Are Leeway RIB's any good?

[ribraff]

Stuart.... it say's Ribeye in your profile. Is this new?

[Rogue Wave]

Nah I'm not that hypocritical!

somebody changed my profile when they stayed at my house, I leave it their to remind me not to be kind!

I can't say who it was but this is a clue

[Doug Stormforce]

I have watched this question being discussed a few times. I bought a Leeway 6.3 m just before the last discussion a couple of weeks back started. I decided not to offer my opinion then as the boat was new and we had not yet spent much time in it. Now however I feel I can offer some opinions

We are very happy with the boat, it planes easier than most other RIBs I have driven even when well loaded, its top speed is good, again even when well loaded. We are quite happy with the finish and can not find fault. If we started again we would go for a slightly different seat configuration as we have found the seats slightly close to the console. This of course is no problem for Lee to change if you ask him. I found him very helpful

As we primarily use the boat for Level 1 and 2 instructing its most important quality is ease of boat handling. We need a RIB that is eay to handle in close quarters for our beginners. The Leeway is perfect for this, I could not wish for anything better on this front.

The facts are that
6 of our instructors have so far taught using it, 4 of us were very impressed with it, 1 was not and 1 I have not jet had a chance to speak to. The one who was not impressed moaned about the plotter being to big (obviously our choice of plotter not Leeways) and the seat being to close to the console, which I do agree with.

The feedback from our customers of all levels (beginners, intermediate and advanced) has been good and they generally like it.

Having spent 6 months looking at new RIBs I feel we made the right choice, I am not claiming it is the best RIB ever but I certainly can not find anything else of better quality at the same price. Even if you were to throw another £5K at it I think you would still struggle to find a boat of comparable quality.

OK, so there is my opinion, as an owner and a happy customer. It is only my own opinion but I feel qualified to give it as an owner with 2 decades experience as a regular RIB driver.

I am currently considering a second Leeway, this time a bigger one. The decision is not whether to go for a Leeway or an alternative, simply whether we can afford one at all. If we can then it will be another Leeway.

If anyone has any specific questions I am more than happy to answer them by email but I have no intertest in joining the debate on splashing , morals etc. I am not qualified to offer an opinion on that so will not be drawn in.

[Rogue Wave]

do you have any links with Leeway Dougie or do you demonstrate them purely through Altruism?

[Doug Stormforce]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

do you have any links with Leeway Dougie or do you demonstrate them purely through Altruism?

Good question Stu, we are running demos for Leeway, it makes sense to work the RIBs as much as possible and we factored it in when negotiating the purchase price.

The fact that I do business with him shows I find him easy to work with. As you know I work with yourselves and many other forum members from time to time as well, credit where credit is due I like his boat

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by ribraff

Stuart.... it say's Ribeye in your profile. Is this new?

As you can see Ed I am now from Kazakfkknstan

[ribraff]

....that's what friends a re for

[LeewayComposite]

thank you all for the kind coments. We have our demo 8.3m showing at ribex this weekend....