Essential equipment for a RIB

[Scud85]

Hi,

I'm new to boating and have just bought myself a RIB second hand, but it doesn't come with many extras.

I'm wondering what equipment is essential and/or nice to have, based on your experience.

It comes with 1 or 2 things and I've managed to procure some otherr stuff, but what do you reckon I'm missing to kit out a RIB for leisure use. RIB will mainly be used for a young family at the coast.

What I have,
1. Depth sounder,
2. VHF.
3. Handheld Cobra VHF,
4. Life jackets for all,
5. Anchor with chain and rope,
6. Fenders and mooring lines,
7. A flare.

What am I missing????

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Scud85

Hi,

I'm new to boating and have just bought myself a RIB second hand, but it doesn't come with many extras.

I'm wondering what equipment is essential and/or nice to have, based on your experience.

It comes with 1 or 2 things and I've managed to procure some otherr stuff, but what do you reckon I'm missing to kit out a RIB for leisure use. RIB will mainly be used for a young family at the coast.

What I have,
1. Depth sounder,
2. VHF.
3. Handheld Cobra VHF,
4. Life jackets for all,
5. Anchor with chain and rope,
6. Fenders and mooring lines,
7. A flare.

What am I missing????

Thats a pretty good list of essentials, anything else is just a nice to have in my opinion. You can get far to bogged down with safety gear and before you know it you need a bigger boat to accommodate the "essentials"
Go out enjoy it & decide as you go what further accessories you'd like

Sent from my SM-G950F using RIB Net mobile app

[Bern Hanreck]

Hiya Scud , and welcome to RIBnet .

What Ken said ..... Possibly plus

" And it's straight I will repair to ........." A PB2 boat course for you and preferably one other member of your regular crew , even better if you can arrange that in your intended cruising waters .

Try and join local cruises with like minded ribbers and seek the benefit of their knowledge . Cruising in company is a great safety benefit on it's own .

[GuyC]

Welcome to the forum.

I think the only things I'd consider adding are a basic toolkit (even just a Leatherman type thing) and a basic first aid kit (children's plasters, wet wipes, hand gel and suntan lotion).

I'd also recommend doing a powerboat course. I don't know what the score is in the RoI but I guess there will be something similar to the powerboat courses in the UK.

A young family, depending on ages, throws up a few hurdles. Decent kit and keeping them occupied tends to tick most of the boxes. They are less resilient to wind, waves and spray so you might have to consider destinations a bit more.

Edt - what Bern said.

[A1an]

Fuel and plenty of it

[Orwell boy]

Telescopic pole is always handy for avioding a bump when launching
Enjoy !

[Dry_Doc]

I'd definitely add:
A dry powder fire extinguisher.
Basic frst aid kit.
Baling equipment (electric pump + hand pump or bucket/baler).

If you're new to boating, then PB2 is a very good idea. Failing that, get someone experienced to go out with you the first few times.

[FoxZulu]

Welcome to the forum Scud. I would say you're pretty well covered there, but would echo the above posts re PB2. Also would be worth doing the VHF course. Oh, and a decent set of waterproofs for all - the weather can, and does, turn very quickly.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Chart plotter, PLB, more than A flare or electronic flare plus what’s been said

[jokee]

A good un-pointed pocket knife - in case of prop fouling

[lakelandterrier]

I agree with all the above.

I'd go for an LED flare and a couple of floating orange smokes in case of daytime emergency. I've moved away from handheld pyro.

Most important thing is a good dose of common sense and not being too ambitious especially with a young family. Very easy to put them off. If conditions aren't right there's always another day.

Good luck and enjoy.

[Scud85]

Thank you so much for your honest replies, some great tips there for me. I did the PB2 course a few weeks ago and I'm waiting for them to start doing the VHF course again, closed due to Covid.

I need to buy a few more things by the look of it, but they all seem very important.

[GARYSHORT]

Battery Charger
Current Volt condition of batteries
Second battery tied into first to run lights and aux (small gel type)
Small blower to remove fuel fumes
Possible water pressure gauge to be sure you have good flow
GPS

[Iankristy]

Echoing some of the above but…
-bailer
-basic first aid
-if your life jackets came with boat have they been tested?(i.e. manually inflated for 24hrs and bottles weighed). I nearly got caught out with a mouse nibbling mine in garage.
-basic tool kit(include tie wraps and tape for temp get you home fixes)
-sea anchor(keep your nose into surf when too deep to deploy anchor)
-food/ water and in summer sun cream
-local charts/ passage plan and mobile phone(charged)
-someone on shore who knows what your plan is and when to expect you back
All that said having done your PB2 you will know all this 🤷*♂️🤪

[lakelandterrier]

Originally Posted by GARYSHORT

Battery Charger
Current Volt condition of batteries
Second battery tied into first to run lights and aux (small gel type)
Small blower to remove fuel fumes
Possible water pressure gauge to be sure you have good flow
GPS

TBH, I wouldn't worry about these if doing shortish trips in UK/ROI.
I run my 5.85m rib with a 140HP on a single battery. Saves weight and space.
Shouldn't have fuel fumes enclosed on a RIB (I appreciate it's a risk with in board petrol engines).
Telltale from the outboard will tell you if you have enough water circulating.

[GARYSHORT]

Also:

1. Add an additional dock line, carabiners, snaplocks
2. Put everything that is below deck or under the seat or in the holds, in plastic ziplock bags or dry bags to prevent mold/mildew.
3. Multi-signaling devices: electronic light, smoke, shooting and holding flares, whistle.
4. marine tool kit that won't rust.
5. Quick stick patch and good quality duct tape.
6. Extra fuses.
7. Marine radio that is MMSI equipped. Be sure you have created an account.
8.

[garyeuro]

Originally Posted by Scud85

Hi,

I'm new to boating and have just bought myself a RIB second hand, but it doesn't come with many extras.

I'm wondering what equipment is essential and/or nice to have, based on your experience.

It comes with 1 or 2 things and I've managed to procure some otherr stuff, but what do you reckon I'm missing to kit out a RIB for leisure use. RIB will mainly be used for a young family at the coast.

What I have,
1. Depth sounder,
2. VHF.
3. Handheld Cobra VHF,
4. Life jackets for all,
5. Anchor with chain and rope,
6. Fenders and mooring lines,
7. A flare.

What am I missing????

Hi Scud,

Same here, just purchased a RIB, looks like you've covered most of what I have grabbed plus I've also added:

MOB kit
First aid Kit
Multitool

Just for a bit of added safety I've gone for an ACRResQLink PLB but still need to get a handheld VHF (and do the course asap).

I'm sure there will be more I may need to ad with experience, all the best and enjoy your RIB!

[Miss Guided]

Hi Scud

You might find this useful:

Safety Equipment Checklist Test
Mandatory (27)
1. Bailer/Sponges
2. Boathook
3. Charts, Almanac, Pilots
4. Fire Extinguisher
5. First Aid (inc Seasick Pills, TPAs)
6. Flares1
7. Fog Horn
8. GPS
9. Hand Bearing Compass
10. Kedge
11. Kill Cord (2)
12. Knife
13. Lifebuoy, Danbuoy, MOB Light, Drogue
14. Lifejackets
15. Liferaft
16. Mooring Lines
17. Oars
18. Pump/Mending Kit
19. Radar Reflector
20. Solas V Card
21. Spare Fuel (inc funnel)
22. Spares2
23. Throwing Line
24. Tools (rags)
25. Torches (inc spare batteries)
26. VHF (inc spare batteries)
27. Whistle

Secondary (11)

1. Binoculars
2. Bucket & Lanyard
3. Drogue/Sea Anchor
4. EPIRB, SART
5. Lifejacket spares
6. Mobile Phone (12v Charger)
7. Oilies, Hat, Gloves, Boots
8. Spare Prop
9. Stopwatch (for high speed passage making & searches)
10. Sun Cream
11. Sunglasses, Goggles
12. Towel (old blue cut offs)
13. Water, Snacks
1 Inshore 2R, 2S, coastal 2R, 2S, 2P, offshore 4R, 2S, 4P
2 Bulbs, fuses, filters, belts, impeller, shear pins, cotter pins, cable ties, gaffer tape, WD-40

MGx

[Fender]

Originally Posted by Miss Guided

Hi Scud

You might find this useful:

Safety Equipment Checklist Test
Mandatory (27)
1. Bailer/Sponges
2. Boathook
3. Charts, Almanac, Pilots
4. Fire Extinguisher
5. First Aid (inc Seasick Pills, TPAs)
6. Flares1
7. Fog Horn
8. GPS
9. Hand Bearing Compass
10. Kedge
11. Kill Cord (2)
12. Knife
13. Lifebuoy, Danbuoy, MOB Light, Drogue
14. Lifejackets
15. Liferaft
16. Mooring Lines
17. Oars
18. Pump/Mending Kit
19. Radar Reflector
20. Solas V Card
21. Spare Fuel (inc funnel)
22. Spares2
23. Throwing Line
24. Tools (rags)
25. Torches (inc spare batteries)
26. VHF (inc spare batteries)
27. Whistle

Secondary (11)

1. Binoculars
2. Bucket & Lanyard
3. Drogue/Sea Anchor
4. EPIRB, SART
5. Lifejacket spares
6. Mobile Phone (12v Charger)
7. Oilies, Hat, Gloves, Boots
8. Spare Prop
9. Stopwatch (for high speed passage making & searches)
10. Sun Cream
11. Sunglasses, Goggles
12. Towel (old blue cut offs)
13. Water, Snacks
1 Inshore 2R, 2S, coastal 2R, 2S, 2P, offshore 4R, 2S, 4P
2 Bulbs, fuses, filters, belts, impeller, shear pins, cotter pins, cable ties, gaffer tape, WD-40

MGx

'Your gonna need a bigger boat!'

[wgc851]

Back when i was a youth i used to carry an emergency pint can of Stella in case it all went wrong. some would argue whether or not this is essential