pumps in the bilge that gets rid of any water very quickly. The pontoons are totally foam filled so even fully submerged they are designed to float with the outboard powerhead above water with up to 5 people on board. I don't seem to take on much water, even when rough, it's just spray from the wind blowing back the spray onto my face!

I would'nt normally go out in 30 knots but I like to at least test a boats limitations. Waves up to 1.5m on my local harbour with that sort of wind, and waves very close together makes it uncomfortable. I doubt the ride is as smooth as a true deep v RIB, but as the hull is so thick and double skinned it smooths everything out and is very quiet.

prairie tuber · 25 May 2007, 05:19

Looks to be very well thought out.

Nos4r2 · 25 May 2007, 08:49

I think BogMonster would rather like one of those

. It looks good.

I think I'd keep the swim platforms-they'll make it a lot easier to get back aboard if you fall in.

Channel Ribs · 25 May 2007, 09:18

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutboyNZ

Nearly all onboard has been made from scratch - i.e. the windscreen is made of a grabrail, an upside down boarding ladder, an old deck chair and some old perspex.

G'day and welcome! I bet there is some no.5 fencing wire in there somewhere too.

ALANT · 25 May 2007, 12:18

The mac boats are really neat, seen quite a few when I lived over in NZ.
Stayed in Stillwater so good for boating.
Do you have any photos of the other pontoon boats mostly made from alloy?
You can buy Mac boats here now a place in Dundee is Scotland sells them.
Where do you cruise/fish? Is it in the Waitamera(prob wrong spelling!) Harbour?
Welcome

BoatworksNZ · 28 May 2007, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by ALANT

Where do you cruise/fish? Is it in the Waitamera(prob wrong spelling!) Harbour?
Welcome

Thats Evans Bay, near the airport on Wellington Harbour.

BogMonster · 28 May 2007, 17:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

I think BogMonster would rather like one of those

. It looks good.

I think I'd keep the swim platforms-they'll make it a lot easier to get back aboard if you fall in.

I think you are right

Sadly for one reason and another a new boat purchase has taken a back seat for the time being.

I was looking seriously at a 570 or maybe a 600, though I prefer the "RIB look" of the 570, but what may eventually sway it is the shelter provided by the 600 Sport cabin, not to be underestimated in these waters! But for the moment the old Humbug will soldier on hopefully with fewer problems than I have had with it

UK distributor is these guys http://www.marinerevolution.co.uk/ I found them very helpful in providing information when I was looking at purchasing.

I wish you could buy a Vipermax 5.8 made of wheelie bin plastic that would be the best of both worlds for me

troutboyNZ · 30 May 2007, 04:47

Pontoon style boats are huge over here, there are literally a hundred manufactures now. Some of the more popular brands are:

Senator
Kiwikraft
Macboats
Osprey
Stabicraft
Tsunami

One way to have a good look at these boats is to go to www.trademe.co.nz and select the boats section and search for the word "pontoon" and you'll come up with a heap of matches.

Most people buy them for the sea-keeping abilities and the fact most are unsinkable. I've just had 4 days trout fishing on my boat with 4 guys - and we had 4 of us fishing from the one side with hardly a lean, it was fabulous.

I have a great time showing mates when they come over what the Mac can handle, I give them a hammer and tell them to take a swing at the hull - they do and the hammer just glances off without a scratch - quite good fun!!!

One of the things I love about the poly material is you can just screw any fittings in with self tappers for a super strong hold - if you need to remove the fitting, just get a soldering iron and using a drilling offcut melt it into the hole - smooth off - and finish with a craft knife and heat gun to shine up.... you will not be able to tell there was ever a hole there.

Heres a few pics of the previous one I owned the mac 3.6 model - a fantastic wee boat for fishing, again you can perch two guys on the side without creating a fuss and stand and fish all day long.

BogMonster · 30 May 2007, 20:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by troutboyNZ

One of the things I love about the poly material is you can just screw any fittings in with self tappers for a super strong hold - if you need to remove the fitting, just get a soldering iron and using a drilling offcut melt it into the hole - smooth off - and finish with a craft knife and heat gun to shine up.... you will not be able to tell there was ever a hole there.

Now that is cool

Do you get problems with self-tappers unscrewing themselves over time due to the polyethylene being so slippery, or is that a myth?

troutboyNZ · 30 May 2007, 21:29

Hi Stephen. No that's a total myth, they screw in with a great hold, infact the poly almost seems to shrink into the threads and you can often not get a self tapper out easily! You also do not need any sealers. The hulls being so thick (10-12mm for the Mac 420 and 18mm thick for the Mac 570!!!) create the grab needed. I use 12 gauge screws for maximum strength.

BogMonster · 30 May 2007, 21:47

That's interesting because I had heard a number of stories where fittings allegedly unscrewed themselves over time but its good to know it isn't a big problem.

The more I see the more I like it - just wish I could have a go in a 570 and 600

Do you keep it in the water all the time or just launch when using it? Another benefit advertised is that the poly hull prevents any marine growth thus you don't have to antifoul it, I wondered how accurate that was, seems like a big bonus if you planned to keep a boat in the water!

troutboyNZ · 31 May 2007, 01:14

I've definatly had no issue with unscrewing on the Macs I have owned, but it is a good idea to buy the coursest thread screws you can get. I got some paint overspray on mine and it just wiped off when dry, so I don't think marine growth adheres to it well at all. It is a slippery material. I have seen a few hire companys over in Australia that have their boats moored permantly and they didn't seem to have any growth, but they did have a distinct yellow colouration on the waterline.

The Mac 570 is a fantastic looking boat, it is quite different to the 420 in having higher freeboard, a better transom arrangement and the anchor locker built-in up front. The centre console ones run the double console which is huge! I could have fitted the double console to mine, but it limits the walk-around space. I have seen a few underway and they are a great seaboat but again, very wet from the side. both models have huge beams and a massive floor area you really have to see in the flesh to appreciate, having the pontoons 'D' shaped gives a lot of internal volume compared to a conventional RIB.

I keep mine on a trailer and just launch it as I'm only down the road from the boat ramp. you can only use trailers with PFTE skids as rollers create pressure points. I have seen a Mac 420 that was involved in a road accident at 100kmh - the boats was virtually unscathed, just some surface scratches. I'll dig out the photo and post it up - the car was a write-off. It looked like the Mac rolled over and over, but was still totally seaworthy and i bet is still in operation. One downside of the material is that they are HEAVY! My 420 weighs in at 650kgs loaded up.

BogMonster · 01 June 2007, 22:03

Any more pics especially of the bigger ones (570 and 600) would be most welcome (by me anyway!)

I guess the bigger ones are pretty heavy though - my 5.8m Humber probably only weighs about the same as your 4.2m Mac! Any idea why they only have a 120hp power rating? It seems a bit low for a 6m boat but Marine Revolution say that with a 115hp Yam 4 stroke on the back it is still good for 45mph.

grunta · 05 June 2007, 03:38

Hello from New Zealand! Seeing how we are also in God's Own Country, I couldn't resist posting to this thread. Alant - you asked about alloy-hulled boats so here are some photos of our 4.2 mtr Wavebreak which we use primarily in the Marlborough Sounds (Top of the South Island.) I hope the pig hunting photo isn't too upsetting....

More photos at www.wavebreak.co.nz and to view a video of the 4.2 mtr Wavebreak jetboat visit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtPrYzZ19pw

Cheers, Gruntessa