What was your longest journey on the rib?

[jwalker]

Originally Posted by BogMonster

I don't think there is a single answer, it depends on several factors like:

- wind and sea conditions and the predictability of any change in that...

I agree.What you can tolerate will be down to comfort level. As an example, I did a trip last summer where the first leg was 115 miles. It took 4 hours at my cruising speed on a pretty flat sea; ate, had coffee, listened to music had lunch when I arrived, fueled the boat and moved on another 70ish miles...all easy. The return trip a few weeks later was entirely different... left after breakfast to an 45˚onshore F4 North easterly with a few days old easterly swell through it in thick mist. Moved offshore to about 5 miles to try to avoid reflected waves. Didn't work, seabed is shallow and humpy in the North Sea so had the most god awful, twisty turny, slammy, bumpy and disorienting trip ever, didn't see land again until arrival. Still only took the four hours but wasn't right for a number of days afterwards. Most folk think I'm not right anyway but that's a different issue....

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Fal to Scillies, Dartmouth to Alderney. Both around 60Nm.

I'd towed mine for over 300 miles by then

[willk]

Originally Posted by bedajim

I'd towed mine for over 300 miles by then

...only counts if it was behind a 4m Searider

[gotchiguy]

Our longest trip last year in one go was around 80nm, factoring in one fuel stop since we'd already done 120nm on the tank since last fill, and although fairly tiring and hard since it was not exactly a calm day, I certainly did not suffer any ill effects, although I think GD may have had a sore back the following morning!

We wouldn't have any issue doing that sort of distance again, and when we return to Alderney over the next few years we will have no hesitation doing it in a single day, and that is ~86nm.

[John Kennett]

Originally Posted by biffer

i've been thinking about our round britain trip, we must have been loonies, would you do it again in something like we did ?

I think you spent more in fuel on the first leg than I did in the whole week!

Round Britain certainly changed my perception of what's a reasonable distance in a day. A few weeks after we got back I did Solent to Dartmouth and back in a weekend without even giving it a thought. After all it's only 120 or so miles each way, and we had done legs where the next waypoint was 200 miles.

Like JW and others have said though, a long trip in good conditions is a magnitude easier than a much shorter trip when the weather's against you.

[Downhilldai]

Went out for a spin around the islands (Skomer, Ramsey, South Bishop, Smalls, Grassholm, Skokholm) last summer and covered 90 nm in a very pleasant afternoon. Surprising how the miles clock up when you're having a larf at sea.

[Hightower]

Originally Posted by Ian Austin

Plymouth to Port Solent (twice) once in December and again in early March, first trip on my own and the second with extra's, who rembers ACTION MAN Wish i went on my own.

Have to watch out for Buoys too

[willk]

Mine is 110Nm around the Donegal coast, granted there were two stops for, um, refreshments, so perhap it doesn't count. Still, without that second batch of refreshments, it would have been only 100Nm

TBH, it was a nice relaxed trip and could have been pushed out a bit without any undue suffering.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

I think you spent more in fuel on the first leg than I did in the whole week!

Round Britain certainly changed my perception of what's a reasonable distance in a day. A few weeks after we got back I did Solent to Dartmouth and back in a weekend without even giving it a thought. After all it's only 120 or so miles each way, and we had done legs where the next waypoint was 200 miles.

Like JW and others have said though, a long trip in good conditions is a magnitude easier than a much shorter trip when the weather's against you.

John, a 9 mtr Zodiac Hurricane (aluminium hull, ex-French SF with out of date twin Evenrude 250, as you say lots and lots of fuel and I should know cos it was my responsibility however a perfect hull for the trip.

Biff says we grabed all the seats. I think he was better off leaning against the A frame The jockeys seats had no back rests. It was a nightmare to hold on all day especially on the East Coast section. But YES worth doing.

[Neil Harvey]

Originally Posted by biffer

seriously i would do it again as a cruise, stop where we wanted for extended days and site seeing, yes i would do it again

sounds like you two are planning a cruise... should be posting that in the cruise section

[bedajim]

Originally Posted by willk

...only counts if it was behind a 4m Searider

Only ever towed a Scorpion with the SR

[Glenn collins]

last season I did lots of little 20+ nm trips in the sr4, but that sold and we bought a 6.5m hard cabin boat. 87nm trip back from her berth in essex to the pontoon up the river medway. less than a mile out of essex and the pro spun. at full throtle we could get just on 6 knots.

it was a very long trip home, made it on 100ltrs of petrol and just over 13hrs. we got back having had to sit out the lowest tide of the year and unable to get sufficiently up river to tie off with little more than vapors in the tank.

fun day......

[Downhilldai]

bonkers

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Glenn collins

last season I did lots of little 20+ nm trips in the sr4, but that sold and we bought a 6.5m hard cabin boat. 87nm trip back from her berth in essex to the pontoon up the river medway. less than a mile out of essex and the pro spun. at full throtle we could get just on 6 knots.

it was a very long trip home, made it on 100ltrs of petrol and just over 13hrs. we got back having had to sit out the lowest tide of the year and unable to get sufficiently up river to tie off with little more than vapors in the tank.

fun day......

You chose to do 86 nm with a spun prop / problematic engine at 6 knots rather than do 1 mile back to the start and get the issue fixed

[dougal_22]

what was the name of your hard boat you took to the medway as i have a river boat on the medway, my longest single trip was from allington out the estuary around the isle of sheppey and back to rochester, id say 60-70nm but i was only 16 but a very safety concious one at that

[Callum Stewart]

We did about 155 miles from Redbay to Kyles of Lochalsh stopping at Tobermory for lunch in the Mish meeting up with the round Scotland group in 1988 with our 6.1mtr along with a 7mtr diesel Osprey. That was the start of a lot of long distance rib runs! Unfortunately on the RS 88 trip we had to turn round at Lochinvar (Andre will remember having a Pint of the black stuff in the Royal in Portree).
But as has been stated it’s very easy to do long distances in good conditions but it’s a very different story trying to do long distances punching into a big head sea!

[donald463]

As an aside, how often does everyone find that the weather/sea has changed and they put off the return of day out until following day?
I understand that sea could bocome too dangerous to return but what if return is 'too uncomfortable'? i.e. twice the time of outward leg.

[Andre]

Originally Posted by Callum Stewart

We did about 155 miles from Redbay to Kyles of Lochalsh stopping at Tobermory for lunch in the Mish meeting up with the round Scotland group in 1988 with our 6.1mtr along with a 7mtr diesel Osprey. That was the start of a lot of long distance rib runs! Unfortunately on the RS 88 trip we had to turn round at Lochinvar (Andre will remember having a Pint of the black stuff in the Royal in Portree).
But as has been stated it’s very easy to do long distances in good conditions but it’s a very different story trying to do long distances punching into a big head sea!

Callum, and I am still addicted to it. By the way that was in 1998. Was your rib the one with the yellow tube

[Glenn collins]

Originally Posted by Polwart

You chose to do 86 nm with a spun prop / problematic engine at 6 knots rather than do 1 mile back to the start and get the issue fixed

Had to push on. The boat has been siting on a drying berth for over a year with very little movement. I put a lot of the lack of power down to a dirty bottom and badly degraded fuel in the system and low maint on the main engine. The aux was mine so knew we would get there in the end.
The payment on the marina was up and with no trailor had to make it over to Kent.
Had it have all gone bad we would have dropped the Aux and still proceeded a about 5-6 knots. so nothing really lost appart from ££ on fuel. It was when we got back and found that the prop was spun and the bottom was actually quite clean, i felt a bit of a plonker.

live and learn.

[Callum Stewart]

Callum, and I am still addicted to it. By the way that was in 1998. Was your rib the one with the yellow tube

Hi Andre,
Yes it had Yellow tubes with a Johnson 150 GT we had a lot of fun with the 6.1 Stormforce & the GT had a lot of grunt! Then we fitted a 150 Ficht big mistake!