To all you Ribcraft owners

[SPR]

most ladders are not rated for me! I can't even use a wii fit.. lol as long it could take a half of Scott it will be ok for normal use!

S.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by Polwart

Must have been a relief that the whole lot wasn't one giant piece of fibre glass - because when you do damage that its going to be expensive!

Hardly - it wouldn't have deteriorated and so no damage and no expense.

BTW your argument about customising a dive RIB with a ply deck doesn't hold water (unlike the ply floor itself!) because there's nothing you can do with a ply deck that you can't do with a moulded deck. Every attachment you make to the ply+laminate deck risks the integrity of the waterproofing of the laminate (you're totally dependant on the skill and dilligence of the fitter doing the work, or in the case of a Ribcraft fitter, lack of skill and dilligence!), but there's no risk with the moulded deck. I had extra lashing eyes and a huge cleat on the deck of the Scorpion which were fitted after manufacture and they were just perfect.

[Poly]

Richard,

So nobody had EVER damaged a GRP deck by e.g. dropping a twinset or big anchor on it? And nobody has ever fitted dodgy deck hardware to a GRP deck (especially with a foam core) which have then been ripped out?

Many GRP decked boats have consoles, seats etc all integrated. Now this is great for production and certainly stops the seats going overboard if some idiot has stuck them on with bathroom sealant. The point I was making about a flat deck being more flexible was that if one person (or every customer) wants something completely different its much easier to do when you are just sticking bits together than when your entire arrangement is moulded in one piece. You could still mould the deck, seats, console etc all separately but that is not going to bring you cost savings that a standard design could.

I think you are intentionally ignoring my point that I don't see anything wrong with making decks from GRP if that suits your application, but that actually there are plenty of wooden decked ribs out there which show that when it is done right it is absolutely fine. But if your staff have the training, skills, competence, and expertise to correctly lay up a fibreglass deck and if your quality systems are robust enough to ensure they aren't taking short cuts then surely they are also good enough to ensure that every hole in a wooden deck is correctly sealed.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by Polwart

if your staff have the training, skills, competence, and expertise to correctly lay up a fibreglass deck and if your quality systems are robust enough to ensure they aren't taking short cuts then surely they are also good enough to ensure that every hole in a wooden deck is correctly sealed.

Lots of "if"s, and one of the country's leading and respected RIB manufacturers failed in all of them.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Richard B

Lots of "if"s, and one of the country's leading and respected RIB manufacturers failed in all of them.

But what makes you think if a builder can't fit a hatch that they would laminate a deck correctly. Or add sufficient reinforcement to high load areas of a deck / where deck hardware goes. At least PD can fix poor finishing with some epoxy, some sikaflex and maybe an oversized hatch. If they had cocked up a grp deck it wouldn't be so easy.

[Richard B]

If they can't even fit a hatch correctly, then I have absolutely no confidence in their abilities in any area at all. In fact it's worse than that - it demonstrates a complete lack of process management and quality assurance. It's typical of a cottage industry which has grown and failed to implement production standards and management in their big grown up new world. This might sound harsh, but's it realistic. It's where Jaguar cars were (along with most of British manufacturing industry) 30-40 years ago, albeit on a larger scale.

[kerny]

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by kerny

plain or toffee?

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Richard B

plain or toffee?

Toffee please

[jambo]

Originally Posted by kerny

Don't think one packet will be enough

J

[kerny]

Looks like everyone likes toffee.

[Pikey Dave]

Ladies, ladies! The original point of the thread was to alert owners to a potential problem.
Not to promote international popcorn sales (btw! butter for me please)

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Re wood vs mould. If either are done properly as Polwart says, they should be good for their purpose. It's when they aren't that problems occur.

I do take the point though that perhaps RC have outgrown their skill set. Cottage industry to almost mass producer.

I have not seen their factory (or is it still a small business unit) and have no idea of how many staff they have. However, it is often the case that a small team taking care to produce a quality product on a small scale completely falls apart when moving to a larger scale. Did Ribcraft not win an Olympics contract to supply a significant number of boats? Perhaps they have just entered a stage of growth that they aren't set up for.

The original people are those who cared how they made their product and were probably hands on. They may have become business people rather than boat makers now, through circumstance and the skill set is completely different. New capable business managers will have vastly different goals to those who set it up, it's all about the profit! New staff who are just turning up for work to get paid often have no care for the product (hence the hatches possibly) compared to those that first started the firm ensuring everything was how they would want it to be.

I hope this isn't the case as RC appeared to have a good brand. Long may it continue, but the above seems a likely scenario.

[jace]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Ladies, ladies! The original point of the thread was to alert owners to a potential problem.
Not to promote international popcorn sales (btw! butter for me please)

Quite right and thanks for doing this, as said before if anyone has an Issue with a hatch fitment or any other issue, please contact us. So far I've spoken to 2 other customers who have posted on here already.

Originally Posted by Richard B

it demonstrates a complete lack of process management and quality assurance. It's typical of a cottage industry which has grown and failed to implement production standards and management in their big grown up new world. This might sound harsh, but's it realistic. .

Yes harsh and I disagree, last couple of years we've Increased our QC with Iso 9001, we've also started supplying the biggest UK defence provider and you wouldn't believe the QC invloved.

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

I have not seen their factory (or is it still a small business unit) and have no idea of how many staff they have.
I hope this isn't the case as RC appeared to have a good brand. Long may it continue, but the above seems a likely scenario.

As you've said it's hard to comment when you have no Idea of the company or the people that work here, it's an open door and if anyone want's to come and visit the factory to see any aspect of the company and construction, you're more than welcome.

[Leapy]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

the above seems a likely scenario.

Why??

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Jace, thanks for posting. It had been quiet since post 13.

Obviously there was some sort of issue in a few boats made. For all we know it was just 3 or 4 boats made on one day when a trainee was in or something. there are hundreds (thousands?) of boats out there which most owners i am sure are happy with.

I wish RC all the best, it's a British firm and we should really be behind you on this www forum. Your presence on here and the constructive responses will no doubt hold you in good stead. Best of luck with Olympics, Defense and retail business.

I like butter too!

[HUMBER P4VWL]

Originally Posted by Leapy

Why??

Because the evidence/statistics show most businesses that grow from a one man band, or cottage industry to a commercial level fail, unless professional/experienced management are brought in. Usually (not here perhaps) those in control don't have the business acumen to manage a large firm, and or won't accept they need to give up control of what they built as it has outgrown them.

It's like a good plasterer with one trainee taking on a contract with a building company to do tens of houses a day. He was good at plastering, but not managing a business or training numbers of staff to do what he does, ultimately, the plastering standard will fall. People plastering who are paid by the day/job, not their own name.

Therefore I stated it to be a likely scenario, not a certainty. I will be glad if RC go on to be a great firm as I stated above.

[jace]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Jace, thanks for posting. It had been quiet since post 13. !

Many thanks, I could spend all week replying on here, I've never been that keen on popcorn either to be honest.

Cheers

[jezza2011]

Hi Jace. The retube you did on my old Ribtec is bang on proper job. :-)

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by HUMBER P4VWL

Because the evidence/statistics show most businesses that grow from a one man band, or cottage industry to a commercial level fail, unless professional/experienced management are brought in. Usually (not here perhaps) those in control don't have the business acumen to manage a large firm, and or won't accept they need to give up control of what they built as it has outgrown them.

It's like a good plasterer with one trainee taking on a contract with a building company to do tens of houses a day. He was good at plastering, but not managing a business or training numbers of staff to do what he does, ultimately, the plastering standard will fall. People plastering who are paid by the day/job, not their own name.

Therefore I stated it to be a likely scenario, not a certainty. I will be glad if RC go on to be a great firm as I stated above.

A question I’d love to know the answer too, why are all IFA's not multimillionaires
Anyone?

Jim