Ribcraft 585 / 680 fuel economy cruise/WOT

[RickW]

Hi mhb100 - obviously been thinking long and hard about the direction to go. I am hoping to check out a couple of 680 and 585 to get a sense of scale - I have only seen them from dive hard boats set us as dive club boats normally with a hoard of kit on and dry suited divers. The rib would initially be kept in a Drystack but I am mindful of the extra limitations for towing the larger boat would have having seen the earlier thread here about exactly the same concern in the SW (pipster who went for a 585 in the end). I have 2 quotes from Ribcraft one for a 585 one for a 680. I am trying to understand the day to day practicality of either. Both seem fantastic boats general consensus seems to be the larger boat = a smoother ride when it starts to get choppier and can plow on without too much throttle management. Already have a 4x4 and old enough that my licence allows me to tow either.

As to fuel costs (or Drystack costs) I dont have to particularly worry about it now but at some stage I at least need to do the mental arithmetic

Anyway man maths means I have already discounted the cost of a 585 and ownership I am now thinking the same for the 680. Pretty much settled on a rib once I looked at the ownership costs of something like an XO Boat 270 was probably a bit steep for me

[Last Tango]

If the ride is important I'd have a look at these...

https://island-ribs.co.uk/island-7-0-7-5m/

Sensibly priced, UK build and I've absolutely no issues with the build quality and performance of my 28 year old Coastline 6.5 that I believe these are based on...

[Fender]

Originally Posted by RickW

Hi mhb100 - obviously been thinking long and hard about the direction to go. I am hoping to check out a couple of 680 and 585 to get a sense of scale - I have only seen them from dive hard boats set us as dive club boats normally with a hoard of kit on and dry suited divers. The rib would initially be kept in a Drystack but I am mindful of the extra limitations for towing the larger boat would have having seen the earlier thread here about exactly the same concern in the SW (pipster who went for a 585 in the end). I have 2 quotes from Ribcraft one for a 585 one for a 680. I am trying to understand the day to day practicality of either. Both seem fantastic boats general consensus seems to be the larger boat = a smoother ride when it starts to get choppier and can plow on without too much throttle management. Already have a 4x4 and old enough that my licence allows me to tow either.

As to fuel costs (or Drystack costs) I dont have to particularly worry about it now but at some stage I at least need to do the mental arithmetic

Anyway man maths means I have already discounted the cost of a 585 and ownership I am now thinking the same for the 680. Pretty much settled on a rib once I looked at the ownership costs of something like an XO Boat 270 was probably a bit steep for me

Personally, I'd go for the biggest boat your budget allows, I've never worried about fuel usage - stressing about 0.001 extra nlmppm ( or whatever the abbreviation? ) is not for me Just have fun and the extra space and sea keeping on a larger rig is priceless
I'd not go back to a smaller RIB Enjoy

[RickW]

Nanolitre per ppm? Sounds cheap; where do I sign up! I saw a 10m leisure rib at the weekend - was an absolute monster; safe to say it was kept on the water all the time. Now that was definitely toooo big. Likewise the 7.8m is also in the too big (for me anyway)

[Last Tango]

<<<<my 28 year old Coastline 6.5>>>>

Sorry.....typo. That's 18 year old.

My annual fuel costs about £2,000 doing the arithmetic on a real life comparison with my mate's Parker 7.3 hard boat/300hp Verado, that cost would be about £3,500. Plus service every 100hrs. (less than a year) The upside is that the parker provides his overnight accommodation.
A bigger open RIB isn't going to do that and 6.5mtrs has never been a constraining factor for me. Day trips of 100 -150 miles is well within scope and realistic.

However, if money's no object (and obviously isn't to some ) .......