First RIB - Searider 4.7 with an interesting spec...

[Rupes]

Hi everyone,

This week we took delivery of our first RIB.

So excited spent pretty much the entire winter stuck in an obsessive cycle of research + checking ebay, gumtree, B&O, FAFB etc. on a near constant basis. On the journey I spoke to a number of really helpful RIBnet members, most recently Alex at Custom Rib who is a top guy and gave us loads of advice. We seriously considered a handful of boats, each of which we ended up discounting for various reasons.

In the end, we tracked down a fantastic 91' Avon Searider 4.7 in the commercial rescue spec with twin Yamaha 30DEO 6J8s on the back:









The boat was originally built for an expedition to Ireland but has been stored in a barn for much of its life ever since.

Have spent a couple of days detailing and working out what we need to do before getting her in the water. Going to treat the outboards to a DIY service with new oil, plugs, filters, impellers etc. Also plan to give them a dose of SeaFoam additive + Power Tune for the carbs (bad idea?). Got a few other bits to sort, including re-painting that box on top of the console - it's a bit odd, but probably going to keep it on for this season, same with the high gain aerial, although I'd ideally move it to the transom. Couple of very tiny gel repairs to do on the hull, and a polish. And a cover. $$$

In true style I've already been a complete tit and pulled the seals off the engine cowls 'to give them a proper clean'. One went back on with the aid of a heat gun (but I fear it is going to pop off again), the other refused to stay put and finally snapped due to the abuse Its a clean break, right in the middle at the back by the latch so I'm wondering if I can spot glue to the cowl in the corners for this season and maybe consider ordering a proper replacement later on (not convinced that would stay put anyway). Anyway, going to try my best not to 'fix' anything else which isn't broken for the time being...

Only other thing I've noticed is slight damage to the starboard prop, honestly don't know if this warrants replacing immediately, but I will do if it's going to cause problems with vibration or significant loss of performance:



Anyway, thought I should share this here as I've taken so much useful information from this site over the last six months and will no doubt have lots of questions to ask over the coming weeks...

Cheers! R

[Xk59D]

boat looks spank new!

the prop should be fixable, i would just lightly tap that back into place and call it good.

are those engines the correct shaft length? not experienced with twins but maybe they need to be deeper to stay hooked up in turns?

enjoy the boat, looks great.

[Rupes]

Cheers! My arms are absolutely aching from all the cleaning but she's come up a treat

The engines are Long shaft, and I believe were fitted under advice from Avon at the time. One issue is they are manual tilt / trim - I would have preferred power to be completely honest, but it wasn't a deal-breaker and the previous owner told me he was very happy with the fixed set-up.

[jeffstevens763@g]

Boat looks great loose the box not nice tap the prop out on the tow ball to straighten file off any burr's super rig enjoy

[Maximus]

That looks like a little Gem!
Best of luck with Her!
(The Prop is an easy fix)

[Max...]

Awesome looking SR, congratulations!

Topic title reminded me of my first RIB:

http://www.rib.net/forum/f8/my-new-b...7-a-37261.html

[Rupes]

Thanks guys, I've always loved the utilitarian look of the SRs. Very welcome advice re: the prop, will have a crack at gently working it out. Max, that is a gorgeous boat!

[Rupes]

Quick update having spent a few more hours working on this:

Managed to source a pair of outboard locks which really look the part:



Have removed the instrument cluster from the console, and redundant bits and pieces from the A-frame, also bonded the Avon badges back down using 2402 as they were starting to lift:



The boat looks much cleaner now! I'm going to either fill the holes in the top of the console, or get a stainless plate cut to cap it off for this season...

[samt]

What an awesome searider!

[jeffstevens763@g]

Rupes

looking good why not buy a piece of glass-fiber sheet in orange to cover holes east coast resin supplies do all sorts of colors.

cheers

[Chris Caton]

that's a really nice looking SR4.7, top choice

if you decide to get the prop repaired give castle marine a call, they've done a couple for me and I've seen a few stainless props that they've sorted too

Home Page

[SteveHall]

Looks loads better with the cleaned up console!

Brilliant SR!

[Rupes]

Cheers guys can't wait to get out on the water

Thanks also for the links and suggestions, which I will follow up...

[Rogue Wave]

WHAT A GREAT FIRST RIB

[VanillaIceCream]

What type of equipment was in the housing consoles you removed?
It looked very odd.

Erik

[Rupes]

Originally Posted by VanillaIceCream

What type of equipment was in the housing consoles you removed?
It looked very odd.

Erik

It had a Humminbird waterproof VHF (thinking of keeping this alongside a portable), an Eagle GPS and Eagle Sonar / Fishfinder (both fairly dated I think), a search light which had completely corroded away and a fuse board (as far as I can work out this was just for the aforementioned kit). It did look unsightly and made access to the bow a pain, but to be honest it was a pretty ergonomic layout to use and it also had fixing points for a canvas bow dodger.

Thinking of investing in a multifunction GPS / Sounder by way of a replacement.

I really liked the bow dodger as a means of creating a semi-dry compartment at the bow, and I wondered if something off the smaller Avon dinghies would work in its place... Depending on how you rig it, it might be possible to have something that can be temporarily fixed in place. Maybe a project for next year...

[Max...]

Originally Posted by Rupes

I really liked the bow dodger as a means of creating a semi-dry compartment at the bow, and I wondered if something off the smaller Avon dinghies would work in its place... Depending on how you rig it, it might be possible to have something that can be temporarily fixed in place. Maybe a project for next year...

I'd just copy the Avon D Class or Y Class design - often thought one of these with a join down the middle (industrial Velcro say) would be ideal that could be rolled up out of the way.

[J.W.W.]

Beautiful!!!

[lakelandterrier]

Great boat - you will have a lot of fun with her.

What areas you planning to explore with her this year?

[Rupes]

Spent a relaxing couple of hours holding a DA polisher over my head this evening really happy with the results:













Also, I refurbished my winch: