Cherbourg Last Weekend

[MarkWildey]

Went to Cherbourg at the weekend with some hard boat (no tubes) boys. Trip over was flat calm but still had to throttle back to 26knots. On the way back in what can only be explained, from a RIB point of view, as a slight swell the pace dropped down to 24 knots!!!

They were getting a very wet ride whereas we had no water or even spray to deal with.

Eventually set off at my cruising speed of 35 knots and was back an hour before everyone else.


Long Live RIBS !!!

Mark
Mark@ecc-limited.com

[Alan Priddy]

Hi Mark
Thought I would reply just in case you felt that no one was interested. Do you think that your comments will lead to the world domination of Rib's as the only boat to use?

Cheers

Alan P

[Keith Hart]

Hey

Don't forget real INFLATABLE boats as well!

Keith Hart

[Hey, in the event of engine failure I could always point the boat in the right direction and puncture the rear tubes - jet boat!]

[Keith Hart]

PS

Here's what a real inflatable boat looks like!

Keith (puff,puff) Hart

[Keith Hart]

Well folks I'm just going to have to ask the question: just why are ribs so much faster that the hard boats?

My little boat being an inflatable actually floats on the tubes, and yes, it is VERY stable. I see pictures of some ribs and see that their tubes are NOT in the water. If the tubes are not in the water then what makes the Rib any different to a 'hard' boat?

Keith (questions, always questions) Hart

[Alan Priddy]

If the tubes are not in the water then they are a waste of time.
BUT, the RIB was always meant to be a rough weather boat that can go fast and that is when they come into their own. In big seas the trick is to drive the boat through the waves on the tubes, this way you can make good speed especialy when running down wind. When I say big seas, I mean BIG SEAS not typical coastal stuff.

Alan P

[Phil]

Alan P, how do you define big seas;

secondly have you any comment on the Ribtec/Ribeye merger;if I am not mistaken your hulls on the "Pride" boat were Ribtec-will this affect future projects

[batfalcon]

I totaly agree with Alan P. The tubes are there to be in touch with the water WHEN & ONLY nedded. That "when and only" means is that when the sea is flat, there is no need to stabilize the boat by the tubes and they should not touch the water at a reasonable speed. Now if the boat hasn't got rigid bottom it is obvius that the tubes lose the contact only when airborn

[Alan Priddy]

Big seas are when the waves are longer and taller than than the length of the boat. Spirit is 35 ft long and when she is either standing on her transom or poking her nose through the bottom of a wave that is BIG SEAS. In our recent TV Documentary Clive Tully described the seas as "like looking out over Dartmoor, they just kept falling away at least 80ft into the distance"!

As for the merger, I think it will be good for the industry, and although I have a good working relationship with Ribtec my involvement and loyalty is a friendship with Tim Wilks which will always stay. The Ribtec hull design is a superior deep sea design and if I thought there was a better one then I would use it for our expeditions.

Alan P