6.5mtr ribtec 249 yanmar + hamilton jet. HELP PLEASE

dukey37 · 14 January 2008, 10:31

Hi Everyone long time user 1st time poster. I am changing to a diesel for the ovbious reason of running costs!! i have looked at a boat as described in title she seems the real deal is there anyone out there that would have the same or something like it that would give me some advice. she has only 400 hours on clock was a tender to a boat in france has all the paper work and certs etc. the engine is not on the stern like some i have seen but just in front of the flip up console about 7 foot from the stern. the boat looks perfect and runs great. is there anything in particular i should be wary of or are they a good design.

many thanks to anyone who can give me some advice.

Ezgoing · 14 January 2008, 22:55

Dukey

I'm not sure where on the west coast you are but my experience of the west coast is that you get a lot of heavy weather and an usually large amount of serious swell.

In my opinion the jet drives are not as well suited to handling rough conditions as a prop drive. You might want to check this matter further and see if you can et a test drive in the proposed rib in really heavy weather conditions.

Testing conditions maynot be your every day occourance for you but if you do happen to get caught out in heavy conditions be sure your boat is capable of handing them.

Keep asking the questions!

Best of luck.

dukey37 · 14 January 2008, 23:08

thanks fot that ez going we are taking her out for a spin on sunday so hopefully we will bee able to give it a good test. Has anyone anything to add as to how good yanmar are or the hamilton jet? would we be better going for a sterndrive?

codprawn · 15 January 2008, 00:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ezgoing

Dukey

I'm not sure where on the west coast you are but my experience of the west coast is that you get a lot of heavy weather and an usually large amount of serious swell.

In my opinion the jet drives are not as well suited to handling rough conditions as a prop drive. You might want to check this matter further and see if you can et a test drive in the proposed rib in really heavy weather conditions.

Testing conditions maynot be your every day occourance for you but if you do happen to get caught out in heavy conditions be sure your boat is capable of handing them.

Keep asking the questions!

Best of luck.

A lot depends on what boat they are fitted to - an Ocean Dynamics crossed the Atlantic with a jet drive and they cope pretty well in the North Sea. Also many rescue boats are also jet drive. These tend to be much bigger an heavier boats than a 6.5m but then again jet skis are jet drive and they cope pretty well...............

biffer · 15 January 2008, 13:26

i take it the boat is white all over with a teak deck, if it is it was a tender to a bigger boat and i quite possibliy built it, not a good boat the go far off shore in though, i can offer you all the advise you need but must stress that if needed i can do no work for you as i've been told off by ribnet for being to helpful towards it's members, biff

Erin · 15 January 2008, 19:46

I heard somewhere that jet-drives are thirstier on fuel than prop-driven. I've no first hand experience of this though, so I may be wrong

J S · 15 January 2008, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Erin

I heard somewhere that jet-drives are thirstier on fuel than prop-driven. I've no first hand experience of this though, so I may be wrong

Yes i dont think the jet drive is as efficient.

James

dukey37 · 15 January 2008, 22:19

i,ve sent you a pm.

Rogue Wave · 16 January 2008, 01:47

It's up to you if you like the boat then it's down to cost as to whether it's good value or not. They certainly are nice looking

I don't fancy 6.5 mtrs much with a diesel and jet drive. The boat from what you are saying is mid engined so presumably the tank is at the front of the engine what capacity is it and how much does it hold.

If i were you then i'd test it with the tank full to see how well the boat is balanced. Also if you fill the tank back up after the test the you have a good idea of the consumption of the boat.

Ribtec's have a single spary rail which with an inboard makes the ride a little wobbly at slow speed and a little twitchy at high speed.

Hopefully this is a UK built Riviera so the mouldings will be by Trio and the toobs by Henshaw which is fine and dandy. If however it was popped out in SA the that would devalue the boat

What model engine/jet has the boat got and what reduction does ithe gear box have ( you put boat in reverse to backflush jet intake if blocked) , if it doesn't then make sure you have the ability to be able to clear the jet intakes at sea.

The comments made about fuel economy are true I suspect the consumtion to be 15% more than with a leg. whilst the comments made about the nasty sea and loss of drive are theoretically true in practice your not likey to be out in those conditions for long.

Carefully check the jet drive out of the water to look for signs of erosion.

tonka · 16 January 2008, 20:13

i drive a 12 meter rib with hamilton jets, done 8000 hrs with no problems have heard a few storys about jets in under 8 meter boats being not so good in the rougher seas,as boat tends to leave the water more and you loose drive.