Scoop on Ribeye

genoa · 08 December 2006, 14:23

I'm new to this ribbing lark, and looking around thought a Ribeye6.5 sport would make a great boat with a 115 or 150 on it. Second hand (3 year old)around 17-20k with all the bits...
There seem to be some negativity in the forumites? Why?
What else would be good for the family and friends for a bit of west country cruising and skiing?
I looked at Ballistic - but can't get one in budget (have they not been around long?)

Phil Chitty · 08 December 2006, 14:41

Hi Genoa and welcome.

Osprey are definately worth looking at.

I have a 6.5 metre Vipermax with a Merc 150hp Optimax and its a great RIB for cruising and playing in the rough stuff.

Have a look here.

http://www.ospreyribs.co.uk/

matt h · 08 December 2006, 18:36

i would say that a ribeye would be at the very very bottom on my list!! plastic boats and crap quality!!

PeterR · 08 December 2006, 18:46

I think hes trying to say you may be disapointed .Their not that bad but you will find better for your bugdet

v666 · 08 December 2006, 18:47

Hi Genoa,

I have read so much in the last few months, I am starting to get confused.
I think i am right in saying the Ribeye Playtime is not a good choice for what you want. There is very little info on the Sport model, but the majority of it is good. One ponit that may cause some negativity is the cost of the Ribey when new, £33,000 for a 650 with a 150 4 stroke before you add the extras!

A Vipermax was top of my list until I came accross a 785 with a 200 Yamaha for a good price.

Good luck with your search, read plenty (but not too much) and ask owners of the boats you are interested in to find out what they are like to live with.

Tim

matt h · 08 December 2006, 20:00

Hello Peter!!! Hows that superb Boat of yours?? my old sea rider is never going to out run yours now!! more Power Mr Taggart!!!

codprawn · 08 December 2006, 21:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by no fear

I think hes trying to say you may be disapointed .Their not that bad but you will find better for your bugdet

I did my PB2 in a Ribeye - not a bad little boat - get's a lot of use and went very well - hard landings though!!!

PeterR · 08 December 2006, 21:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

Hello Peter!!! Hows that superb Boat of yours?? my old sea rider is never going to out run yours now!! more Power Mr Taggart!!!

Hi matt.Your choice of boat was spot on.You,ll have great fun in the rough stuff.You can ride through the waves and i have to go over them.Meet up soon i hope.

matt h · 08 December 2006, 22:54

can't wait to hit the water, engine arriving next week,totally restored back to original, will mail you when im going out again if your up for it!! have fun, Matt

wavecrosschris · 08 December 2006, 23:10

Just to go against what seems to be the general grain direction here and add a biased opinion based on my own experience with Ribeye as an owner (and 20 years of boating in yachts, powerboats and RIBs) - Ribeye are an excellent choice - their aftersales service is superb, direct from their head office and in particular John Wood at Ribeye in Dartmouth - and also their dealer network, which I have also found to be excellent (I bought mine from Lansdale marine in Itchenor, nr Chichester).

The boats are built very well - mine certainly is, the quality and finish of the mouldings, console and hull, tubing and seating is superb (on mine anyway!) no rough edges and a mirror finish on all grp external surfaces. The tubes are finished to a standard that is as good or better as any I have seen or owned previously. The bow roller they install on most of their models is also a very useful feature. Some of the accessories are bit on the expensive side though, but that is just boats in general!

As for design taste - this is a very personal thing (and the reason I think most people choose to dislike Ribeye), I guess a lot of people like their RIBs (due to the heritage and history of 'the RIB') to look 'commercial' or serious like they are just about to pilot the next big container ship into dock, but with a private rib that is used on a more social level I personally prefer something that looks a bit more sleek and sporty (but still retaining saftey as the biggest element - I'd only have a rib with jockey seats!) .

Personally I find the grey, dark blue with red stripe Ribeye sport a very attractive colour scheme for a rib. I like to think in brand terms they are the Sunseeker of RIBs (they certainly dominate the ribworld at UK boatshows in a similar way to suseeker).

As it happens I was given a demo in a 6m at the boatshow this year and was very impressed - even though we couldn't break 25knots on the course they had set out at the show it behaved very well through hard turns and odd maneuvers. I can't really say how mine handles just yet when the going gets rough (or other Ribeyes for that matter) I've only had it since June and haven't been caught out by the weather yet, but bearing in mind mine is about 4.5m with a 60 fourstoke on the back I fly around the solent at 25knots in force 2-3's and very rarely have to back off or shut down for larger waves (I have a couple of vids floating around on youtube if you look under Ribeye) - I find the hull very confidence inspiring for a small boat. Infact the hull is one of the reasons I chose a Ribeye - mine, for its size has a larger and deeper Vee hull than any other design I could find on the market.

I can't really see why anyone could dislike them so much and why they deserve the reation they seem to attract on this forum, but I'd recommend them, highly. If it is what you want, it fits your purpose, price range and you like the way it looks, don't worry about what a few other people say on a chat forum. - but ultimately, go have a demo in one if you are unsure - I'd never part with any amount of money like that without doing that anyway!

codprawn · 08 December 2006, 23:17

Well I have only ever experienced the Ribeye I mentioned above - my instructor is a nutter and drives it like a fool but he hasn't managed to break it. i said the ride was hard but we were out in some horrible conditions and getting a lot of air .To compare it to my 9m would be a little unfair!!!

wavecrosschris · 08 December 2006, 23:21

lol

it was more the post that read:

"i would say that a ribeye would be at the very very bottom on my list!! plastic boats and crap quality!!"

that made me write that slightly-rather-very-defensive last reply!!

matt h · 09 December 2006, 23:42

and they are unbelievably expensive for what they are!! on top of that, you had to pay their transport cost from Africa or somewhere!! i could have bought it back for less !! i guess this is why you dont see many around!!

wavecrosschris · 10 December 2006, 10:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

and they are unbelievably expensive for what they are!! on top of that, you had to pay their transport cost from Africa or somewhere!! i could have bought it back for less !! i guess this is why you dont see many around!!

unbelievably expensive? In comparison to which other manufacturers?
I didn't think mine was 'unbelievably expensive' or I certainly wouldn't have bought it.

I think if you dislike them that much you should try one instead of knocking them for how much they cost on a price list - actually go in to a dealer or ring them direct, they do very reasonable package prices I thought when I got mine.

What's your opinion on Ribtec or Pascoe, by they way if Ribeye make crappy ribs?

matt h · 10 December 2006, 10:10

I tried a 550and fully loade
d came to more than a ribcraft 585 also fully loaded,it was very expensive for what it was, unfinished in many areas,, i guess just volume boats,, somewhere!!

v666 · 10 December 2006, 11:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

and they are unbelievably expensive for what they are!!

It is all very well making a sweeping statement like that, but it not very helpful to someone asking for help. So would you explain as to why you believe they are ‘unbelievably expensive’.

Here are a few quotes I have had for new boats, before haggling for discounts.

Ribcraft 585 – Suzuki DF115 - £24,053

Humber 6.3 – Suzuki DF115 - £22,500 (includes 20% off boat and 18% off Engine)

Vipermax 6.5 - 150hp E Tec - £24,000

Ribtec 585 – Yamaha F115 - £24,000

Ribeye 600 – Yamaha 115 - £25,000

Also, going back to Genoa’s original post, I think a 650 sport for 17 – 20K would be a fair price for a well looked after 3 year old boat of that size.
I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong.

Tim

AndyB007 · 10 December 2006, 13:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

I tried a 550and fully loade
d came to more than a ribcraft 585 also fully loaded,it was very expensive for what it was, unfinished in many areas,, i guess just volume boats,, somewhere!!

Matt,

If you're talking about a 550 then I guess you mean the Playtime range, in which case your comments may be more valid as, has been noted elsewhere, the Playtime range does not have the best reputation. However, Genoa is looking at a Sports model so your critical comments are somewhat misleading.

I co-own a Ribeye 650 Sports, new in July, and apart from a few very small points like bolts protruding and not cut back, I am very pleased with the build quality (although I have to say I did not pay full price which I agree is rather high, but again not worth griping about when someone is looking at a second hand boat). Furthermore, I am part of a group which has six Ribeye 650 Sports on fleet, the oldest now just over 12 months old, the newest just one month, and all of similar high build quality.

I agree with Tim that the price for the 3-year old sounds good.

Andy

timw · 10 December 2006, 14:33

I'm an extremely satisfied owner of a RibEye 750 Sport.

The quality is excellent as are all the other RibEyes I have seen.

Matt H...suggest you do your research a little better before making your sweeping statements.

RibEye's are quite simply excellent performance leisure Ribs (no one claims them to be heavy duty industrial types) and the quality build is top-notch.

I speak as an owner of one for 4 years so i have credibility in my comments.

matt h · 10 December 2006, 15:01

hi there ,did a years worth of research and those were my findings!! im sure they are very good boats, but there are not many of them around and had to find out why, they used to sell them at a garden centre near Exeter!! eh !!

v666 · 10 December 2006, 16:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by matt h

hi there ,did a years worth of research and those were my findings!! im sure they are very good boats, but there are not many of them around and had to find out why, they used to sell them at a garden centre near Exeter!! eh !!

If that is what you found then fair enough. It is a good that we do not all like the same thing, as it would make for a very boring world.
I am sure if we looked, we could find faults in the majority of rib's.

I would of thought a garden centre would be a good place to promote something like a rib. By their very nature, a garden centre will attract people who can afford rib's.

Tim