Questions about US built Ribcrafts

[Pelican]

So are Ribcraft boats fully constructed in the US or are they just assembled in the US ?
Are the tubes really made in the US by Ribcraft in MA or by another company or just finished with trim and attached to the hull in the US.
I found an interesting article online about Ribcraft selling a metal hull RIB to their own towns Dockmaster in Marblehead. It stated that the Dockmaster complained about very new hull having some major issues. It further said that Ribcraft claimed it was due to elevated electrical current in the salt water in the harbor. Some test were conducted by MIT staff showing no more then the usual electrical current in the New England harbors waters. What was the conclusion ? The Ribcrafts built across the pond have different consoles, are the hulls and tubes different too. Who makes the toughest RIB in the US, Zodiac, Ribcraft or some other company like USMI, HBI, Willard, Aquascan ?

Why did the USCG change to Safeboats,(metal boats without inflatable tubes) are they really safer? Do RIBS offer more safety in worse sea states. Are RIBS more shock absorbing. Have there been any official test conducted ?

[biffer]

what you guys across the pond have got to remember is that most of the rib companies that you have don't exist over here and when you quote names we haven't heard of them, of course we know ribcraft and zodiac but just like ford cars we get totally different stuff, dont take this the wrong way but the US would rather deal with the US than europe so i'm guessing that your ribs are built there in the US. this might open a can of worms but if you want a real good rib you're going to have to come over here

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Pelican

. Who makes the toughest RIB in the US, Zodiac, Ribcraft or some other company like USMI, HBI, Willard, Aquascan ?

The toughness of the RIB often has more to do with how you spec the boat that you order rather than the brand (assuming it is a high end custom manufacturer). Most of these manufacturers offer different hypalon thicknesses, different thicknesses of aluminum hulls, extra hull reinforcements specific to your intended use & so on.

[Poly]

Pelican welcome to Ribnet. It might be interesting for people to read the article you found, if you can post a link to it. In terms of getting a categorical answer to the place of manufacture I would suggest emailing ribcraft rather than a public forum post (ribcraft UK do occassionally post on here - but not regularly).

Originally Posted by biffer

what you guys across the pond have got to remember is that most of the rib companies that you have don't exist over here and when you quote names we haven't heard of them, of course we know ribcraft and zodiac but just like ford cars we get totally different stuff, dont take this the wrong way but the US would rather deal with the US than europe so i'm guessing that your ribs are built there in the US. this might open a can of worms but if you want a real good rib you're going to have to come over here

Which is presumably why he posted in the RibNet North America forum!

[dctucker]

US Ribcrafts are wholly built in the US. Hulls are laid up in Maine. Tubes are cut and glued in Marblehead, and final fitting of tubes to hull is also in Marblehead.

I a local, and haven't heard of the story you refer to. I'd be surprised if that had happened and I hadn't heard about it. I almost certainly would have heard about the budget allocation! The local yacht clubs have a bunch of Ribcrafts of various sizes and seem happy with them. Glass hulls though.

[Stoo]

Up here in Canada, most commercial/military RIBS are Zodiac Hurricanes. I'm seeing more and more Titans. Both are built near Vancouver.

I've been in a number of Hurricanes over the years (owned two) and they are tough as nails. The Titans look substantial, but I was speaking to an RCMP Marine unit last summer that had a Titan with an aluminum hull. I asked how he liked it and his only comment was that "It wasn't a Hurricane"... I believe they are less expensive.

I've never seen a Ribcraft up here....

[Pelican]

The story I read regarding Ribcraft US was in "The Jamestown Press" on Aug 9th 2007.

I know from time to time all manufacturers have problems. I've seen Ribcraft US boats and they look well built but we all know looks aren't everything. I'm interested in what US company makes the toughest boat and is the best value for the money. It would also be interesting to read stories about other US rib builders and how they back up there product when faced with problems with tube construction and other issues like the one mentioned in "The Jamestown Press".

I'm glad to read replies mentioning that Ribcraft US makes there boats and tubes here in the States and oversees all the steps of their building process. It's nice to have a few choices here in the US now. I hope the boats are built to the same quality and tough standards like they are in Europe, I guess we'll see.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by Pelican

I found an interesting article online about Ribcraft selling a metal hull RIB to their own towns Dockmaster in Marblehead.

Originally Posted by Pelican

The story I read regarding Ribcraft US was in "The Jamestown Press" on Aug 9th 2007.

Which would tend to suggest that the boat was built for Jamestown, RI not Marblehead, MA!

There's a series of articles on www.jamestownpress.com about the problems with this boat, and the cause seems to remain unclear. Looks like the town and Ribcraft split the repair bill 50/50 in the end.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Stoo

The Titans look substantial, but I was speaking to an RCMP Marine unit last summer that had a Titan with an aluminum hull. I asked how he liked it and his only comment was that "It wasn't a Hurricane"... I believe they are less expensive.

I've never seen a Ribcraft up here....

It would be interesting to hear more specific info from him about the differences between the Titans & Hurricanes, be it handling characteristics, build quality, ergonomics etc...

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Pelican

I'm glad to read replies mentioning that Ribcraft US makes there boats and tubes here in the States.........................I hope the boats are built to the same quality and tough standards like they are in Europe, I guess we'll see.

I'm glad to see that when we collonised the US we exported our xenophobia too! Personally if I was in your shoes and looking for the toughest rib possible I would have been more confident if they were made in Yeovil, UK and exported. That said, the guys at Ribcraft are clearly not stupid and if licensing the designs and the name I am sure they have contractual protections in place to ensure that the quality meets the standards Ribcraft (UK) would expect.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I'm glad to see that when we collonised the US we exported our xenophobia too! Personally if I was in your shoes and looking for the toughest rib possible I would have been more confident if they were made in Yeovil, UK and exported. That said, the guys at Ribcraft are clearly not stupid and if licensing the designs and the name I am sure they have contractual protections in place to ensure that the quality meets the standards Ribcraft (UK) would expect.

One would think so. But I can tell you for a fact that when Guiness contracted Labatts to brew 'Guiness' for them locally, the product was a disgusting , undrinkable , unmitigated disaster . Good thing the real imported stuff is also available here.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

One would think so. But I can tell you for a fact that when Guiness contracted Labatts to brew 'Guiness' for them locally, the product was a disgusting , undrinkable , unmitigated disaster . Good thing the real imported stuff is also available here.

There was some subtelty in my wording though - contractual protections are not the same thing as direct control... ...they mean there are remedys for crap performance, and possibly some obligations which enable the licensor to enforece preventive actions too...

[prairie tuber]

Further to that point, I believe that Labatts is no longer brewing it's version of Guinness. So it seems that quality control did prevail in the end.

[Bigmuz7]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

Further to that point, I believe that Labatts is no longer brewing it's version of Guinness. So it seems that quality control did prevail in the end.

Yes the buyers voted with their feet ( and other parts)

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

It would be interesting to hear more specific info from him about the differences between the Titans & Hurricanes, be it handling characteristics, build quality, ergonomics etc...

It was a brief "over the transom" conversation, but I recall that he felt the ride was less stable. It could be the Titan is just lighter and thus a little more "flighty". I think I remember reading HP ratings for similar sized boats and there was some difference.

From what I have seen of the Titans, they look well-built, but perhaps not as nicely "detailed"... a little bit home-made looking in places.

[dctucker]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Which would tend to suggest that the boat was built for Jamestown, RI not Marblehead, MA!

There's a series of articles on www.jamestownpress.com about the problems with this boat, and the cause seems to remain unclear. Looks like the town and Ribcraft split the repair bill 50/50 in the end.

Some interesting reading there. And being Jamestown, RI, that explains why I never heard of such an issue with the Marblehead Harbormaster!

That reminds me, I need to replace the zincs on my SmartTabs! There's not much left of them. Stray voltage sucks...

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by prairie tuber

One would think so. But I can tell you for a fact that when Guiness contracted Labatts to brew 'Guiness' for them locally, the product was a disgusting , undrinkable

Much like when the UK's Guinness was brewed in Park Lane. It's gorgeous now it's imported from Ireland.

[RIBCRAFT]

Thanks for your post Pelican – you ask a great question. Seeing there's some confusion surrounding the boat we built for Jamestown we thought we'd give you the full rundown. But before we do, to answer your initial question, any RIBCRAFT RIB sold in North or South America is completely built in the United States. We specialize in building our RIBs for professional users and offer the same commercial grade RIBs we build for military and law enforcement agencies to recreational boaters.

As far as the Jamestown Harbormaster incident – we built a 21' aluminum RIBCRAFT 6.5 (RIBCRAFT 6.5AL) for the Jamestown Harbormaster located in Jamestown, Rhode Island. After just a few weeks in the water, the bottom paint appeared to have areas where it was blown off, the hull had pitting, the zincs were completely chewed and destroyed, and three different types of gluing systems found on various OEM parts on the boat, including O rings on the Bomar hatches, had all failed.

The town claimed the failure of the bottom paint was due to improper surface preparation but they could not explain the rest of damage to the hull that was above and below the waterline, the glue systems failures and the overall general degradation of the boat.

An independent surveyor who works primarily for the US Navy found that the water was charged with stray electrical current. The surveyor was so concerned after taking initial readings from the harbor that he called the police department to advise of a public safety hazard for swimmers in the water. The technical data, supported by accepted corrosion theory, indicated that the boat’s damage was caused by stray electrical current in the water causing widespread cathodic disbondment of the various paint and adhesive systems onboard the boat. The stray current was later determined to have come from a local marina. This was the only alloy boat in the immediate area so it took the brunt.

The town quickly settled the matter after two local residents with first handle knowledge of the cause came forth and offered to provide testimony to support the surveyor’s findings.

We're happy to say that the story has a happy ending. The boat was repaired and was in service all last season without any problems and the electrical problem at the marina was quickly and quietly corrected. The town continues to use RIBCRAFT to service the boat, its engines, and to store the boat in the off-season.

Please let me know if you any quesitons about this - I'd be more than happy to answer them. Plus, if any of you are in the Marblehead area you're more than welcome to come by and take a look at the boat this winter.

Matthew Velluto
RIBCRAFT

[jyasaki]

Matt;

Thanks for taking the time to post the rest of the story.

Good to hear it was resolved in a manner that benefitted both parties (and, I suppose the rest of the boaters there.)

jky

[Jklingel]

That was spooky till Matt chimed in. I've got the same boat, all made in the US, and have had zero problems in three (4?) yrs. I'm not in the water a whole lot, though, either. My alum hull is doing fine, and the tubes sit outside all year; covered from UV, but not from the big minus temps. Glad all that worked out for the better, but I am curious how "stray juice" just zaps around in the water like that. Interesting.