For long term cruising we want to buy a rib, around 3,25 meters, with
a 15 hp outboard.

Important criterium for us is llifespan, in other words:UV-resistance.
At the moment we're looking at two neoprene ribs: 1) Joker Boats from
Italy.They give a 10 year warranty on the tissue and the glue. 2)
African Cats from the Netherlands, kevlar/carbon bottom, they use
hypalion. Hypalion gives 5 years warranty.

Another criterium : suited for scuba diving from the rib.
Joker 315 weighs 53 kg. No problem to get aboard with bottle removed
and floating. African Cats 335 weighs 24 kg (nice for the davits) but
won't this low weight become a nuisance when climbing in from the
side?

Anyone here with long-term experience?

Thanks in advance.
Len.

Len wrote:
Important criterium for us is llifespan, in other words:UV-resistance.
....
Another criterium : suited for scuba diving from the rib.
Joker 315 weighs 53 kg. No problem to get aboard with bottle removed
and floating. African Cats 335 weighs 24 kg (nice for the davits) but
won't this low weight become a nuisance when climbing in from the
side?

Most RIBs are very stable and lighter is better in every way. Larger
boats like the ones you are looking at will have bigger tubes which
make for a drier running boat but do make it harder to get board from
the water. Haplon should come with a 10 year warranty, PVC boats that
don't have covers last about 5 years in the tropics but can last
indefinitely with good covers or paint. I'd suggest looking at Aquapro
and Force (New Zealand companies w/Chinese manufacture). Give some
thought to how you will store the RIB, too.

-- Tom.

On Sat, 08 Apr 2006 18:27:48 -0700, wrote:


Len wrote:
Important criterium for us is llifespan, in other words:UV-resistance.
...
Another criterium : suited for scuba diving from the rib. Joker 315
weighs 53 kg. No problem to get aboard with bottle removed and
floating. African Cats 335 weighs 24 kg (nice for the davits) but won't
this low weight become a nuisance when climbing in from the side?

Most RIBs are very stable and lighter is better in every way. Larger
boats like the ones you are looking at will have bigger tubes which make
for a drier running boat but do make it harder to get board from the
water. Haplon should come with a 10 year warranty, PVC boats that don't
have covers last about 5 years in the tropics but can last indefinitely
with good covers or paint. I'd suggest looking at Aquapro and Force
(New Zealand companies w/Chinese manufacture). Give some thought to how
you will store the RIB, too.

Putting in another vote for New Zealand, we've been using a Southern Cross
brand RIB with an aluminum bottom. It's the lightest 10' we could find,
~60 LB. It seems better made than all the others too. At 4-5 years old
now it's holding up much better than others. We're very happy with it.

A RIB is best for us, but as others have mentioned the Portabote is great
too.

Matt O.

Ever consider a Portabote? Their not pefect, but I like mine. Seems to
perform well, be reasonably durable and pretty easy to stow on deck. Also,
our 12' peforms well with a 6HP motor....fuel savings.

Glenn.

"Len" wrote in message
...
For long term cruising we want to buy a rib, around 3,25 meters, with
a 15 hp outboard.

Important criterium for us is llifespan, in other words:UV-resistance.
At the moment we're looking at two neoprene ribs: 1) Joker Boats from
Italy.They give a 10 year warranty on the tissue and the glue. 2)
African Cats from the Netherlands, kevlar/carbon bottom, they use
hypalion. Hypalion gives 5 years warranty.

Another criterium : suited for scuba diving from the rib.
Joker 315 weighs 53 kg. No problem to get aboard with bottle removed
and floating. African Cats 335 weighs 24 kg (nice for the davits) but
won't this low weight become a nuisance when climbing in from the
side?

Anyone here with long-term experience?

Thanks in advance.
Len.

I will look at portaboat.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I doubt if you can climb in from the water though.

Regards,
Len.

Thought the same thing. I jumped overboard at anchor and tried crawling
over the side....again and again...simple. It's flexible sides make it even
easier.

Glenn.
s/v Seawing
www.seawing.net


"Len" wrote in message
...
I will look at portaboat.
Thanks for the suggestion.
I doubt if you can climb in from the water though.

Regards,
Len.

Len writes:

Anyone here with long-term experience?

I would suggest the sub-$1000 Korean PVC inflatables if you can take a hard
floor instead of RIB. For the money you can just replace the thing
(reusing the engine/etc) when it gets old. After a year of using one on
salt water I'm still convinced that they're the equal of the low-end
Mercury or Zodiacs they're cloning.

http://www.buyinflatableboats.net/

$850 includes shipping and 5 year warranty
G


"Richard J Kinch" wrote in message
. ..
Len writes:

Anyone here with long-term experience?

I would suggest the sub-$1000 Korean PVC inflatables if you can take a
hard
floor instead of RIB. For the money you can just replace the thing
(reusing the engine/etc) when it gets old. After a year of using one on
salt water I'm still convinced that they're the equal of the low-end
Mercury or Zodiacs they're cloning.