size matters

[Garygee]

Hi Mike

Well I have nothing to sell, sorry

But I do dive and have a 7.8M RIB so can talk from experince.

I would not go for a inboard engine

They just take up too much deck space.

On my Ribcraft 7.8 I am happy with 4 divers plus spare cylinders each.
The other thing to consider is seating, great to traveling, pain the the bum for kitting up. Thet catch BCD's/clyimders whenever you walk though them and take up lots of space.

If I was looking for a pure dive RIB for 8 divers I would say, outboard, min seats (divers sit on tubes) and center bottle rack.
As for length I would say 7M with this config would be OK but like others have said you need a RIB with a wide beam.

Also some RIB's sit at rest, with their tubes well in the water making exit from the water easier. Some however sit much higher with the tubes almost clear of the water and may be hard to re-enter.

As for power my speed drops from 36Kts one up to 28Kts with 4 big divers, full kit and spare cylinders (saying this my engine ways almost 500Kg). This is with a 240HP, so I think with a 120Hp inboard, you may be disapointed. I would say 150Hp outboard plus would be about right.

I would recommend you try and contact Steve from Pembrokshire Dive charter, http://www.gopdc.co.uk/. He runs many ribs from Ribcraft 5.85 to 9M Ribcraft & Humber. He does lots of dive charter and should be able to give you good indication on what works.

Regards Gary

[Robbie D]

Yes you can have an inboard AND deckspace.
Just spoke with the owner of this boat... one of the highest volume dive operators anywhere in Brazil. He can't stop raving about it. I contacted him because I'm buying the same rib, only for a tourism operation. The company is having excellent success here in Brazil, and MercRibs just picked up the line for U.S. distribution. Flexboat claims their quality to be as good as the top manufacturers in the world (just repeating here), and they're very well tested and time proven. My point is this... these boats are cheap! This whole setup costs about 26,000 USD, without motors of course.
I swear I'm not a saleman for them, but if I were in a position to import one, I'd consider this a viable option. Don't know what the duties are over there, though.
No ulterior motives, just trying to help. Oops, just remembered warantee issue. I'll post anyway, I like the picture...

[Cookee]

Looks like a great boat for diving - to bring those boats into Europe they would have to go through an approval process called the recreational craft directive (RCD) in order to get a CE mark which would mean the boat could be used as a recreational craft in Europe. And before you ask a dive charter boat is covered by the directive!

It would add at least £2,000 to the cost of importing the boat but it could be set up as a once only payment for each model of hull.

The other point of relevance is that licences for boats and skippers of these types of boat are limited to 12 passengers.

Having said that it looks a very capable boat, and even after all of the extra costs may be worth importing if found to be popular!

Good luck with your project Robbie - looking forward to following your progress.

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by Robbie D

Yes you can have an inboard AND deckspace.
Just spoke with the owner of this boat... one of the highest volume dive operators anywhere in Brazil. He can't stop raving about it. I contacted him because I'm buying the same rib, only for a tourism operation. The company is having excellent success here in Brazil, and MercRibs just picked up the line for U.S. distribution. Flexboat claims their quality to be as good as the top manufacturers in the world (just repeating here), and they're very well tested and time proven. My point is this... these boats are cheap! This whole setup costs about 26,000 USD, without motors of course.
I swear I'm not a saleman for them, but if I were in a position to import one, I'd consider this a viable option. Don't know what the duties are over there, though.
No ulterior motives, just trying to help. Oops, just remembered warantee issue. I'll post anyway, I like the picture...

Robbie this boat may work for US style Padi Diver but for the UK rufty tufty diver who likes lots & Lots of black kit that he or she has to spread around the deck it just would not work! Any way where is the deck space you talk about? Get rid of all those poncy seat then your talking!
Nick

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by RIVA

o look deck space , my advice is only take thin divers if you can find one and keep the fuel bill down. CHARGE THEM PER WEIGHT loads of profit but start it at 14 stone as i aint seen a thin one yet LOL LOL hold on to your hats this post is about to go big

Looks pant to me! No room to swing a cat let alone a set of wings!
Nick

[Rene]

I just found some pictures from one of our dive trips last summer.

Dobble wing tied to the end of the bottle rack, spare tanks in the bottle rack, and the rest of the scuba units in front of the console, either laying down or standing up, depending on size.

Rene.

PS. I'm the one with the hat.

[RIVA]

took 8 divers single kits , and speed between 20-23 fast enough for the job i think ? now no thoughts or geuss work. thats fact! sorry to disapoint all the budding critics LOL

[Robbie D]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Robbie this boat may work for US style Padi Diver but for the UK rufty tufty diver who likes lots & Lots of black kit that he or she has to spread around the deck it just would not work! Any way where is the deck space you talk about? Get rid of all those poncy seat then your talking!
Nick

I'm not exactly sure what a poncy seat is, but I doubt I'd want to sit on one. I think the boat looks smaller that it actually is in the picture, maybe another will help. As an ex full time dive instructor in California, most of the rib dive boats I've been on don't have nearly as much free deck space. I agree that if it were strictly for "rufty tufty" divers we'd rather sit on the sides and gain more deck space, which is why the benches are optional (I'd never give up the rack, though). The large stern deck and heavy duty ladder are nice features for the ladies as well. The boat here holds 14 divers w/ 28 cylinders and goes out full, rain or shine, once a day if not twice year round. As for the CE mark, this hull is already being imported into Italy, so maybe it's covered in the U.K.? Plus if someone from here buys one I might get a discount on my boat!

Here's another pic...

p.s. Can someone give me a brownie point? It really sucks being an "unknown quantity".

[Robbie D]

Originally Posted by Nick Hearne

Robbie this boat may work for US style Padi Diver but for the UK rufty tufty diver who likes lots & Lots of black kit that he or she has to spread around the deck it just would not work!

Forgot one thing, Nick. I was trained by US Navy SEAL's, so don't EVER call me a PADI diver again! Don't make me have to take off a reputation point!

[Rene]

Originally Posted by Robbie D

Forgot one thing, Nick. I was trained by US Navy SEAL's, so don't EVER call me a PADI diver again! Don't make me have to take off a reputation point!

What is wrong with PADI ??
I know it's not the SEAL's training program, but is this not the point of PADI ?

Diving is for everyone, and I don't think the SEAL's are (I don't know since I havn't been there)

Just my thoughts
Rene

[Manos]

Robbie and the obvius question will be 'the price of the boat ex engines in Brazil is ..........?' Can't seem to remember if you told us or not.

[Cookee]

If the boat is being imported into Italy it should be CE marked and therefore be ok for the rest of Europe.

[tue]

Originally Posted by Robbie D

The boat here holds 14 divers w/ 28 cylinders and goes out full, rain or shine, once a day if not twice year round.".

28 Aluminium cylinders weighs alot less than 28 steel 12 or 15ltr cylinders with pony bottles attached or 14 twinsets and stage cylinders.

[Robbie D]

Originally Posted by Manos

Robbie and the obvius question will be 'the price of the boat ex engines in Brazil is ..........?' Can't seem to remember if you told us or not.

I'm paying around $26,500 USD for mine, no motors and no electronics. Engine and accessories mounting is included in this price, so just the hull for export might end up cheaper. The dive version should be around the same I'd imagine. 1 pound sterling = about 1.82 USD these days, but don't quote me.
Side note... I just talked an owner who mounted a pair of Opti 250's on his (luxury version) and he's getting 78 mph WOT with incorrect props! Flexboat's story to me after the guy left was that they did it intentionally because the owner seems to be a speed freak and not a very experienced driver. Did they do the right thing? You make the call...

[Robbie D]

Originally Posted by Rene

What is wrong with PADI ??
I know it's not the SEAL's training program, but is this not the point of PADI ?

Rene

LOL no offense meant Rene! It's just that PADI was the running joke when I was in the program because they nickel and dime you for every little specialized course before you got an open-water instructor rating. PADI's for people who have real jobs and can't afford to take 6 months off for full-time training. I know excellent instructors who teach PADI and bad instructors who teach other programs, so it really comes down to the individual and not the program.
And by the way, Nick started it!

[Manos]

It is quite expenssive then I think considering that for the 8.50 ballistic from SAfrica they want about trade price Euro 15,000.00 with all consoles, A-frame, nav lights etc and fuel tank 225ltrs and fot the 8mtr the trade price is about Euro 12,000.00.

[Robbie D]

Originally Posted by Manos

It is quite expenssive then I think considering that for the 8.50 ballistic from SAfrica they want about trade price Euro 15,000.00 with all consoles, A-frame, nav lights etc and fuel tank 225ltrs and fot the 8mtr the trade price is about Euro 12,000.00.

That's pretty cheap. By trade price do you mean dealer price?

[Manos]

If you go to ballistic in SA and you order 2 or more this is the price you get. Is discounted by 25% (so they say any way).
And by the way tubes are made out of Hypalon from pennel

[Nick Hearne]

Originally Posted by Robbie D

I'm not exactly sure what a poncy seat is, but I doubt I'd want to sit on one. I think the boat looks smaller that it actually is in the picture, maybe another will help. As an ex full time dive instructor in California, most of the rib dive boats I've been on don't have nearly as much free deck space. I agree that if it were strictly for "rufty tufty" divers we'd rather sit on the sides and gain more deck space, which is why the benches are optional (I'd never give up the rack, though). The large stern deck and heavy duty ladder are nice features for the ladies as well. The boat here holds 14 divers w/ 28 cylinders and goes out full, rain or shine, once a day if not twice year round. As for the CE mark, this hull is already being imported into Italy, so maybe it's covered in the U.K.? Plus if someone from here buys one I might get a discount on my boat!

Here's another pic...

p.s. Can someone give me a brownie point? It really sucks being an "unknown quantity".

Hi Robbie it is a lovely rib but in my experience as a DO of a UK based diving club most people in the club would want the space & comfort of a Hard Boat for a days diving! As a club with a rib of our own it was easier to fill a hard boat for a day than to get interest in taking out our own rib!
As for PADI divers, thinking about it I do have a PADI rescue diver qualification somewhere!
But don’t tell anyone!
Stay Gold
Nick

[Suzuki416]

In the water your cert is irrelevant.

I don't care who dives and with what agency as long as they get in the water....

Pete
PADI AI