What is my rib worth?

[lukewhiting]

So I’ve finished my minor project off with my rib.

It’s roughly 4m long with bombard tubes in a good condition. I’ve repainted the whole boat with hempel paint (white top side, light grey under) fitted a bow seat with removable cushion that has decent sized storage underneath. Has a new foam fake teak floor fitted too. Also has a keel guard fitted.

Boats fitted with trim tabs which keep it lovely and stable and helps bring it on the plane faster when wakeboarding.

The trailers just had new suspension units/hubs/bearings/wheels/tyres; new jockey wheel, hitch & winch.

The engines a 2007 40hp 2stroke mariner marathon (just had a full service) which is lovely and clean. Had two propellers (standard 3 blade & a 10p 4 blade for wakeboarding) and has a decent fuel tank.

Thinking of putting it up for sale but not sure what kind of price as there’s not much to compare it too! Any help would be great!

[Fenlander]

Did you ever get any idea what the hull was from... or do you think it was a one-off?

[lukewhiting]

Originally Posted by Fenlander

Did you ever get any idea what the hull was from... or do you think it was a one-off?

Never got a clue! I thought it may have been a sea rider but the transom and too many other bits don’t match

[smallribber]

£2995

But it is so nice I would keep it if I were you.

[ShinyShoe]

I'm struggling with the tiller engine.

You've done a decent job on it by the look of things. Bit i suspect the market is way bigger for a steering wheel.

So now you have a smaller market, who you are hoping will be impressed by a fake teak floor rather than a cheaper 1.5k eBay/gum tree beaten up version.

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

£2995

That is a very precise number for what is a unique boat. (Its probably in the right ball park - should be easy to sell for £2k, you’d struggle to find a buyer at £4K unless it’s phenomenal on the water).

I think it looks like it has great potential for someone who wants high speed, has perhaps got used to tiller steering on a sib but is looking for the benefits of a solid hull. But tiller steer, manual start, no console to keep equipment in (or to put a battery, vhf etc out of harms way) mean it doesnt have all the advantages of say a neat SR4 package. Nor does it have a known track record or presumably a CE plate for those who care about such things.

But there are people who would like the simplicity, and you’ve done a good job of presenting it tidily so I’m sure you’d find a buyer. What would you replace it with? It’s one of the reasons we have never sold ours - to get something that is significantly better (in function, and condition) I’d need to more than double what I’d get for it.

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by Poly

That is a very precise number for what is a unique boat. (Its probably in the right ball park - should be easy to sell for £2k, you’d struggle to find a buyer at £4K unless it’s phenomenal on the water).

I think it looks like it has great potential for someone who wants high speed, has perhaps got used to tiller steering on a sib but is looking for the benefits of a solid hull. But tiller steer, manual start, no console to keep equipment in (or to put a battery, vhf etc out of harms way) mean it doesnt have all the advantages of say a neat SR4 package. Nor does it have a known track record or presumably a CE plate for those who care about such things.

But there are people who would like the simplicity, and you’ve done a good job of presenting it tidily so I’m sure you’d find a buyer. What would you replace it with? It’s one of the reasons we have never sold ours - to get something that is significantly better (in function, and condition) I’d need to more than double what I’d get for it.

Yup it is a precise number. You see the OP asked a specific question so I gave him my answer. Getting an answer to the question you ask is not always very forthcoming on this forum

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

Yup it is a precise number. You see the OP asked a specific question so I gave him my answer. Getting an answer to the question you ask is not always very forthcoming on this forum

Were you making him an offer? You should have been more explicit!

[lukewhiting]

Cheers guys!

I was thinking around the 3k/3.5k mark but didn’t know if I was dreaming too big!

It’s got a decent sized storage bin under the front seat cushion. The floor stops where the seat starts so it’s fairly deep. Enough to put vhf, food for the day, tool kit, warm kit; beers etc etc

For a little boat it’s does to really well at what I need it for; wakeboarding, beach runs, pub trips up the river and fishing but I seem to be doing more wakeboarding rather than anything else now. So I was contemplating just getting a 4-stroke jetski just for ease of use. I’ve already had a wakeboat and I can’t be bothered with the hassle anymore of something that size .

I reckon one more season and it’ll be going up for sale...so watch this space!

[lukewhiting]

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Were you making him an offer? You should have been more explicit!

No not making an offer..... Are you going to answer his question or Just sit there on the fence

[ShinyShoe]

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

No not making an offer..... Are you going to answer his question or Just sit there on the fence

Well unless that was a serious offer.. he still doesn't know what its worth. He knows what you think its worth, very precisely. But thats pointless because you aren't offering to buy it.

Worth is always a difficult question... He could list it at £2995 and get offers of £2500 or thereabouts. Does he sit it out waiting for the magic £2995... Wait 3 months, 6 months, a year? before he can decide it really wasn't worth that?

I'm not saying he wont get £3k for it. I'm saying getting £3k for that will be harder than if it was the same boat with a console, because the market will be much smaller. I've seen a LOT rougher, similar sized boats with older motors got for around the £1.5k mark. So I'd expect it should go for more than that. But I've seen fair decent SR4's with engines not a lot older got for around the £3k mark. So the only way you are likely to get someone spending £3k on this is if they would prefer the tiller steering to console which is a small market. If someone wants it... you might get £3k. But that could take 6months or more for that buyer to materialise.

Will he get £3.5k or £4k? I doubt it. But happy to be proved wrong...

[smallribber]

Originally Posted by ShinyShoe

Well unless that was a serious offer.. he still doesn't know what its worth. He knows what you think its worth, very precisely. But thats pointless because you aren't offering to buy it.

Worth is always a difficult question... He could list it at £2995 and get offers of £2500 or thereabouts. Does he sit it out waiting for the magic £2995... Wait 3 months, 6 months, a year? before he can decide it really wasn't worth that?

I'm not saying he wont get £3k for it. I'm saying getting £3k for that will be harder than if it was the same boat with a console, because the market will be much smaller. I've seen a LOT rougher, similar sized boats with older motors got for around the £1.5k mark. So I'd expect it should go for more than that. But I've seen fair decent SR4's with engines not a lot older got for around the £3k mark. So the only way you are likely to get someone spending £3k on this is if they would prefer the tiller steering to console which is a small market. If someone wants it... you might get £3k. But that could take 6months or more for that buyer to materialise.

Will he get £3.5k or £4k? I doubt it. But happy to be proved wrong...

As usual for this forum lots of confusing waffle with loads of numbers rather than an answer to his question

[beamishken]

Need a bit more info realy are they bombard tubes grafted to an unknown hull? Was the tubes painted or just the upper and lower hull & was the painted bits sprayed or brush painted?

[spartacus]

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

As usual for this forum lots of confusing waffle with loads of numbers rather than an answer to his question

It's a forum so you're bound to get conflicting answers. What's the rule of thumb, lose 20-25% on the day you purchase plus 10% every year there after?

What you haven't factored in is what's someone prepared to pay. Boats are pretty niche, especially RIBs. It's a cottage industry compared to making inflatables for example where there's far more automation from the like of Zodiac, and even they struggle to make money out of it. Then you have to factor in engines and trailers, and this is very much driven by demand.

I'll dip my toe in the water. There's no console, so tiller isn't for everyone. Start at £2,500 and sell in the spring

[xpertski]

Look like Bombard Aerotec tubes from a 3.8m inflatable? £3k sounds about right but I wouldn’t think much more. It’s use would suit safety boat use with the tiller so the main area of the boat is free for pulling someone aboard etc - maybe sailing club types would be interested in it. Value is subjective and in the “eye of the beholder” but to my eye, if I were looking for that type of boat, £2.5-£3k feels right - that would be on the assumption all work done is spot on at a closer inspection, which I’m sure it is. Hope that helps.

Rest of value assumptions is to find the right person at the right time - people will place their own value on it. If it suits them perfectly they will think it’s worth more than someone who is trying to make it work for them (ie if someone likes it but would have preferred a small jockey console).

[lukewhiting]

Originally Posted by beamishken

Need a bit more info realy are they bombard tubes grafted to an unknown hull? Was the tubes painted or just the upper and lower hull & was the painted bits sprayed or brush painted?

From what I can gather its bombard tubes on any unknown hull. And to paint I prepped the surface, primed and rolled the paint on. The floors got antislip into so didn’t want to spray it. The tubes are not painted

[beamishken]

If thats the case id say 2k if your lucky 1k for the engine and 1k for hull and trailer
Happy to be proved wrong but thats where I'd see it

[willk]

Originally Posted by Bigplumbs

As usual for this forum lots of confusing waffle with loads of numbers rather than an answer to his question

I often wonder why you bother with it if it upsets you so much....

Waffle

[Poly]

Originally Posted by xpertski

It’s use would suit safety boat use with the tiller so the main area of the boat is free for pulling someone aboard etc - maybe sailing club types would be interested in it..

Agree - but most clubs buy new (either for warranty reasons or grants etc), and tend to buy known/proven designs. Perhaps a parent/coach might be on a different budget though. And the no console and presumably nice speed would suit windsurf or kitesurf folk who would also like the simple layout for not getting tangled in kit. The other group who like small ribs with tiller steering are yacht tenders but I suspect this is a bit heavy (40hp) for most of them - unless the yacht is so big that money is not likely to stop them buying new!

I actually really like the format, if it was mine, I’d be tempted to build up that seat (let’s face it nobody will use it) into a little shelter/store like a d-class or the boat redbay built for rescue use somewhere on Ireland’s inland waters. I think one of the sibbers here has something similar on a Bombard Aeotech. With that it would be very tempting compared to a SIB unless you want to deflate for storage/transport. Still doesn’t get you more value though - just might get you more interested people.

I only know one person who went from SIB to jetski - he loved it for a season but went to solid hull after that as he got bored by the limited range and kit carrying ability and was finding his sons could run up a £100 fuel bill in an afternoon! What speed are you getting from it though?