advice appreciated please

Plankton · 17 April 2004, 22:20

Hello fello wave thumpers,

I've just moved to Paimpol, Britanny, from the Channel Islands and although currently without a rubber boat to my name, I now feel the need to re-load. I'd like to buy something suitable for bombing around the north Britanny coast, crossing over to the Channel islands for regular familial visits, and generally having a fine old time. It needs to cope with the vagaries of the tidal conditions amongst all those nice island races and banks, be able to carry enough fuel in integral tanks, and it also has to be small enough for me to trailer and launch single-handed. I'm not a lottery winner yet, so value for money also comes into play which means I don't want to be upset by the odd fish, crab, pot, barnacle-encrusted mooring rope or smelly diver who might visit.

I'm currently thinking along the lines of a 5.8 Tornado with a 150 Yamaha on the back. I'd love to hear from anyone with experience of this boat or the engine, whether a head-banger or a smoothie 4-stroke. Advice in this area appreciated too. My last RIB, some time ago, was a 5.25 Ocean with a 90 Honda on the back, and whilst very nice I couldn't really get it dirty and it didn't have quite the turn of speed I wanted on occasion to outrun developing tidal runs in certain spots !

Advice on what electrics to put on board also welcome (waterproofness and off-boat programming being high priorities), as is also any advice on the new gadgets and clothing which I might have missed out on over the past few years. What do you all wear nowadays, and what do you all pack your stuff in ?

Any replies would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, and apologies for being a newbie.

Roddy

PS: is current thinking still for one big donkey and a kicker to get you out of trouble, or two engines ? What size kicker would I need for the boat I'm thinking of ? 8 hp ?

simmons0 · 17 April 2004, 22:37

Are you looking to buy new or second hand?

Pete7 · 17 April 2004, 22:40

http://www.southpiershipyard.co.uk/aquanaught.html

This looks big fast and cheap! but they have others as well an dthey are in Jersey.

Pete

swginn · 17 April 2004, 23:13

I have experience of driving a Tornado Voyager 585. My friend owns one with a 135 Optimax on the back. They are very solid, well built boats. I have heard of peoples tube seams coming apart around the bow but this was before thermowelding was brought in 3 years ago. The 585 handles a big sea with ease and is very stable & fast. I would consider having a look at the larger 6.4m version if you want a 150 on the back. the 6.4m has a newer 3 spray rail hull design and its max hp is 200 whereas the 585 has an older 2 rail hull design and can take a maximum of 150hp which is right on the limit and maybe too much hp for this length. Great boats though, he is very happy with his and reccomended one to me.

Yamaha engines are pretty much bullet proof so you have no worries there. But shop around for a good deal, Mercury & Suzuki are great engines too. Have a look around the forum you'll find plenty of opinions.

Are you buying new or used?

As for electrics go with Icom if you can afford to as they are the best!! I'm sure all will agree. I swear by Lowrance for GPS/Sonar. Have never heard of any water ingress or problems with them. Mapcreate software is great for programming the units and has more features than most will ever need.

Have a look at www.ribs.co.uk for more info on the Tornados.

Plankton · 17 April 2004, 23:54

Thnaks for the info so far guys.

I'm aware of the thermo-welded improvements, which realistically means nothing older than a three or two year old boat if I'm going to buy something second-hand - which I would consider quite happily. This is not the time of year to be putting in an order for a new boat - I'm sure of that !

Horsepower-wise, I'm aware that 150 is right on the limit, but having boated most of my life in Channel Island waters I would appreciate the available power if I ever wanted it (read "desperately needed" in lieu of "wanted" if you like). Outrunning a wind-against-tide situation is always nice to be able to do if you have the HP to do so. If the 150 is too heavy, I assume the 130 would be too - same block ? Would I be better off looking at a 115 ? I've plenty of experience with both Honda and Suzuki, and I don't think their anti-corrosion and general weather-proofness measures up to what Yamaha has to offer (very willing to hear other people's comments on this !).

Lowarance would be one of my first choices for GPS and sonar. I heard recently about a larger GPS unit, completely removeable with integral antenna, PC compatible for programming, and which works off a cigarette power output. Colour screen and all - anyone know anything about it ? I can't remember the make but it seemed to be a better alternative than a handheld.

I have a mate who works in South Pier Shipyard so will ring him to go take a geek at the Cobra. Thanks for that. How do they measure up against a Tornado ?

Keep 'em coming amigos !

Roddy

PS: anyone here have first-hand experience of the Hysucat ?

Andy · 18 April 2004, 01:35

I have Tornado, Yam, Lowrance and Icom ..... all are not the cheapest option but work well.

I have a 6.8m tornado and a 200 Yam and its a little too heavy and large for a single person launch, although can be done. It also demands something reasonably meaty as a tow for launch/recovery.

However my other boat is a 585RibTec, 115Yam, Lowrance & Icom, and is exceptionally capable and is no probs for a 1 man launch.

From the sounds of it you are definately looking at the right sort of craft for your requirements. What I would say is go for the largest HP for the weight. For example the Yam HPDI 175 is the same weight as the 200HP so why not get the 200HP if the boat is rated for it. The larger engine will cruise at lower engine revs and hence will use less petrol on long runs.

swginn · 18 April 2004, 01:36

Well you should be ok with weight if you get a 5.8 Tornado, but only just.
The max engine weight is 220kg.

The Yammy 150 HPDI weighs 216kg, VMax HPDI weighs 217kg and the F150 four stroke weighs 216kg.

The HPDI & VMax Hpdi are both 2.6l V6s and this makes them just as heavy as the 2.6l in line four of the four stroke.

Myself, I'm an optimax man. A 150 opti weighs 195kg, has a 2.6 V6 just like the Yammy HPDI for plenty of grunt. 3yrs warranty too. The 175 opti weighs the same, it just has a different ECU if you really want a lot of power!

You really can't go wrong with either! It will be interesting to hear from the suzuki owners on this. There are quite a few of them on the forum.

Quote:

I've plenty of experience with both Honda and Suzuki, and I don't think their anti-corrosion and general weather-proofness measures up to what Yamaha has to offer

Suzuki have really improved in the past few years.

What's your budget, if you don't mind me asking?

swginn · 18 April 2004, 02:05

Just saw these, may be worth looking at.

http://www.buyaboat.co.uk/boatdetail...srefno=1622746

http://www.buyaboat.co.uk/boatdetail...srefno=2041017

http://www.boat-finder.com/12460/details.php

Th last one is a 5.8 with a 115 Yammy. Looks a very clean boat.

mstacey · 18 April 2004, 09:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by swginn

You really can't go wrong with either! It will be interesting to hear from the suzuki owners on this. There are quite a few of them on the forum.

Suzuki have really improved in the past few years.

I've got the Suzuki DF140 on the back of my Ribcraft 585. Very quiet motor. Responsive throughout is rev range and pushes the boat to 40 Knots with ease. A boat this size is very capable of crossing the Channel and the Ribcraft handles the big seas extremely well.

Others here with whom I crossed the Channel last Year will testify to that (F6 and big seas)

Plankton · 18 April 2004, 10:07

Blimey, you guys are fast out the blocks with advice - thanks a bunch !

Two of the boats listed I've put inquiries in for. But if you find any others please let me know ! I'm still quite keen (if I buy second-hand) to get a less than three-year old boat - a Tornado owner told me of some pitfalls with the older tubes. Not to say that an older boat won't be in decent nick of course.......

Thanks for the info on the Suzuki. I had a pair of them in the Caribbean five years ago - ran great, quiet as aces but still suffered damp even in that climate. I'll take your word for it though that they improved and bear that in mind. Talking of motors, I was at the Miami boatshow in February (nothing to do with RIBS) and shared a supper table one night with two guys from Evirude/Johnson. They were adamant that their new outboards were going to outlast the 4-stroke generation and give Merc a run for their money. Anyone heard anything about these new motors ?

As regards choice of motors, would I be right in saying that as a general rule a 4-stoke will give slightly better economy (useful if you're doing 100 mile runs) while the Opti, FICHT and 2-stroke motors give a bit more oommph ? (I'm a diesel man myself, so my knowledge of petrol blocks is haphazard to say the least - although I can service an outboard without losing too many bits - unless they go overboard or out a scupper.......... duh)

Andy - thanks for the tip about large HP's, that's why I want the 150 rather than something smaller. Always useful to have the extra power and not run the engine flat out all day.

Budgetwise I've got up to about £15K to spend. I could possibly go higher if someone has the right thing available, but if anyone has what I want cluttering up the back of their garage I'll take it away for nothing, obviously ! I'm not in the market for a trailer funnily enough. My French contacts tell me to run the boat to France, keeping it registered in the UK, and buy a trailer there.

Thanks for all the tips so far people. Much appreciated.

Roddy

swginn · 18 April 2004, 11:42

The evinrude/ johnson guy was probably talking about the new e-tec which I have heard is pretty much bomb-proof. The first scheduled service for them is 3 years. Will have to wait and see though. They are supposed to use very little oil and are very light and compact. Only thing is that they really won't apply to you as their current range only goes up as far as 90. Unless you get twins that is. Would have got one if they made a 135.

Yes, you are right about the Optis and 4strokes. There is a thread about Optimax fuel economy here, but you basically forget about economy above 4500rpm.

http://www.rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=4552