Little RIB on a marina mooring

[Tonus]

Hey all - I've got a small Zodiac Cadet 360 RIB ALU Light (aluminium hull and transom) with a tiller-controlled Mercury 20HP 4 stroke.

I've been trailering to launches (travel, setup, prep, parking, storing the trailer, recover and set up the trailer again all take time) so I didn't get a chance to get out half as much as when I had Dry Storage at a marina a couple of years ago...

I was thinking I'd get the most use out of the boat (nipping out when work and weather allowed) if it were on a seasonal mooring at a local marina this year. It would provide river/sea access - the mooring is tidal.

I don't ever see any other very small Ribs and Sibs at the marinas near me - Do you think the cost puts off a lot of people? Is it overkill to put a 3.6m boat on a mooring?!

Is there anything I need to consider - like antifouling... UV Damage... filling with rain water etc? Would I look to keep the boat covered when away from it?
The marina seems pretty secure and I'd lock and chain the outboard.

It's twice the cost of a launching licence at the marina, and 50% more than a dry storage option. I guess I'd just like to hear that I'm not mental for doing it as it would be a big step up for me! Thanks

[Steve509926]

Originally Posted by Tonus

I don't ever see any other very small Ribs and Sibs at the marinas near me - Do you think the cost puts off a lot of people? Is it overkill to put a 3.6m boat on a mooring?

Small ribs and sibs are easily transportable from location to location, so I would tend to think that is the main reason why you don't see them on a permanent mooring, it would kind of defeat the reason for keeping it small.

Is it overkill? A lot would say - yes. But, who gives a sh1t!

Originally Posted by Tonus

Is there anything I need to consider - like antifouling... UV Damage... filling with rain water etc? Would I look to keep the boat covered when away from it?

Personally I wouldn't antifoul it, it's small enough to clean the hull every month. Without doubt you will need a waterproof, UV cover to protect the tubes, and to keep it clear of bird sh1te.

Originally Posted by Tonus

The marina seems pretty secure and I'd lock and chain the outboard

Check with your insurance company.

Originally Posted by Tonus

It's twice the cost of a launching licence at the marina, and 50% more than a dry storage option. I guess I'd just like to hear that I'm not mental for doing it as it would be a big step up for me

If you couldn't afford it, you wouldn't consider it.
If it works for you, your not mental.

[paulbrown22]

We have plenty of small RIB's and hard dinghies at our yacht club in Poole, but mainly as tenders for those with larger yachts afloat on moorings. The "tender" rate is pretty good from memory to facilitate people to get out to the moorings they also pay for, but you do have to have another boat on a mooring, you can't just claim a tender spot for a small boat!

I know various people who put their smaller RIB/SIB's on moorings for a week or two during the Summer once they've arrived at their holiday destination, but can't instantly think of any who do that full time for a whole season. I think partly it's cost, partly you've then thrown away the portability option, and partly unless you have automatic bilge pumps, etc., you'd want to be regularly checking it so it doesn't fill up/sink.

[smallribber]

To keep such a boat at my boatyard in the dingy park would be £20 a year

[willk]

Craftinsure (Ireland) have restrictions on small motorboats. Certain policies do not permit the boats to be left overnight in marinas or on moorings. I asked about the reasons and was told that damage from weather events and other vessels was the reason - not so much theft. Just another thing to consider when insuring...

[Fenlander]

Yes Craftinsure UK do this too, I now buy the extension with the policy as it's loads cheaper than buying a short term add on for a holiday or other reason.

Why don't you see many small craft on moorings? Because it's a total faff and overall worse than trailering and in my opinion overall even worse than a daily inflate of a SIB.

>>>anything I need to consider - like antifouling... UV Damage... filling with rain water etc? Would I look to keep the boat covered when away from it?<<<

Yes all of those things. We only moor for holidays and even in two weeks in some areas the growth starting is surprising and can need more than a hose to wash off. Yes UV and weather exposure is a problem so you need a full cover to keep it nice. Even with a full cover water will likely get in somewhere so an auto pump will be needed hence a battery to recharge. Theft of the outboard is a very real possibility even in marinas with supposed fenced security and cameras. Unexpected weather events make you worry about a moored boat. You will need a tender to access it. In many ways a tidal mooring is the worse of all options as your free time may not fit with the tide that day and restrict use whereas on the trailer you could take it somewhere you could launch at all states.

Im not sure why you'd ever pay twice to moor over dry storage for this size of craft?

[Tonus]

Thanks all for the thoughts - there are a few things there that I hadn't considered. This is only my third year at this so am still learning a lot!

Interesting the notion that having it on a mooring and the responsibilities of it being more of a faff and a concern. I didn't really think of nasty weather events, of which we had so many last year.
Buying a decent cover that fits and the hassle of regularly pulling the boat out to clean are not too appealing...


My reason for considering this over the dry storage was that the marina will only allow trailer launches by tractor from it's own staff, and they park a big old trailer across the slipway entrance between 9-5pm-ish so there's no launch or recovery if you wanted an early start or a late finish. All of which puts more constraints on when I can get out.

I like the idea of being able to just jump in the boat and come and go, but as you all point out there's a lot of extra stuff to consider.

[ShinyShoe]

Is the boat stored at the marina?
Can you call them the day before and say "I want an early start in the morning so shove my boat in before you go home?"

If you have it on a mooring - how will you get to it? So people would keep a 3m RIB to do that short hop...

[Steve509926]

Hi Tonus, doesn't sound like a very user friendly marina! is there any other marina you could use who are a bit more amiable?

[Tonus]

No you can't get them to put it in for you, you have to be there.

What I did do once was go the day before and put the boat in and tie it up overnight (for free) so it was there on the pontoon ready to go the next morning at 7am. But this is not ideal because you're then looking at having time away from work to do that the day before... correctly predicting the weather for the next day etc etc.

Shiny - the 'mooring' I'm talking about is on a finger pontoon, not a mooring ball type of thing. The pontoons have gated access with a code.

[Tonus]

Originally Posted by Steve509926

Hi Tonus, doesn't sound like a very user friendly marina! is there any other marina you could use who are a bit more amiable?

There is Steve but it's got a lot less going for it. I starting to think I might try the trailering for another season as I didn't really give it a proper go last year because of work.

It was bloody nice having the tractor launches though and I got out with the kids and by myself about 10 times. Just tougher to get that early start and those flat calm mornings!!

[Steve509926]

Don't beat yourself up over only getting out 10 times last year! I doubt many of us did that much more with the poor weather we had.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Yes Craftinsure UK do this too, I now buy the extension with the policy as it's loads cheaper than buying a short term add on for a holiday or other reason.

Why don't you see many small craft on moorings? Because it's a total faff and overall worse than trailering and in my opinion overall even worse than a daily inflate of a SIB.

>>>anything I need to consider - like antifouling... UV Damage... filling with rain water etc? Would I look to keep the boat covered when away from it?<<<

Yes all of those things. We only moor for holidays and even in two weeks in some areas the growth starting is surprising and can need more than a hose to wash off. Yes UV and weather exposure is a problem so you need a full cover to keep it nice. Even with a full cover water will likely get in somewhere so an auto pump will be needed hence a battery to recharge. Theft of the outboard is a very real possibility even in marinas with supposed fenced security and cameras. Unexpected weather events make you worry about a moored boat. You will need a tender to access it. In many ways a tidal mooring is the worse of all options as your free time may not fit with the tide that day and restrict use whereas on the trailer you could take it somewhere you could launch at all states.

Im not sure why you'd ever pay twice to moor over dry storage for this size of craft?

This pretty much sums up my thoughts too, not much to add to this realy

[Blankton]

When on holiday I always pay to put my SIB on a pontoon, so I can just walk into it and be away. A couple of times people have questioned my logic on spending the money, but fundamentally I am quite lazy and I don't have a lot of spare time, so being on a pontoon ticks two big boxes for me!

I would say go for it.

[Fenlander]

A pontoon is one step better than a buoy mooring for a small craft but still 75% of the negatives remain. I do agree though for a week or two on holiday it's a great idea... not so much a whole season.

[Steve509926]

I had Redneck on a pontoon for a couple of weeks whilst on holiday in Mylor. It was great, very convenient and Diane really liked it, even though I did have to bail it out a couple of times after heavy rain as it wasn't covered. However, personally I wouldn't want it on a pontoon full time. Tend to loose the freedom of going where I want when I want to. I feel as though I'd be sibbing in the same place all the time as I'd payed for the mooring.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

A pontoon is one step better than a buoy mooring for a small craft but still 75% of the negatives remain. I do agree though for a week or two on holiday it's a great idea... not so much a whole season.

Yep I agree a pontoon could be potentially worse than a mooring as you have the ever present risk of ropes or fenders chafeing & doing damage. The boat will definitely need antifoul because even after a couple of weeks you can find tiny barnicals starting , only look like little dots but still a bugger to get off. Ribs left on the water always look older & more worn than similar age boats that are trailered & launched.

[Tonus]

Thanks chaps - I still have time to decide but I'm starting to think that I might just treat myself to a couple of weeks on a pontoon in a couple of marinas rather than leave the boat full time.
That would be 1. cheaper 2. less long term concerns 3. could at least have a guess at the weather for those weeks.
The other thought I had was to put the boat on a pontoon somewhere that will do a monthly tariff...

[Steve509926]

I can highly recommend Mylor, great facilities and a fantastic area to take a sib/rib.

[GuyC]

How about putting it in a marina berth on a Versadock or similar? Obviously there is the cost of the dock but they do come up second hand quite frequently.