My first RIB!

95gstnj · 26 June 2010, 14:16

Hi All,
After doing alot of research, I just picked up my first rib, and it is definitely a project. It's a yachtline 310. I plan on doing all of the rebuild myself. It needs some gelcoat repair and to reglue the tubes onto the hull. Other than that, it just needs a good cleaning. The tubes seem to be holding air just fine. A few pics are attached.

I have been doing research, but still have a few questions.

I have attached a pic of some cracks in the gelcoat/fiberglass. For the small nicks, i'll just fill them with epoxy, but along the side where the bottom and top of the hulls meet it is cracked. Any advice on how to repair this?

Also, where the transom merges into the hull seems to be cracking. I can't tell if it is just the gelcoat or more. Should I be concerned?

Is this boat pvc or hypalon? So I know which glue to buy. Also, is there a different glue to glue the tubes onto the hull?

I know it's alot, but I figured i'll ask all at once so maybe some people with alot of experience could help answer my questions.

I look forward to your responses and getting this thing in the water!

thanks
Sean

95gstnj · 26 June 2010, 14:26

pics

95gstnj · 26 June 2010, 14:34

Phil'sFrontier · 26 June 2010, 17:17

Wow...that's a big project...imho. Maybe I am just a whimp...I get intimidated by my sib with a leaky valve or two.

God Speed

ribfan · 26 June 2010, 18:33

Welcome Sean,
Yikes, I hope you didn't pay much money for it. Most likely your boat is PVC, If in doubt look at the fabric, if it is the same color on the inside as the outside and a flashlight shines through it, it is PVC. Hypalon would be black on the inside.
What you have is not that unusual for an older PVC zodiac. I had a small zodiac SIB with similar issues. I finally gave up and sold it for $25 at a tag sale. I hope you have better luck. If you do a search I'm sure there are a load of threads from guys who were able to do the repair.
Good luck.
Bill www.eclecticwonders.com uncommon art

95gstnj · 27 June 2010, 16:20

Thanks for the info, yea i got it really cheap just to have as a project. I'll post pics as the restoration is completed.

95gstnj · 07 November 2010, 14:27

Update: I completely reglued the tubes to the hull. It took some preparation, but overall wasn't too bad. Here are a few pics. I did it mid July, and used the boat for the rest of the season a few times a week. I just stopped going out last week (1st week of november) because its getting too cold- even with a wetsuit. Took it out in the surf a bunch of times. Even flipped it in 8 foot surf, messing around (that was fun!) I was able to kill the motor before we flipped totally so the motor was fine. With 15hp, this thing is fun! 21mph loaded with 2 people and 75lbs of gas and fishing gear. 3 people put it over the limit of being able to plane. with just me, and no gear i got 24 mph, which is too fast for this boat.

Its safe to say i'm hooked on ribs, and I'm in the market for something bigger (a 5.4 searider maybe??)

For those looking to glue pvc boats, i'll describe how i did it.

For those of us in the US, where bostik products are very rare, I used a product called stabond. I ordered it from NRS. There are many writeups on how to use these glues, and i cant stress enough to follow them strictly. I used it to bond the pvc to pvc and also to bond the pvc to the fiberglass hull.

The time was in the preparation. It took me alot of hours to sand / grind off all the old glue. I used a dremel with a bunch of different attachments, an orbital sander with 60 grit paper. there is no easy way around it, youll need to spend time grinding it off, and gently to prevent grinding the actual pvc away, which i did in a few spots. once that was done, i purchased new pvc material from my local zodiac dealer to make new attachment strips.

I used a dehumidifier in the room to lower the humidity as much as possible. With the hygrometer really low, it was time to start gluing. The fumes sucked, but i had a fan in a window blowing out to try and help. Once both pieces have a few coats and are allowed to dry for 15 mins, when you stick those two together they will not come apart very easily. It took me 7 hours to completely reglue it while sticking to 3 coats of glue and the time inbetween pieces.

take your time and do it right! I abused the heck out of this boat the entire summer, and it took everything i threw at it. Can't wait for my next project.

95gstnj · 07 November 2010, 14:30

pic

martini · 07 November 2010, 14:44

Excellent use of the sitting room, like it

spartacus · 07 November 2010, 16:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by martini

Excellent use of the sitting room, like it

Was going to say the same thing. Thought I saw an engine hoist. Quick double-take confirms it's an engine hoist. Top bloke 95gstnj!

skipper64 · 11 November 2010, 15:11

If you like a project i have a 5 year old Bombard Ax300 rib perferct condition except water got in to the transom which is Marine ply and its rotted, so if you want another project make me an offer.

95gstnj · 21 November 2010, 02:51

Hmmmm. If I was 3000 miles closer I'd think about it!

Knnyd167 · 27 November 2010, 21:54

Like you i bought a cheap project rib in my case an AX300 by Bombard the problem with this is the wooden transom is soggy at one side to about the middle.ive removed, templated and recut a new one from marine ply,could you suggest a cheaper option than hypalon glue to reseal the transom in place.i was going to use sikaflex marine grade but as this is my first rib im out of ideas any comments welcome from anyone with experience

sarahscottiedog · 28 November 2010, 09:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by spartacus

Was going to say the same thing. Thought I saw an engine hoist. Quick double-take confirms it's an engine hoist. Top bloke 95gstnj!

So is there any other use for the lounge ?

...............

Fantastic, I think that might cost me a divorce if I tried it, and thats alot more expensive than most/all Ribs !