Finally got out yesterday for the first time in the Searider having done the PB2 last week. Really enjoyed this and learnt more in 2 days pootling round a marina and out at sea than years of summer holidays driving the old man's ski boat in the med. As there was a problem with the rib we had to use the 28ft cruiser but this was a blessing in some ways as it was more a handful in the tide/wind and out in the moderate sea - school is giving us a half-day on the rib later as goodwill too. Cannot recommend the PB2 enough - hard to think people with no experience would go to sea without it.
We launched from Rye after deliberating about the suitability of the F4/5 and 5knt flood tide we were going into but by the time we went for it things had settled down a lot and the maiden trailer launch (and later recovery) was not too bad - learnt a few lessons for next time to make it less of a palaver!
Out to sea for an hour and in the limited time we had did a few MOB drills etc and a few blasts I can see why people go for ribs - seemd to just float over stuff the hard boats I've been used to would have crashed through.
Has a slight engine warning issue but popped that Q in the engine section of the forum.
Anyway, hopefully get some pics next time in all the excitement.
One thing I did early on was to put an inline connector to the lighting board about a foot from the board - it means you then have a manky plank & a separate bit of wire to remove, which is surprisingly quicker than having to dance with the whole lot in one go. Also makes it easier to route the cable when setting up for the tow.
