Why do Rib's not age well?

[Carl]

i must admit its been quiet without you(heaven ) so im glad you still have your mates sorry pals now,and i would guess that the reference to uv at altitude wont apply to many here because i think we use our boats at sea level glad your better

[MikeCC]

Originally Posted by Carl

and i would guess that the reference to uv at altitude wont apply to many here because i think we use our boats at sea level

. . . but worrying for RIBnetters using Lake Titicaca

[Carl]

and now a 25 page thread about the best 4x4 to get up there

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by MikeCC

. . . but worrying for RIBnetters using Lake Titicaca

And the people with flying RIBs..........

[BogMonster]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Even the Falklands gets high UV

We certainly do - a lot of "UV resistant" stuff doesn't last well here - nor do ginger people who arrive in the middle of summer

Clear atmosphere/no pollution is the main reason.

[yorfuoj]

I have to disagree with JIY statement, that Tornado polyurethane fabric ages better.

I had to re-tube a 480 Tornado coming from Switzerland, always used on a local lake - 5 or 6 years old, no more.

The color was perfect, bright orange like new, the fabric was very thick, but the fabric and assemblies were delaminating ... plus a lot of air leaks.

I ordered a hypalon tube from Eurocraft, nice work, fitting perfectly. Happy customer now.

This customer told me that he knew another Tornado user on the same lake, a dive club, with the same fabric problem.

It seems that PU fabric doesn't like fresh water - this was confirmed to me 20 years ago by a friend working as tyres engineer for Michelin.

[JIY]

yorfuoj, I have no experience of RIBs in freshwater and also no experience of older Tornados, so I'm sure your comments are correct.

However, I do have some experience of Tornados built and operated in the sea over the last 7 or 8 years and the tubes have worn extremely well, with no maintenance required other than an occasional wash down with some fairy liquid.

The 10m Humbers I drive need lots of tube maintenance (hypalon) to keep them looking good and are definitely more prone to abrasion than PU tubes. To be fair, they are commercial boats and get a lot of heavy use, but I still think that the newer PU tubes wear better.

[Tomas]

My rib is aging better than I am!

I've got a ten year old Avon Searider at 17 degrees N of the Equator and although we're both a bit scruffy at this point, the Avon is holding up extremely well!

The scruff factor comes down to elbow grease. If I wanted my tubes to be shiny and scuff free I would spend more time with a rag and compounds. As I only care about delamination and leaks I really don't care if my strakes are dull. I wash the salt off the rig religiously after every use, slap a cheap cover over it and am good to go, next time. Has the gelcoat faded? Yes, but last time I looked that was the "hard boat" part of the deal!

[Tomas]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Just because you are close to the Equator doesn't always mean very high UV

What's your theory there doctor? We have twelve hours +/- sunlight high overhead 365 days a year with a regional average of only about 15 days overcast a year. If I leave, for instance a red frisbee or red plastic gas container exposed to sun, the pigment is gone in two weeks.

Oh...and sorry about the dual comments to this thread. It came back to life and I forgot I'd already posted previously. UV got to my brain as well....

[ian parkes]

I had to laugh at this post , will anyone ever admit there is any disadvantage to a rib ,
Of course hypalon in general fades faster andhas a shorter life than grp , maybe certain bright colours are an exeption, but if a rib has any disadvantage its the degredation of the tubes .

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by ian parkes

I had to laugh at this post , will anyone ever admit there is any disadvantage to a rib ,
Of course hypalon in general fades faster andhas a shorter life than grp , maybe certain bright colours are an exeption, but if a rib has any disadvantage its the degredation of the tubes .

Of course there's disadvantages to a rib. It's the same as anything else though-horses for courses and you get the quality you pay for. Buy a Baywhiner or a cheaply tubed rib then abuse it and it'll be outlived by a pint of milk...

It'd be interesting to see how well a good GRP boat handled being abused in the same way an Sr5.4 used as a safety rib is though. I suspect if the work was done professionally the cash paid out wouldn't be that much different to make it look good again.

[prairie tuber]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Of course there's disadvantages to a rib. It's the same as anything else though-horses for courses and you get the quality you pay for. Buy a Baywhiner or a cheaply tubed rib then abuse it and it'll be outlived by a pint of milk...

It'd be interesting to see how well a good GRP boat handled being abused in the same way an Sr5.4 used as a safety rib is though. I suspect if the work was done professionally the cash paid out wouldn't be that much different to make it look good again.

Yup. I have a small zodiac SIB that is over 30 years old and has seen plenty of hard use (such as running over beaver dams with lots of throttle and the like). The floor boards & trust board have been replaced, the floor fabric is rough, the transom is pulling away from the tubes and so on. The only thing that is original and still holding up very well is the hypalon tubeset (with the odd patch here & there ).

[ADS]

Well my SR4 is late 1970's I believe, it looks as ugly today as it did when it was brand new. I don't know its history but its in remarkably good condition, having said that a brand new Searider is alot of cash, I imagine it will outlive some of these new med style boats.

[biffer]

my boats five years old with 800 hours on it, just take a bit of care over it and get a good breathable cover

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by ADS

Well my SR4 is late 1970's I believe,

1984

[ian parkes]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

Of course there's disadvantages to a rib. It's the same as anything else though-horses for courses and you get the quality you pay for. Buy a Baywhiner or a cheaply tubed rib then abuse it and it'll be outlived by a pint of milk...

It'd be interesting to see how well a good GRP boat handled being abused in the same way an Sr5.4 used as a safety rib is though. I suspect if the work was done professionally the cash paid out wouldn't be that much different to make it look good again.

Don't worry iam not turning into Mr Fuller ,I still like ribs but just found all the positive comments and justification amusing

[CJL]

TORNADOS DO NOT AGE WELL AT ALL!!

The surface of the PVC tubes wears very quickly with any kind of use and leaves you with the string / pattern showing through very quickly, particularly in a commercial application.

I've not had much use with them in a leisure environment - that I readily accept, but I think in the leisure market, if a boat is covered up and generally well cared for I don't think there's much in it!

Grafham Sailing Club have four 5.4m seariders that are 20+ years old, still with original tubes that are in immaculate condition. A credit to the club and Avon.

In comparison they have a 6m Tornado that does not look in as good a condition at all!

Chris

[JIY]

CJL, this popular misconception keeps arising.

Tornados are more from Polyeurothane (PU) NOT PVC! PVC is a totally different and inferior material.

[ciaranp]

how well do humber destroyers age?
whats best to look after(clean) tubes?

[ADS]

Originally Posted by Nos4r2

1984

My mistake, it still older than me!

And my experience with older Tornados is the tubes always go. We have one at the local sailing club and it needs a retube, think its a 1992. They leak from the seams I think, either way I thought they were notorious for it.