my rib....

[eupa]

Does this mean anything to anybody???.... would like to post an "unhappy"experience and solve problem.

Jonathan

[Brian]

Post away, Jonathon.
We are all on the edge of our seats.

[ScottyDog]

Sorry but the picture does not tell much of a story.

Please explain the photo (and the message)

Gripping stuff !

Cheers.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by eupa

Does this mean anything to anybody???.... would like to post an "unhappy"experience and solve problem.

Jonathan

interesting cabin rib .

Are you trying to tell us that the seller has perhaps overcharged you and you are thinking of sending in the "heavies" in the form of a RibNet Armada

or something else?

[Pete7]

The boat is a big BWM 9m Rapier that was built about 95 time to allegedly take news papers from Dover to Calais very quickly hence the water tight box at the front which takes a standard wooden pallet. Or at least that’s what the buyer told BWM they wanted it for. Me ? well I had my doubts as it was only a short time before the Channel tunnel opened and not a good business risk.

Pete

[Keith Hart]

Are you trying to tell us that the seller has perhaps overcharged you and you are thinking of sending in the "heavies" in the form of a RibNet Armada

I'm up for that...

Keith Hart

[Manos]

Is it up for sale?

[eupa]

I knew somebody out there would pick ip up. Pete Z- right on sport. I was (am ) the newspapr boy who set this up in 1994. It was designed and bulit by XXXXX to our spec, and the resaon for this post is to find answers from your goodselves. The boat carried 2000 kgs at about 55 knts from Dover to Calais at Midnight. The boat inffact made me a fortune..... but there was just one problem. The rib is 29ft.long. with 2 x200 ob yams. GPS and radar. Fully enclosed cabin for pilot and mate. The two boxes ( only the forwrd. box shown ) were bolted rigiditly to the hull and made in pe.The weight wwas distribued with about 10% more to the rear. The boat did some 30 trips and was purcahsed new from the builder . Minor problems with the yams. fuel tank was 2*64 gallons enclosed in the hull .There are 5 chambers two each side and one nose-link. THEN one dark night 4 miles outside Dover, we lost two chambers ( lost , I mean - they disintergrated and came off the hull.
The crew were competent and very experienced and managed to get back to Dover , boat intact. The builder took back the boat and retubed it. He wanted me to pay - but I refused. The question is ( was ) what actually happened??. I had the design and what was left of the tubes examined by a scientific body in bruxelles ( CERIA) and they came up with the result that ' as the forwrd. box was fixed rigiditly to the hull - it stopped the hull flexing and increased wear on the tubes. In fact the tubes came off- exactly at the front of the forward box and i think they were right. But what do you people think??. Shortly after this I put thye boat in my warehouse and forgot about it until tihis year. Then did it up/ put in a garmin 2010c / JRC radar and mounted the front box on rubber blocks. The engines have 200 hrs and have been having a lot of fun this year.. Might sell it but- the sound of those two yams makes your hair stand up. But the doubt on those tubes is still
there, or was ( is) a Rapier a good strong boat????

Incidently , I really enjoy this board. Its well done, and its nice to know there is a lot of knowledge out there.


jonathan

[Pete7]

Jonathan, not sure it was the hull flexing that caused the tubes to fall off. BWM had some quality issues are yours are not the first we have seen fall off. However the hulls are good if a little basic do stay together suprisingly well.

Do hulls flex, yes. Modern ribs have quite high decks so you can't see much of the hull. However we crossed the North Channel between Larne and Stranraer in a 6m early humber with a very low deck. At 20 knots you could see the hull flex as we bounced through some big waves. However that hull went on for years without any problems.

Nice boat but just glad I am not paying the fuel bill for those Yamahas

Pete

[eupa]

as I am "commercial" can get back the duty in the UK. But in any case... what price good clean fun??. Thanks for reply. ( fun I mean bouncing off a wave at 40 kts)

Jonathan