Gladiator Ribs

bob · 04 May 2007, 18:55

Hi does anyone have any info on a gladiator 6m rib? I am thinking of going to view one this weekend but never heard of them before Thanks Bob

John Kennett · 04 May 2007, 21:09

They were made by Hardglass Marine in Durban, and imported into the UK in 2001 and 2002 by Gladiator Marine in North Wales.

Other than that I don't know much about the boats. I don't think many were sold over here though.

Good luck!

John

bob · 04 May 2007, 22:30

Thanks John cannot find anything on the net but will trial this weekend and let you know

Neil Harvey · 04 May 2007, 23:19

You could ask Jaykay Marine if they know anything, as they had one for sale last year and may have found out something about them.
http://www.jaykaymarine.co.uk/
Might be worth a try.

richardjawilson · 07 May 2007, 15:52

Hi Bob, I had a 4.8 Gladiator. It was a good boat to learn on but wasnt that strong. I had a hard ride due to its relativly shallow v hull. I managed to burst 2 tubes at the same time and bearing in mind the 4.8 only had 3 inflatable chambers it became very intresting to moor once I was off the plane, ie it started to sink very quickly. Finally the boat met its demise on the Thames after hitting a large branch at about 30knts which cracked the rear of the hull where it joined the transom.

In summary, good fun, cheap to buy but would not buy the same again.

ps tubes where pvc not hyperlon

Mark · 07 May 2007, 19:01

Bob,

I've had a 4.9M Gladiator RIB for 3 years now and I'm very pleased with it.
Its my first RIB so I've not got anything else to compare it against so cannot really say its better/worse than other types. All I can say is that I've had lots of fun with it and do not regret buying it.

I'm interested in richardjawilson's comment about the tubes being PVC. I was under the impression that mine was Hyperlon!

Mark

richardjawilson · 08 May 2007, 07:13

Hi Mark, My old Gladiator had PVC tubes. Not that there is anything wrong with that, but as my boat was in the water all year I felt that they less flexible in winter compared to the hypalon tubes. When it came to repair them , it was a very costly exercise indeed.

I had some very good times with my gladiator but for me it was strong enough !!