Shearwater 8.6

[Oscarguitar]

Does anyone have experience of Shearwater Ribs. A good friend is thinking of getting one, probably the 8.6m. Any things to look out for, good years, engine configurations, electrics, seating etc.

Any advice much appreciated.

Oscar.

[whisper]

Trevor G has one, awesome ribs, have a look at these vids:

Last Dec

Jolly to the Folly - Part 3 - YouTube

Us in a force 8

Cowes Curry Cruise - YouTube

Ventnor trip (shows her port side)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfFbYEQehWI

[gotchiguy]

Shearwater only ever made 17 RIBs so information on them is scarce. I would suggest looking on boatmad.com to research more about the hull design which is RING.

Trevor's boat is very nice however quite a harsh ride, personally the layout is not to my taste however I can see the advantages of the cabin, and the quality of the fitout is very good.

[whisper]

PeteM also had one of the first I believe but not an 8.6 though, however it was a fantastic boat:

Jolly to the Folly 5th Dec 2010 - 1 - YouTube

Jolly to the Folly 5th dec 2010 - 2 - YouTube

[Oscarguitar]

Whisper, thanks for the links. That F8 is interesting.

I'm surprised the ride is harsh. I was around when Mike Ring sold the moulds to Tony Davies of Extreme and saw a number built. I used the 21 and a number of the 28s. . In that application the ride was pretty good provided you were going fast enough!

All great feedback though. It will be used as a family boat so I suspect the seating layout will not be a problem. Having only 17 to choose from could make one hard to find.

Cheers.

Oscar

[gotchiguy]

Originally Posted by Oscarguitar

I'm surprised the ride is harsh.

Perhaps harsh is not the right word, more like..sharp. That's just the feeling I got on board Blue Ray. Then again my Osprey is regarded as the softest riding hull on the market and I only really have that to judge against.

[whisper]

My wife and kids were in Trev's boat in the Ventnor HQ video as it was a bit rough, my kids are 5 & 6 and they fell asleep

[willk]

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Shearwater only ever made 17 RIBs so information on them is scarce.

He doesn't know anything about them

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

I would suggest looking on boatmad.com.

He's not allowed on Boatmad yet

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Trevor's boat is very nice however quite a harsh ride

Compared to the only RIB he's ever used and he's in no way biased

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

personally the layout is not to my taste however I can see the advantages of the cabin

He'd like more red, but at 17, the advantages of a cabin are becoming clearer

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

and the quality of the fitout is very good.

His Mother taught him to always say something nice, even when he doesn't want to.

HTH

[PeterM]

Originally Posted by Oscarguitar

Does anyone have experience of Shearwater Ribs. A good friend is thinking of getting one, probably the 8.6m. Any things to look out for, good years, engine configurations, electrics, seating etc.

Any advice much appreciated.

Oscar.

I got mine in 2007 and owned it till 2011. I had the first one they made ( on a 7.5m ring hull and a 200 opti on the back.

As has been said it is a very solid hull and boat in my opinion. I was quite happy to accept a harder ride than say a 7.5 ribcraft for the ability to get good shelter from the cabin/ console and to be able to get 50knts from what is never a light set up suited me well . I also loved the wrap around helm 'wings' for staying out of the worst of the weather, and on calm days with the helm seat down you are well out of the wind to behind the screen.

Oh and I think they have a very good look for such a practical boat. Me + Wife & 2 kids found we had plenty of room , but we had a very differant seating layout with no rear seats set low around the splashwell , but instead had a bench type seat .

I'm sure there are plenty of pics on here and would recommend a call to Jim @ bembridge outboards as he knows each boat very well and where it went / history etc .

Pete

[Oscarguitar]

Thanks for all the replies, I'll pass the information on.

[Trevor G]

Originally Posted by Oscarguitar

Does anyone have experience of Shearwater Ribs. A good friend is thinking of getting one, probably the 8.6m. Any things to look out for, good years, engine configurations, electrics, seating etc.

Any advice much appreciated.

Oscar.

As mentioned by others - we've got an 8.6 Shearwater and tend to use it in all conditions.
Ours has the Verado 275 on it, which we find great - they have a reputation for being thirsty - but that depends on how you drive them. When out with bigger boats I probably have a reputation for driving like a Granddad as I try to keep our cruising speed down to about 28 Kts - but by doing so in 2011 I averaged 1.37 Litres per nm over the 627nm of cruising where I logged the fuel accurately. You can cruise at 40 kts + but then the fuel bill will really hurt!
Originally I had reservations about the bolster seat configuration compared to jockeys, but in reality it works fine, and in fact in the rough (or wet weather) having room for three people against the bolster seat is good - especially with kids as they can get out of the wind.
The cabin is basic - but again it works. 90% of the time it's used for storage more than sleeping - but we've spent many nights on the boat, and with an extra cover fitted (£100 on e-bay) we've often slept 4 on board - 2 in the cabin, one on the large bow cushion and one on the floor at the back.
As for the ride - great in a head sea, but can be prone to stuffing in a big following sea - but in our experience not significantly more prone to stuffing than many other boats of similar length with outboards. I say that because if you compare it to similar length diesel ribs they have so much more weight at the back that they can ride more bow-up to prevent the nose clipping the front of the wave in front as you come down into a trough. We find that the cabin weight keeps the bow down a bit so you have to work harder to keep the nose up.
Feel free to pass on my details if your friends want to come out and try one.
Trev

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by willk

He doesn't know anything about them
He's not allowed on Boatmad yet

Compared to the only RIB he's ever used and he's in no way biased


He'd like more red, but at 17, the advantages of a cabin are becoming clearer


His Mother taught him to always say something nice, even when he doesn't want to.

HTH

You nasty pasty.

Final comment.

For a counter viewpoint, I could give you young Rick's appraisal of my Vmax after a quarter of a circuit of Alderney.
It could be loosely compressed into 'Crap compared to my Dad's ShearRingwater'.

[gotchiguy]

Originally Posted by Mollers

For a counter viewpoint, I could give you young Rick's appraisal of my Vmax after a quarter of a circuit of Alderney.
It could be loosely compressed into 'Crap compared to my Dad's ShearRingwater'.

Strange, he seems to always enjoy coming on Into the Red..

[Trevor G]

Originally Posted by Mollers

For a counter viewpoint, I could give you young Rick's appraisal of my Vmax after a quarter of a circuit of Alderney.
It could be loosely compressed into 'Crap compared to my Dad's ShearRingwater'.

What a disappointment (and a failure of my parenting skills ) - I thought I'd taught Rick to always be polite about other people's boats

[Trevor G]

Originally Posted by gotchiguy

Strange, he seems to always enjoy coming on Into the Red..

Aah - sorry to disappoint you Oli - Rick loves going on anyone else's boat where it's not being driven with one eye on the fuel consumption gauge!
Fair comment tho - he does find "Into the Red" an exhilarating ride, and would rather be with you than with me.

[whisper]

Rick is a really nice young lad and a truly exceptional artist, I've seen his work on a beach in Alderney and I have to say he is roll model for all young ribnetters

Therefore when it comes to which boat is best I will trust his judgement on such matters

[PeterM]

What whisper said.....an excellent judge of boat...shearwater and Avon....ideal mix.:-)

[Oscarguitar]

Trevor, many thanks,pm sent

Play nicely now boys!

[willk]

Originally Posted by Oscarguitar

Play nicely now boys!

Don't worry - I'll keep an eye on them...

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Oscarguitar

Play nicely now boys!

This is 'playing nicely'.