RIB Vs Boat

[sheldon6]

Originally Posted by biffer

if i remember correctly they did find it, i might be wrong, you'll have to be a complete arsehole to burst at least 5 chambers and hole the hull to sink a rib

Thats what they said about the Titanic!!

[Simon Hawkins]

The main question you both need to ask yourselves is for waht purpose is the boat going to be put too. I RIB would be the better option for bad condtions, but only if you are a capable driver. Alot of people will tell you a RIB is ideal for rough water, this it is if driven correctly.

I hard boat will be more spacious and comfortable so if you are looking for a boat to anchor off a beach for half a day, and go swimming from then I would say you are better off with a hard boat.

hope this helps.

Simon

[9D280]

Originally Posted by tinker

All in my opinion.
RIB - Can burst, expensive to buy, limited durability.

Yreah, but when they burst they're more likely to stay afloat than a hard boat (as demonstrated on the clyde during the QE2's visit).

Mine's about to celebrate it's 30th birthday! Not very durabale at all....

Originally Posted by Carl

you can sink a rib

Yeah, but you do really have to try!


I think the advantage of RIBS is thay are more stable at rest, as it comes off the plane & comes to rest, the hull sinks putting the toobs on the water, whereas a hard boat will continue to bob about in the swell. As pointed out before they have more bouyancy than you can shake a stick at, and I believe the toobs can help to absorb some of the impact if you stuff it into the back of a wave.

As has been pointed out, the ideal craft (and I use that word purposefully bearing in mind the previous posts) for you may not be the dream craft of your wife / girlfriend. Having said that, there are some nice cabin ribs out there that tick all boxes, if you have the dosh to pay for them. I think Simon has summed it up nicely.

On a slight tangent, at what point does the rib become a hard boat with a continuous fender?

[Observer]

I have owned both in the past. My first boat was a 21' Regal with V6 petrol inboard engine and sterndrive. For the past 6 years I have owned a 6m Bombard Explorer RIB with 90hp Yamaha outboard.

The features of the Regal compared to the RIB are:
- Regal has cuddy cabin for keeping stuff dry and occasional overnight
- Regal has all over cover so could be used, with reasonable comfort, in wet weather
- plenty of spray in anything more than flat conditions (say top end of F3 and above)
- inboard engine and outdrive is more expensive to maintain than outboard

The advantages of the RIB (these may not apply to all RIBs):
- can be used in wider range of sea conditions
- quite dry even in moderately rough seas
- inherent buoyancy of tubes
- easy engine maintenance
- generally 'low maintenance': we see it and up to a point treat it as a big floating fender. No worries about fenders for docking, just let the tubes do the work (we have 'd' section fendering on the tubes).

On the whole, I feel more comfortable with the RIB that I ever did with the Regal, although that may be because I'm that much more experienced.

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by Nick Thomas

RIB's ... go like trains

That solves the sinking debate then