I'm quite new to ribbing and own a Zodiac pro open 550 which has been a great family boat for mostly bay hopping around Devon and Cornwall. I want to move away from 'leisure rib' (by virtue of the seating arrangement) and get one which is suitable for more adventurous travels I have a Honda 90 and it seems to happy at 20-25 knt all day long with a max of about 30 knot a 5000 rpm; so its over propped just a bit. Always seem economical - on Sunday did swanick to Lymington over to Newtown then upto Folly for a beer and back to swanick for about £30 which I didn't think was bad considering most was at 25knts.
What is the zodiac pro designed for?
What would I need for example to be able to do say an Alderney, channel island or Scilly isles type trip that I read about in the cruises section?
I was thinking of maybe 6.5m-7.5m with something like a 140; so its able to c40knts and yet be economical. But really it needs to be trailerable for trips to SW.
Can you guys suggest some sea going models to consider - As i dont know anything about the pros and cons of certain designs
Also what the best way of selling the exisiting boat via a broker or ebay or some other way?
A 150 on a pro 15 would be good, see picture in latest zodiac brochure page 20/21, or you can put up to 175hp on a pro open 650 or 300hp on an 850 pro open. If you use a zodiac dealer then the cost to change would be easy to get and sort rather than going the e-bay route. At least you would drive in with one boat and away with the other. Your 550 must be a very capable boat though. Add a 115/120 if you want more power. Change the seating for the latest lean back or have pods put in to replace what you have...could be cheaper in the long run.
They will hit 40 knots easily... I think they top out about 45knots. A couple of years ago I went to littlehampton with Bruce Hawsker (spelling?) and his boat seemed to handle nicely in the rough weather...
I'm sure there are plenty of others to choose from, but value for money, a solent is near the top of the list.
