Novice to RIB

[OleMiss]

Greetings to all!
I am a new member to RIBnet.
I grew up in the deep south of the USA and have been an outdoorsman all my life. Over the years I have used various johnboats while hunting and fishing, yet now am thinking of purchasing a RIB because they are compact and light in weight.
Also, my wife and I are campers and would like to have a boat for fishing in state parks and rivers. I have about settled on a 9.8 hp. Nissan Outboard and am looking at SeaBright 9’6”.
I have a few questions to ask the forum of seasoned RIB owners.
Please let me add that we don’t plan on getting into any heavily wooded areas as a duck hunter would.
How durable are RIBs against sunken stumps, drifting wood, and rocks?
If I encounter a puncture while on the water is there an extreme danger of going down?
Yes I am a novice; thus I ask.
I will appreciate any comments or suggestions you may have about my questions and choice of boat and motor. And thanks from Home of the Blues.

[Brian]

Welcome OleMiss.
Firstly, I think we have to agree on terminology. A RIB is stricktly a Rigid-hulled Inflatable Boat. In other words it has a hard hull and is rather heavy! I think you are talking about what we call SIBs i.e. a fully inflatable boat, judging by your weight arguments.
In which case your point about tree-stumps, rocks etc are very valid-they would damage your boat (to an extent).
A RIB tends to be rather more resilient as "only" the GRP or fibre-glass would be impacted.
There are various ways in which this potential damage can be minimised however;
-try not to hit ANYTHING
-you should try to select a boat that has several chambers to the tube section. Thus if one gets punctured, the boat at least stays afloat (sort of!).
-try to run your outboard engine high when you reach shallow water-perhaps by not locking it down

I am sure others, more knowledgeable than I, will be along in a minute............

[OleMiss]

Thanks Brian! I am looking at a RIB. The way I was looking at the weight was a bit off. But I was comparing it to a heavier dressed out Johnboat with seats, etc (Seabright RIB 290H @ 109 lb. against 200+ lb. I should have been more specific.......Yet thanks for your insight. The more I learn; certianly for the better!

[nik]

One other thing to consider is what the tubes are made from.

Hypalon seems to be the most durable and if you puncture it, it can be patched

How To: Patch a Hypalon Boat

for example.

Some ribs use a form of PVC for the tubes. It is quite tough, but if punctured, can be a specialist job to repair.
There is a more in depth conversation on the merits of each on this ribnet thread:
Hypalon VS PVC-fabric

[Brian]

Further to what Nik was saying, here is a real-life situation "saved" by having Hypalon rather than PVC as a tube fabric.

Round the UK 2003
Read the pen-ultimate paragraph. Waves were about .5metres in height at the time.