Which Rib to buy?

Alfaracer33 · 26 April 2011, 08:39

Hi
I'm new to RIB's and no doubt the question of which one to buy has been discussed many times on this forum! Nevertheless, any views/experiences would be much appreciated.
I'm keen on a Ribeye (secondhand) - 5 to 6m ish. Is the Ribeye range a good bet, or should I look at other manufacturers?
Thanks

Poly · 26 April 2011, 09:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alfaracer33

Hi
I'm new to RIB's and no doubt the question of which one to buy has been discussed many times on this forum! Nevertheless, any views/experiences would be much appreciated.
I'm keen on a Ribeye (secondhand) - 5 to 6m ish. Is the Ribeye range a good bet, or should I look at other manufacturers?
Thanks

There's not necessarily anything wrong with Ribeye but if you search the forums you'll find plenty of people asking similar questions and often being steered towards other boats which might be more suitable or offer better value for money.

Everyone's needs are different (and they change with time) so can I suggest you answer these question to get more helpful advice from the forum:

(1) Where will you be using it? [the ideal boat for the Solent may be different from the ideal boat on the west of Ireland]
(2) What weather will you be using it in? [mostly brilliant sunshine and little wind, or all year round, or are you constrained by work/family so will be going out next weekend unless its horrendous because you won't get a chance again for 3 weeks]
(3) How many people will you be carrying? [think normally, rather than - it would be nice to squeeze 10 people on to hop a mile across a bay]
(4) How far do you intend to go? [hours/miles in a day and distance off the shore]
(5) What do you want to do with it? [fishing / skiing / diving / cruising]
(6) How important is top speed? [if so what sounds fast to you?]
(7) How important is the "look"? [this applies both to looking "cool" and looking "industrial" or "military"]
(8) Where are you going to keep it? [do you have size restriction for launching / towing / storing]
(9) What's your budget like? [if you want to a RIB can easily cost £2000-200,000!]

Alfaracer33 · 26 April 2011, 13:55

Thanks. These are my responses:
(1) Where will you be using it? [the ideal boat for the Solent may be different from the ideal boat on the west of Ireland] NORTH NORFOLK COAST
(2) What weather will you be using it in? [mostly brilliant sunshine and little wind, or all year round, or are you constrained by work/family so will be going out next weekend unless its horrendous because you won't get a chance again for 3 weeks] USUALLY GOOD WEATHER, BUT IT CAN GET CHOPPY!
(3) How many people will you be carrying? [think normally, rather than - it would be nice to squeeze 10 people on to hop a mile across a bay] NORMALLY 5/6
(4) How far do you intend to go? [hours/miles in a day and distance off the shore] 2 TO 4 HOURS. AT PRESENT, I HAVE A TERHI NORDIC 6020C WHICH IS GREAT, BUT NOT IDEAL FOR VENTURING INTO OPEN, ROUGH SEA AND IS SMALL.
(5) What do you want to do with it? [fishing / skiing / diving / cruising] FISHING, CRUISING, EXPLORING
(6) How important is top speed? [if so what sounds fast to you?] NOT THAT IMPORTANT. LOOKING FOR STABILITY AND SAFETY. ALTHOUGH, I RACE CARS, SO SPEED IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT!!
(7) How important is the "look"? [this applies both to looking "cool" and looking "industrial" or "military"] DOESN'T NEED TO BE 'COOL', BUT REALLY GOOD AT WHAT IT DOES
(8) Where are you going to keep it? [do you have size restriction for launching / towing / storing] KEPT ON A MOORING OR AT HOME AND MOVED AROUND
(9) What's your budget like? [if you want to a RIB can easily cost £2000-200,000!] AROUND £20 TO £25K. WOULD LIKE TO SELL MINE AS WELL.

Poly · 26 April 2011, 18:50

Ok, I'd think that to fit safe comfortable seating for 6 people out for up to 4 hours you will be looking at the top end of your suggested 5-6m size range.

Almost any of the "popular" brands on here would be able to provide you something reasonable for that budget - e.g. Ribcraft, Humber (Destroyer or Ocean Pro), Osprey, Redbay, XS, Ribtec (who also make Ribeye) for starters - but there are many others which are perfectly capable. Some people would certainly suggest that the Ribeye isn't the best way to spend your £25k.

I'd suggest you try out a few boats, and look at different seat layouts and see what suits, then see what matches your budgets / needs etc. A trip to Ribex in a few weeks time (or SB&R a few weeks later) might be worthwhile.

jonmitch · 26 April 2011, 19:20

Ribeye are good solid boats with an excellent dealer network. They are safe, dry and solidly built but overall more leisure market orientated rather than workhorse. I have one of the older Dartmouth built models which has a very high build quality. Hull manufacture moved to South Africa some years ago although most of the boast are still rigged in Devon. They hold their value pretty well as there is a good market for them.

They attract a bit of criticism on here possible because they are not a "purist's" RIB and they have set their stall up very much for families and leisure boaters. Having said that, my hull is the same as the Playtime 6m range which may be waht you're looking at and is very capable...I did my RYA 2 in a F7 with an 8ft swell and the instructor was very complimentary.

Enjoy