waterski with a rib

thierrymboat · 18 May 2007, 15:55

hi, is it possible to use a rib for watersking? I own a glastron 17ft fiberglass boat with inboard engine, it is great for waterskiing but requires a lot of maintenance and uses a lot of petrol. I would love to buy a rib, would it do for waterskiing and towing 2 children on a doughnut. the rib i' m thinking of buying is 5. 6 metres long, what size outboard engine would i need?

ADS · 18 May 2007, 15:59

On a 5.6m boat anything over 90HP should do the trick, maybe go for a 115HP to be on the safe side.
All depends on the boat size though, I used to tow a skier behind my 4m Avon with a 40HP, and my new 4m Avon with 50 horses would probably tow two! If you do end up with a smaller engine you can always change the prop to give it abit more acceleration to pull skiers/ wakeboarders up, then use the standard prop for cruising.

thierrymboat · 18 May 2007, 16:04

hi, wow i didn' t think i would get a reply that quickly, thank you.
another question i have : where do i attach a rope for the skier?
is there not a danger that the front of the boat would lift too much when towing a skier, especially when starting?

simmons0 · 18 May 2007, 16:38

The usual way is to attach it to a bridle which goes around the engine.
There should be 2 towing eyes on the back of your boat and the bridle clips onto those, the ski rope is attached to a pulley wheel on the bridle, ideally with a float on it so it can move freely side to side.

Thats fine but not ideal as the rope can drag in the wake and annoy you.
Some boats come with a ski pole which sits in the boat and puts the towing eye just above the height of the outboard.

As for power, a 90 or a 115 would match a 5.6 nicely and would be easily enough for waterskiing. I've skied behind our 5m with a 60hp engine and a 4m with a 40.
A 90 would be fine for mono skiing too, so long as you come up on 2 skis and drop one.

Harry

alt · 18 May 2007, 16:51

I had a Lencraft 5.75 with a Yamaha 75hp 2-stroke and had a blast skiing, plenty of acceleration

thierrymboat · 21 May 2007, 13:18

thanks for the answers to my questions, this site and its members are great

Cookee · 21 May 2007, 13:39

Obviously as a manufacturer I am biased, but we just launched a 6 metre diesel inboard water jet unit at Ribex - the boat is still waiting for its final console which is being worked on as I type, the big advantage is the it uses around 20 litres an hour with general use and 25 litres an hour flat out. With the inboard diesel it is certainly well balanced for water skiing and with either 120 or 150 hp powerful enough! Being a Mercruiser unit it is serviceable worldwide as well!

three-rex · 21 May 2007, 14:22

Hi
I have a Zodiac pro-open 550 with a Mariner 115 opti, my Bro has Humber 5m with Tohatsu 90, both pull 2 waterskiers or (big) kids on two ringos with no problems at all - I have ski-pole, which I use for skiers, or D-rings when I have tubes attached.

Jizm · 21 May 2007, 15:57

We had a 5.8m tornado with a 90hp 2 stroke yamaha and it pulled a skier no problem at all.

BobLS · 23 May 2007, 13:55

I'd def go for the 115hp. I had a Zodiac pro open 5.5 with a 115 - perfect to pull out a 14 stone guy on a mono. A mate of mine had a 90 and it struggled a bit.

matt h · 23 May 2007, 20:39

Ribs are awesome for skiing etc, more stability and all that, usually you would pull from the two towing eyes in the transon or you can tow from a high top Aframe, 5.6 is a perfect size rib for self launching and recovery, 90 hp up would be ideal,

gasman · 23 August 2011, 22:08

I have a Zodiac Pro open with a Suzi 90. No problems with a mono skier. I had 4 adults and a child on board. Wake board even easier.

Ian

Oscarguitar · 23 August 2011, 23:14

I had a 5.6 Avon with a F100 Yamaha. Perfect for everything really and cheap to run (compared to current boat!) Supposed to be better balanced on re-entry than the 115 which could torque the boat over at times. But the 115 was fuel injected so i expect no real difference in running costs. Wake a bit small for wakeboard but not too bad. Overall a very good combo.