Family RIB

[Takson]

I am planning on buying a rib towards the end of this year/early next year to do some coastal cruising with the family.

Currently I'm mainly a yachtie, but my children do get a bit bored on a yacht after 3 - 4 hours sailing. I can't blame them really, they are 7,4 and 3, and although we try and involve them in the running of the boat there are limitations as to what we want them to do.

I have a couple of friends who have gone to ribs as their main water based fun with families as they actually get to use them, visit lots more places and, as their children have got older do things like donut pulling and wakeboarding. It seems like the way forward as I am also a great distance away from being able to afford any yacht I actually want too...

I am planning to get a boat in the 5.8 - 6.5 m range but would like some advice on fit out and hear peoples experience RIBing with small children. On a yacht it is quite simple.

Foam based life jackets with harness (to be used on RIB too)
Life Line on fixed point in cockpit or on lazyjack if acompanied on windward rail on calm days.
For our youngest we also used to take car seat lashed in cockpit for and slightly rougher days.

I'd be interested in experience and thoughts on optimal layout for family day boating and whether people have wrapped up their kids up in velcro fly suits and stuck them to the seats

[Tim M]

There is an argument against tethering people into a RIB, as if they fall over the side at speed they will be in greater danger being dragged along than just being able to bob around in the water and wait to be picked up. However, if I had young children and was taking them out in the RIB I would probably do exactly that, only with very short life lines so they couldn't get anywhere near the sides. Of course whatever you attach that to on the boat is going to have to be man enough.

In terms of what sort of boat you want, something like a Ballistic, Ribeye or Cobra is probably what you want as these generally have a mixture of bench seating at the back with jockey seats further forward and are aimed at families like yours.

[Rogue Wave]

If you are going so fast that there is a danger that you are going to bounce your nippers out of the boat then your'e going too fast. The problem with tethering kids to Ribs is that there is always the possibility that you overturn the boat and your nippers are trapped underneath and the obvious prop chum issiues. Additionaly they don't have the upperbody strength to hold thenselves in position rigidly so they move forward with the bumps and for this I think it is important to protect them from the Stainless work on the boats Pipe insulation and BMX pads used to work well and save chipped teethl.

Derfinitely no cruisong with Kids sitting on the Suicide seat in built into the fromt of the console

Having said that it's years sinced i did it and it might be better getting advice with someone who does family ribbing

I have actually been giving kids seating a bit of thought lately and I reckon that you could quite easily have a bench seat made with feet support raised up for younsters or Jockeys with extra rails laminated to give foot support to younger and shorter legs.

I might Just buy Tims seat mould and start having a go at making something

Re Ribs

Whats you target price. All the seating you are after can be found in Osprey Ribcraft, Humber and Ribquest vessels and the quality is better than the three brands mentioned.

Velcro suits is a canny idea

[Takson]

I'm looking to go second hand with a budget of up to about £12k

I like the idea of a bit of a project boat so I can know the boat inside out, but also think I would be better to go for a tried and tested boat first, work out what I want over 2 or 3 seasons then look to do the project boat approach.

[Takson]

Looking at Ospreys website they seem to have just the bench seat I would like to consider. it is their Rear bench seat with splashwell ( Rigging options - Osprey RIBs UK)

[Tea boy]

Originally Posted by Takson

Looking at Ospreys website they seem to have just the bench seat I would like to consider. it is their Rear bench seat with splashwell ( Rigging options - Osprey RIBs UK)

I don't think your budget will stretch to one of those!
We started on our ribbing with 6 month old a 2 and a 4 year old with mu old dive club Osprey Viper 5.75 rib which lacked any seating so we used car seats and old push chair strapped to the deck
Worked well, but did not strap them in, the worst you can do is scare the wife and kids as this will make it a hole lot harder to get them to come out again, but I expect you know that with your history having sailed already.
For me bench seats are great with small kids as mum can sit with them and give them a reassuring cuddle which is good for both of them.
We moved on to a hard boat as this gave us shelter small cabin lost of seating and a loo, plus we could sleep on it too.
But have gone back to a Ribeye 6m which for me is a great family bot but my youngest is now 10 years old so now the kids our on the jockey seats leaving Mum on the bench seat on her own!

Ps on holiday can't log in so had to reregister to get my fix!
Nick Hearne

[Tea boy]

[QUOTE=Takson;541506]Looking at Ospreys website they seem to have just the bench seat I would like to consider. it is their Rear bench seat with splashwell ( [url=http://www.ospreyribs.co.uk/rigging-options]Rigging options - Osprey RIBs UK[/

Solent treasure hunt many years ago!

[Tea boy]

[QUOTE=Tea boy;541672]

Originally Posted by Takson

Looking at Ospreys website they seem to have just the bench seat I would like to consider. it is their Rear bench seat with splashwell ( [url=http://www.ospreyribs.co.uk/rigging-options]Rigging options - Osprey RIBs UK[/

Solent treasure hunt many years ago!

No photo

[Tea boy]

Solent treasure hunt many years ago!

[treerat]

We've had our kids on the rib from a young age. Full foam lifejackets and sensible warm / waterproof layers.

Body harness under the lifejacket which gave us a really good grab handle for them and enabled clip on should it have been required - it never was.

Always had one on the console with me and the wife had responsibility for the other. We'd often have the little on in the bow seat as he loved it there - used to nod off, but wife would be in control of him via the harness and only ever at sensible speeds.

We removed the bench seat from out boat as the kids hated it, and the 8 year old prefers to stand. They found they were bounced or slid about, but then it was a straight bench, not a scooped one.

Kids on ribs are great, mine was able to get me home from 6 years old, but short trips with picnics, fishing, ringo for the oldest one etc are key for us. Keep them interested in lots of little 2/3 hour trips works here

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

If you are going so fast that there is a danger that you are going to bounce your nippers out of the boat then your'e going too fast. The problem with tethering kids to Ribs is that there is always the possibility that you overturn the boat and your nippers are trapped underneath and the obvious prop chum issiues.

Agreed. Likewise if you are in conditions or driving in a way likely to overturn the boat probably best to leave the kids at home! This has been discussed before though - and the general conclusion is not to strap kids in. My experience is when moving at speed they are unlikely to try exiting the boat - and a hand on the lifejacket straps of very small children offers reassurance. Tethering may be more useful at very low speed - as that is when they might try to wander, or when the second adult might be helping with mooring etc. Although the impact of a swim at low speed is less significant!

Derfinitely no cruisong with Kids sitting on the Suicide seat in built into the fromt of the console

probably! In general most people agree that the suicide seat is aptly named, however it is interesting that charter ribs often put the console at the back and pax up front - where you can see them. Its not a particularly practical arrangement with families, and young kids not getting the shelter of the console BUT if they are stuck at the back you need some way for kids or parents to signal a problem / concern / anxiousness to the helm - he won't hear over the engines, and whilst he should be keeping a lookout behind will probably not be looking backwards as much as forwards!

I have actually been giving kids seating a bit of thought lately and I reckon that you could quite easily have a bench seat made with feet support raised up for younsters or Jockeys with extra rails laminated to give foot support to younger and shorter legs.

there is some previous posts on modifying jockey seats either with fabric stirrups or motorbike pillion footposts.

Originally Posted by Tea boy

Worked well, but did not strap them in, the worst you can do is scare the wife and kids as this will make it a hole lot harder to get them to come out again, but I expect you know that with your history having sailed already.

very much an issue to consider. Plus a bucket of water in the face is funny for you but miserable for a child sitting wet the rest of the day getting battered by 30 knots of windchill. Keep them warm and dry and it is much easier.

My experience is young kids prefer short adventures to long trips. An hour is probably about their max.

[Rogue Wave]

Originally Posted by Poly

Agreed.
probably! In general most people agree that the suicide seat is aptly named, however it is interesting that charter ribs often put the console at the back and pax up front - where you can see them. Its not a particularly practical arrangement with families, and young kids not getting the shelter of the console BUT if they are stuck at the back you need some way for kids or parents to signal a problem / concern / anxiousness to the helm - he won't hear over the engines, and whilst he should be keeping a lookout behind will probably not be looking backwards as much as forwards!

I agree with what you are saying but I'd like to take the opprtunity to explain my thoughts a little more. My problem with the suicide seat is that there is nothing to stop the passenger (Young or Old) pitching forward. and usually there is something in the Bow tto crack your nogging on like a bow eye , anchor, cool box etc. . A suicide seat with a Barrier/handrail in fromt might work quite well.

I think rear driving positions for passenger ribs should be mandatory especially if you are doing thrill rides. When I used to do it I was always happier being able to monitor the passengers constatntly than having to turn around occasionally do a head count! The difference which makes it safer being that the seats in front of the console were jockeys and had some form of hand rail built into each of them.

Moving on to the OP's budget.

I don't think there is a better 1 man boat builder in the business than Mike Whittam who laminates Osprey Ribs and runs Osprey RIBS UK. His Quality is always excellent and his charges are reasonable. He has a thriving income stream from renovating older ribs with new seating and consoles. He has worked on three of my RIBS in the past and has worked wonders on them. I will try and post some links of his work.

I think you could pick up a suitable rib, Toahatsu Solent Porter Osprey Ribcraft Flatacraft amongst many others and have Mike work his reasonable priced magic on them and Have a fine boat that is set up for you.

[Downhilldai]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

I agree with what you are saying but I'd like to take the opprtunity to explain my thoughts a little more. My problem with the suicide seat is that there is nothing to stop the passenger (Young or Old) pitching forward. and usually there is something in the Bow tto crack your nogging on like a bow eye , anchor, cool box etc. . A suicide seat with a Barrier/handrail in fromt might work quite well.

I think rear driving positions for passenger ribs should be mandatory especially if you are doing thrill rides. When I used to do it I was always happier being able to monitor the passengers constatntly than having to turn around occasionally do a head count! The difference which makes it safer being that the seats in front of the console were jockeys and had some form of hand rail built into each of them.

Moving on to the OP's budget.

I don't think there is a better 1 man boat builder in the business than Mike Whittam who laminates Osprey Ribs and runs Osprey RIBS UK. His Quality is always excellent and his charges are reasonable. He has a thriving income stream from renovating older ribs with new seating and consoles. He has worked on three of my RIBS in the past and has worked wonders on them. I will try and post some links of his work.

I think you could pick up a suitable rib, Toahatsu Solent Porter Osprey Ribcraft Flatacraft amongst many others and have Mike work his reasonable priced magic on them and Have a fine boat that is set up for you.

All of this. ^

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

I agree with what you are saying but I'd like to take the opprtunity to explain my thoughts a little more. My problem with the suicide seat is that there is nothing to stop the passenger (Young or Old) pitching forward. and usually there is something in the Bow tto crack your nogging on like a bow eye , anchor, cool box etc. . A suicide seat with a Barrier/handrail in fromt might work quite well.

Good points.

Just another thought - a few years back I was considering buying a bigger rib from a wise old sage on this forum as I thought it would be more child friendly. The vendor suggested that actually he wasn't sure that RIBs were really the place for very young kids. I don't think I agreed at the time, but I would certainly say the kids limit the type and scope of the ribbing we do. They are a bit older now, but pre-school and even under about 8 there is a limit to what they will endure before they become miserable and then everyone just wants to be at home. It may be different on the south coast where the weather is nicer but I would need to be convinced I was really going to use it regularly before parting with £10k + for a reliable 6m ish rib.

[boristhebold]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

If you are going so fast that there is a danger that you are going to bounce your nippers out of the boat then your'e going too fast. The problem with tethering kids to Ribs is that there is always the possibility that you overturn the boat and your nippers are trapped underneath and the obvious prop chum issiues. Additionaly they don't have the upperbody strength to hold thenselves in position rigidly so they move forward with the bumps and for this I think it is important to protect them from the Stainless work on the boats Pipe insulation and BMX pads used to work well and save chipped teethl.

Derfinitely no cruisong with Kids sitting on the Suicide seat in built into the fromt of the console

Having said that it's years sinced i did it and it might be better getting advice with someone who does family ribbing

I have actually been giving kids seating a bit of thought lately and I reckon that you could quite easily have a bench seat made with feet support raised up for younsters or Jockeys with extra rails laminated to give foot support to younger and shorter legs.

I might Just buy Tims seat mould and start having a go at making something

Re Ribs

Whats you target price. All the seating you are after can be found in Osprey Ribcraft, Humber and Ribquest vessels and the quality is better than the three brands mentioned.

Velcro suits is a canny idea

Whats wrong with the quality of Ballistic, Ribeye and cobra ?

[ppenman]

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

If you are going so fast that there is a danger that you are going to bounce your nippers out of the boat then your'e going too fast. The problem with tethering kids to Ribs is that there is always the possibility that you overturn the boat and your nippers are trapped underneath and the obvious prop chum issiues. Additionaly they don't have the upperbody strength to hold thenselves in position rigidly so they move forward with the bumps and for this I think it is important to protect them from the Stainless work on the boats Pipe insulation and BMX pads used to work well and save chipped teethl.

Derfinitely no cruisong with Kids sitting on the Suicide seat in built into the fromt of the console

Having said that it's years sinced i did it and it might be better getting advice with someone who does family ribbing

I have actually been giving kids seating a bit of thought lately and I reckon that you could quite easily have a bench seat made with feet support raised up for younsters or Jockeys with extra rails laminated to give foot support to younger and shorter legs.

I might Just buy Tims seat mould and start having a go at making something

Re Ribs

Whats you target price. All the seating you are after can be found in Osprey Ribcraft, Humber and Ribquest vessels and the quality is better than the three brands mentioned.

Velcro suits is a canny idea

I disagree with that statement. I've owned a couple of Ribcraft which were excellent boats and currently own a Ribeye which again I find excellent. On the recent Anglesey trip in what was fairly rough sea states the Ribeye coped as well as my Ribcraft would with nothing falling off or breaking. Both makes have good points and areas for improvement.

[wavelength]

or kids were out in the boat from a few months old...and now I work for one of them in the industry. However that was a fast fishing boat with higher sides than a rib, and a cuddy that they could get into out of the wind. They loved it, took a really active part in the boat from the earliest days and we could look after them easier. Good for our safety too as we used to get such a telling off from the pair of 'em if we didnt have our lifejackets on as we were always so careful with theirs.
Mate of mine went from a 5m rib to a big open diesel beast in the marina-and frankly his kids hated it. They used to end up under a canvas dodger in the bow for shelter which must have been awful for a youngster. Literally put em off for life. One thing he found with the bench seat at the stern was once the boat was up and planing all they could see was the inside of the boat-except if they shipped some water then they saw lumps of it in cold close up.
I didnt put ours on a rib til they were older and could be involved enough to take some care of themselves with the lower sides.
Personally I would get something different to a rib (sorry ) for the early days when being on the sea should be a pleasure for them and you wouldnt be looking for adventurous boating. You'll know when they are ready for some rib adventure and you wont have put em off at the beginning. Others will disagree no doubt but that was my experience and it worked so well for us

[jokaboat]

Originally Posted by wavelength

Personally I would get something different to a rib (sorry ) for the early days when being on the sea should be a pleasure for them and you wouldnt be looking for adventurous boating. You'll know when they are ready for some rib adventure and you wont have put em off at the beginning. Others will disagree no doubt but that was my experience and it worked so well for us

I would tend to agree with you on that but was too scared to come out in the open on here and say it

[9D280]

Originally Posted by Poly

My experience is young kids prefer short adventures to long trips. An hour is probably about their max.

Ditto.

To put this in prespective - I took mine on a 20 min jaunt down a canal (Falkirk wheel 10th anniversary). Having had to launch 14 miles and a good 2 hrs at walking pace I was bored out my tree by the time I picked the rest of them up at a nearby pontoon. The wee one described it as "awesome".

Ditto up the west coast - a dinghy & a pair of oars means there is plenty to look at over the transom & see what's swmming / crawling around on the bottom under the boat. I can then put the 8 on the back & go play.

[Rogue Wave]

Were all entitled to our opinion and I'm happy that your'e happy you have spent your money well

I feel quite foolish attempting to stop people buying a Ribeye or a Cobra as my son makes a living fixing and retubing Ribs and these two makes will always keep work coming in.

I have personally seen a Cobra where the deck had rotted because it wasn;t sealed underneath at the point of manufacture and thats enough for me to form an opinion.

There are two refurb threads on this forum one being a Ballistic and the other a Cobra Both craft had had needed major overhauls. Which is a bit of a Quality tell for a relatively young boat and also the devaluation they suffered from new was surprisingly expensive.

I don't actually think Ribeye quality is as bad as it used to be but I'd be wary about buying one secondhand with a view to refurbishing one. But I woukd bever agree that PVC tubed Ribeye Quality was superior to Osprey or Ribcraft or even as good

re Ballistics I've fixed quire a few punctures on them and I don't much like the quality of the tube material they use and they always seemed to be on the nose cone.

Can I take it you mostly agreed with the rest of my comment's