Camel Trophy Rib.......any good?

bubza · 08 October 2011, 21:05

Hi all,
New to this site and was looking for some of your wisdom. I'm thinking of buying a Camel Trophy Ribtec 655 and was wondering if anyone here has ever owned one or had experience with one? Any input would be much appreciated.

Pete7 · 08 October 2011, 21:54

Yes, Stu (Rogue Wave) asked I would drive his for a commercial charter one night. The thing had difficulty getting on the plane with 6 pax plus me. I told a small fib that the fuel tanks were full knowing we were running on fumes and could run out of fuel at any point.

So nice boats, if you get rid of the scaffolding and put a proper sized engine on it. I don't think the Honda 130 produces anything like 130 hp. oh and it used more fuel than my Merc v6 150 hp 2 stroke on the same Ribtec hull

. Big deep constant V hull needs lots of power to get going. There is an Osprey Viper 6.25 on e bay at the moment which personally I think would be a much better buy even if you needed to add seats. Viper hull shape produces a superb handling boat and good economy.

Most have had a hard life, so choose with care and don't pay over the odds. Wiring was carried out by security staff at Saxon Wharf on their days off so not the best and two of the 3 fuel tanks are under the deck. Electronics are now dated.

Pete

wavelength · 08 October 2011, 22:07

only ones I have seen have been underpowered dogs. Oh so heavy, and major probs with one up here with underdeck fuel leaks, allegedly due to the use of disimilar metals in a salty underdeck environment, but as said...allegedly.Owner opened the drain plug on the transom and covered the slipway with a technicolour mix of fuel and water.

Poly · 08 October 2011, 22:07

I think the Camel Trophy boats attract a "premium" because of their history / provenence. i.e. you will pay more for one simply because it was once a camel trophy rib than you would for an identical hull rigged to the same standard with the same engine. Unlike ex MoD or RNLI boats where the provenance might suggest robustness the camel trophy boats were built to survive one race and reports on here don't seem to suggest build quality matched the reputation that ribtec had when they started.

Dry Run · 09 October 2011, 08:57

Hi,
I used to own two of them and can comment on the following: -
The engines are a little underpowered for the boat (but it depends what performance your after) and I changed the 130's for Optimax 200's.
There seems to always be a problem with the underdeck tanks as they usually let water in and petrol out. On mine the problem was due to two things. Firstly the fuel sender units are made of different metal to the tanks and so corrode and leak. Secondly the fuel pick up in the tanks is not at the bottom so even if you run the tanks "dry" there is still about 20 litres of fuel / water left in the tank which can only be removed through the sender fixing.
The electrics are 12 years old now so expect the usual problems.
Finally though, they are great hulls and very seaworthy boats, just make sure you investigate what problems the one you're looking at might have and budget accordingly.

bubza · 09 October 2011, 11:21

Thank's guy's, much appreciated. Sound's like there more trouble than there worth, think i'll steer clear!!

willk · 09 October 2011, 11:41

All of the above.

And, do you REALLY want to be sitting in a RIB branded after a packet of American fags?

biffer · 09 October 2011, 11:56

I've had my hands on every single one of them as I was one of the team that rigged them. Don't buy it

sent from a remote device

martini · 09 October 2011, 13:18

You're not selling yourself there Biffer!

Pete7 · 09 October 2011, 13:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by martini

You're not selling yourself there Biffer!

I don't think he needs to and those two sentences he posted are probably worth there weight in gold. Oh and he has just knocked 3 grand off the price of a Camel rib.

In addition to the camel ribs, Ribtec did later use the moulds to make others with similar bow and seat mouldlings. There was a blue and white rib in Southampton with twin 50hp 4 strokes like this. That was also very slow when I drove it, about 22 knots or so but built without the 3rd deck tank and no scaffolding it might be a better option.

Pete

biffer · 09 October 2011, 13:44

Can only say it as I find it. Not a bad hull just a bit wet from the fwd quarter but with all that weight in it. It's just not balanced right

sent from a remote device

matt h · 09 October 2011, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by biffer

I've had my hands on every single one of them as I was one of the team that rigged them. Don't buy it

sent from a remote device

Ya cant get better honest advice than that

jezza2011 · 09 October 2011, 16:43

Oh man I wanted one of these when my old ribtec dies.

My ribtec is a nice boat. but it is a 535 and not a camel trophy.

Maximus · 09 October 2011, 19:19

Quote:

Originally Posted by biffer

I've had my hands on every single one of them as I was one of the team that rigged them. Don't buy it

sent from a remote device

All this talk of 'Fag's' and 'Selling yourself'...certaily enough to put me off!

biffer · 09 October 2011, 19:32

Don't need to sell myself. Just pointing out how I can give this man some sound advice. Unless you know better than me. I will always bow to your experience

sent from a remote device

Jizm · 09 October 2011, 19:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete7

Wiring was carried out by security staff at Saxon Wharf on their days off so not the best.

Pete

Had to fit some new toys to one once and I did wonder.
Now I know............

biffer · 09 October 2011, 20:09

Not strictly true Pete. But they weren't all marine guys. When you look at it. The boats are 12 years old and all 62 were built in about 3 months and then thrashed to death in a mad race. I repaired a lot when they came back some were in a bad way

sent from a remote device

Rogue Wave · 09 October 2011, 20:17

All my boats are/were named after songs/musos I like here the List

Tumbling Dice
Wake uo Call
Won't get fooled again
Texas Flood
Stevie Rayvon
Couldn'Stand the Weather
Dyna MO Humm
Burning Love
Jones Crusher
Deja Voodoo

guess which one the Camel was

Dr Doof · 09 October 2011, 20:19

Won't get fooled again?

Boats&Outboards · 09 October 2011, 21:09

Could be "couldn't stand the weather" too so my guess is he's had two of em and the latter was called "won't get fooled again" :hide

I almost bought one last month with said Honda 130 from north Wales boat shed - priced £10,000 but they accepted £6,000 which seem a hell of a drop for a first offer acceptance!

Peter ~ Boatsandoutboards4sale ~ askboatsandoutboards4sale@sky.com ~ 07930 421007