New Rib for a new boy

[paulodipoggio]

I have seen other threads but my requirements are slightly different as tyhe wife probably won't let me blast along or tow anything too big.

Main use/criteria are:
- Large enough to carry 2 adults and 2 children (2 & 5)
- to be used for bay hopping/Inshore cruising in Wales and West Coast of Scotland.
- Towing not a problem except shouldn't be too expensive to tow 900 miles to Scotland and back.
- New or second hand - what should be avoided?
- Engine size - children not strong enough swimmers yet but could be on a ringo in a couple of years. By then I suspect would need a larger boat/engine for skiing anyway. Needs to plane fully laden and deal with reasonably strong tidal currents in Scotland.

Any help appreciated

Thanks

P

[Chris]

Whats your budget?

[paulodipoggio]

under £5000 incl trailer and engine
quite a lot less if possible
don't mind second hand but wary of the pitfalls
Thanks

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by paulodipoggio

under £5000 incl trailer and engine
quite a lot less if possible
don't mind second hand but wary of the pitfalls
Thanks

You're asking a lot for that budget-£5k doesn't buy much of a rib with seating for 4 unless you get lucky or get an old style searider with back to back seats.

[ianhappy]

How about this? Don't know how much the seller is hoping for but it seems to fit the bill in all other ways; really good sea-keeping etc:-

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26218

Good luck in your search!

Yours
Ian

[Poly]

That sounds more like a SIB (fully inflatable) if its new for that Budget. As Nos says even 2nd hand you are heading towards the old/needs work category for reputable brand of rib. If the kids were older then sitting on the tubes might be an option.

Rather than tow all the way to scotland you could keep it there and then towing 900 miles per trip would be less of a concern? (that would probably save you around 45 mins on the trip, and fuel)

My experience with children that age is:

• their attention span is short. So the boat is exciting - but only for the first 30 minutes of any trip.
• they get cold much quicker than we do
• they don't like the wind in their face (a boat doing 20 knots is a lot of wind in face)
• they object to salt water spray in their face.
• they won't like choppy seas in a small rib

Actually many of those points apply to my wife too!

The problem you then face is that when a nice day comes along the boat is too far away for that trip. When you plan trips half the time you can't go / cut short the plans etc because of the weather. So actually for the sort of boating you are describing do you really want a rib - or would something with a cuddy be better (won't look as good or go as fast, but would probably be more practical).

Sorry for being a bit negative. However I was in a similar boat (excuse the pun) to you 3 years ago. This is what I ended up with... it is a plastic boat (made same way as many sailing dinghies) in the style of a rib (but not actually inflatable). There is ample seating for 2 adults and 2 kids. The engine (only 20HP) is powerful enough, will plane no problem and would probably even pull a ringo. Tows well. Not easily damaged so good for dragging up a beach (a bit heavy without wheels), bumping a few rocks on a West of Scotland beach or just pontoon bashing.

Could be done for your budget new, or quite a bit less if you wanted to buy mine! Officially mine is not for sale - but because of the issues I highlight with kids (mine are 4 and <1) its not getting used enough. With other commitments in life I can't justify the cost of a bigger boat all to myself which would provide the shelter required for West coast cruising with a young family.

regards,

NEIL

[paulodipoggio]

Thanks to all for for your help

Neil - I think you sum up the issues I have been concerned about - it's a "toy" basically but could become a white elephant if it's parked up for 3/52ths of the year, especially if the rest of the family aren't as keen as I am.
What is your boat out of interest?
i'll keep looking thorugh the classifieds in the hope of a bargain for 2009

Thanks
Paul

[Poly]

My boat is a FunYak Sparfel 3.90. Made in France from rotomolded polyethylene. Their English distributor is: Morton Boats - I got mine from Derek at Atlantic Focus in Inverness

There are other people with similar concepts - but I think the funyak is the one with the size/seating options at the price range you are talking.

If you were local I would suggest a day one the water to see if practically you think it would work for you family. I'll be happy if it gets 3 full weekends use this year.

[paulodipoggio]

Thanks for the offer

Our trip up to Scotland is usually August- and like you with the children we can no longer come up at the drop of a hat - we live near Worcester so Wales is my usual haunt.

I was just fed up a few weeks ago of driving an hour down the lanes to get to a secluded beach when we could have had an adventure and caught some mackerel for tea on the way if I had a boat like the families that turned up one afternoon

Then I suppose the dilemma is how to get the kids sailing in a few years when they've been brought up on motors!

[Nasher]

Originally Posted by ianhappy

How about this? Don't know how much the seller is hoping for but it seems to fit the bill in all other ways; really good sea-keeping etc:-

http://rib.net/forum/showthread.php?t=26218

Good luck in your search!

Yours
Ian

If this SR5.4 is of interest I'd contact 'Into the blue' as you may not have to stretch your budget too far

Nasher.

[RichardB]

Originally Posted by paulodipoggio

Then I suppose the dilemma is how to get the kids sailing in a few years when they've been brought up on motors!

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just being out on the water in boats is great experience for the kids. Ours happily make the transition between ribs, canoes and are increasingly keen on sailing.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Nasher

If this SR5.4 is of interest I'd contact 'Into the blue' as you may not have to stretch your budget too far

Nasher.

I'd recommend one Funny how I'm biased

[paulodipoggio]

Thanks Nasher
I hoped I might squeeze the currently small family into something shorter than my car?
It does look a decent boat though
What is the minimum size to be comfortable at say inshore Wales - maybe 1 mile off - island/bay hopping/sea lochs in Scotland?
Max wind F4 and fai forecast hopefully when we set out but both locations can build up/get choppy fairly quickly?
We won't do anything extreme given the wife and the age of the children, and I'd probably turn yellow too!
Then again if it was any windier they can forget their picnic I'm going windsurfing!

Thanks

P

[Poly]

Thats a difficult question.

-It depends what you mean by comfortable.
-It depends which direction the wind is blowing (Offshore 1 mile fetch, on shore, 100s of miles fetch so bigger waves).
-It depends how long its been blowing, and what the weather has been like in the preceeding days which affect the swell.
-It depends if the tide is with or against the wind.
-There is more to comfort than length.

I would use most 4m ribs in those conditions but the family would depend on the actual waves/weather on the day. You would be much more comfortable on the 5.4m than a 4m. The engine on the SR is not exactly this year's model - but that gives you scope for improvement.