towing

[donald]

Hello all

OK, I'm biting the bullet and buying a new Tornado 5.4 with a yamaha 60hp engine.

What would you recommend for towing this lot? First thing I thought of was a LandRover Discovery, but are there any other cheaper/better workhorses out there for doing about 200+ miles every week as well as launching, recovering etc?

Thanks in advance

D

[John Kennett]

Donald

A rig of this size should be fine behind a large saloon car, so unless you are particularly looking for an excuse to get a 4x4 (or are planning on difficult launch sites!) you may find you can get away without one.

For instance the Caravan Club's (horror or horrors!) Tow Car of the Year 2000 is the Citroën Xsara HDi.

However, next season when you find yourself buying a 7.5 metre diesel RIB you may just find that the Citroen won't hack it

I suppose it's really down to what you want (not necessarily the same as need!), how important you reckon the four wheel drive will be for launching, and what you can afford.

John
-- You didn't want a straight answer did you?

[donald]

Thanks for your prompt and helpful replies...you've probably saved me a pile of money!

Is the tornado a good option? I think there are other makes which appear good quality but cost quite a bit less eg ribcraft, humber, zodiac. What's the general opinion on all of this? I expect the boat will be used quite a lot (20 - 25 hours) and towed for about 200 - 300 miles a week.

Thanks in advance for any advice/opinions.

D

[John Kennett]

What's the general opinion on all of this?

Well, seeing as you asked . . .

Tornado: popular boats, especially the smaller ones, but in my personal experience Barnet Marine (the distributors) are some of the least helpful people on the planet!

Ribcraft: good boats (I was especially impressed with the 585), and run by friendly people who actually use RIBs. I think the tubes are ugly though (very angular)

Humber: very competitive pricing but tend to be a bit rough and ready. Very popular with divers. Various hull designs varying from medium to deep V, so make sure you know what you're getting.

Zodiac: well made RIBs, with good quality finish. Mass produced unlike the others. Fit-out/seating/consoles tends to be more suited to gentle leisure use rather than offshore (bench seats, small consoles etc)

Just a few thoughts. I'm sure other people will have their own opinions. They may even tell us!

John

[Alan]

Well I should be encouraging to buy a Discovery as I work for LandRover! But I can tell you that I launch, recover and tow my 6.5m RIB with a Mondeo and have done for 3 years. The 2.0L is OK but the 2.5 V6 tows like a dream. You have to be a bit more selective on your slipway than in a 4x4 but a family saloon car should be no probs for the size of RIB you have.

HTH,
Alan

[Alan]

No personal experience of any of these but do know a few guys with Ribcraft (5.4 & 5.85). They can't speak highly enough of them and these guys are serious ribsters. Also know of a couple of chaps who are ordering 6.8M Ribcraft on the back of the peformance of the smaller boats.

Other boats I've seen that perhaps might be worth considering are the Stormforce RIBs from Redbay boats in Northern Ireland. (Seen a few of 'em at Scotrib)

HTH,
Alan

[Menno]

I have a 5,80 Tornado 140 hp evinrude from 1992 stil in use as a Rescue craft
The tornado is a very good boat fast and good hull design light weight
i tow him with a 4x4 daihatsu Feroza
but it can also be towed with a ford escord 1.6

[donald]

Thanks for all your advice and help guys...what a nice bunch of people you ribsters are!

I know a lot more now than I did, so when the time comes I'll let you know what the final decision is.

D

[Powerboat]

On the towing issue I have always reckoned that once you exceed a 6M Rib then you leave 2 Litre car teritory and enter Disco / Cherokee territory . A point which is often missed is that if towing with a car stick with a 2 wheel trailer . 4wheelers tend not to follow mondeo sized cars too well around bends .

On the boat front I can highly reccomend Lencraft boats here in Ireland .www.lencraft.com They have built several boats for my school and I have had excellent service from them each time . The £STG versus £IR differential also makes the price very attractive .

Best wishes ,

Stuart

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