New boat - rib or not?

[Orkney1]

Hi, this has probably been discussed a hundred times before but here goes anyway... I'm currently running a 7m Humber with diesel inboard, this has been a bit of a nightmare as far as engines are concerned. Started off with 1.7 Merc which I rebuilt and rebuilt many times. Now we're on a ford 2.5 transit engine around 130hp but not long after the transplant it dropped a valve so I'm in the middle of putting that back together.

I fancy changing boats, not sure what to go for. Diesel is handy for me as being a farmer I always have red diesel on tap. However the recent price difference between petrol and diesel is making an outboard more attractive than ever. Red diesel is costing me about £1 last delivery I had. Petrol about £1.30 once I claim the VAT back.

So which boat? I'd really like a cabin but that's heading into big bucks for a RIB. There's a Pirate 21 with 115hp outboard advertised locally that looks nice and not a huge amount of cash. I don't really want to be downgrading sea keeping ability though. How would that compare to my Humber? Also seen a nice looking Arvor 25 with 220hp Merc diesel that's down south and much cheaper than equivalent sized cabin RIB. How would these hard boats compare to similar sized RIB?

[paintman]

You'd never have any problems with tubes!

Joking apart, you really need to go & have a look at the boats you are considering - ideally with a sea trial - to see whether they would suit your needs.

[beerbelly]

my experience of changing from a rib to a hard hull was i couldn't get away the awful slamming in anything other than calm sea the pirate with 115 is considerably shorter than your 7 meter rib and will be affected by big seas a lot more than your rib .i know a chap with an arvor with diesel inboard and he says his is a little better in heavy sea than his old warrior 175 mainly because of the extra weight but is no speed boat said if he cruises at 12 knots it is fairly happy any more needs a flat sea or slams a lot he also says it pitches side to side a lot when anchored or drift fishing

[Voodoo]

Lots of factors here....
You look like you are based in Scotland, so a hard boat , depending on model would give you some shelter for overnighting or better storage, but might not give you the seakeeping of a good rib.
Petrol v Diesel - sounds like you have a handle on that so depends on availability of both more than price.
Performance likely to be better with petrol (for me anyway) than diesel but that depends on what you intend to use your boat for / how many on board / distance / handling / watersports / weekending etc...
Last thing is budget really, so how much do you want to spend ?

Just a few thoughts really

[Orkney1]

Ideally I want a boat that will ride as well as my 7m rib in the rough stuff. Cruise at 25knts. A wheelhouse and a heater would be nice. I'd sacrifice one trait for another to some extent but certainly not looking to mooch around at 12knts nor have something that knocks your teeth out in 4ft chop. If I can get my Humber running well with its new engine I may look to sell it hopefully it be worth 10k or a little more. Probably have 25k to throw at a new boat. I did think about trying to rustle up a wheelhouse onto the rib I have but it would probably end up looking like a hen house had fell out the sky and landed on it