Small roughwater boats

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

oops forgot to reply to rats...heh i was reading about the RIBs and they do have some major benefits over solid sided boats. Is this weekly topping off of the tubes hard? WOuld i have to take it out of the water to do it? etc. Thanks for all your hhelp man.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Oh no. It's easy. The tube is in chambers. About 5 for a 17' boat. Each has a valve that you pump up with either a foot pump or an electric pump. You can do it underway if you want to.

 

[11 footer]

Re: Small roughwater boats

The BW 180 Dauntless is the best boat on that list.<br /><br />You can swamp a whaler, and as long as the engine still runs power the water out by pulling the plug, and NO a whaler will not sink. They can be filled with water and capsize, but never sink and you'll always have something to hold on to.<br /><br />I'd suggest looking into used whalers, nices ones from the 1980s in the 18-25foot range with newer engines can be had for 30grand.<br /><br />Check out<br />www.continuouswave.com <br />for more on whalers

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Small roughwater boats

seaswirl- i was going to suggest a rhib as well, but most people want a bit more amenities. they have very little storage, awkward lounging areas, strange to fish from, etc. but they are simply the most capable small boats in the world. if it's any indication, we (u.s. navy) launch them from our ships as rescue boats. i'm talking 1000 miles offshore.<br /><br />33K is a very nice budget to have. is there a size requirement? i think if you give us more info (does it have to trailer, how many people will you carry, etc, etc), we can then help recommend boats for you. and we now understand you're simply looking for a quality, rough water boat that will offer a good ride.

 

[Johnshan1]

Re: Small roughwater boats

If a good ride is wanted, skip the Boston Whalers of the 80's, just my thoughts.

 

[KaGee]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Hmmmm.... the beginnings of another "oil" type thread.

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Reply to Matt: The 33k budget is going to include the trailer. I would like it to be able to carry at least 6-8 people but i know seating is a bit hard to layout on inflatables. (I found a dealership for RIBCRAFT boats about 2 miles away from me and you can customize your seating anyway you want, soo i'm pretty enthusiastic about that heh) umm Length...just about anything over 16 ft and under 25 ft probably...but the 20 and aboves get a bit pricey i see. The boat would need some way of pulling a skiier or tube but thats a minor thing. Hmm if you think of any more info that you need tell me. <br /><br />Just more questoins for rat or anyone who can answer them that i thought about over night: How hard is it to sink a RIB thats fully inflated? How hard is it to sink with one or 2 tubes deflated? And do the tubes act as flares so you get a dry ride or are the RIBs usualy a wet ride? Thanks

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Hi seaswirl. You would have to "Pop" all of the chambers for the rig to have any chance of sinking and I'm not sure it even would then. It's really of no concern though. With the tubes inflated, you cannot sink the boat. <br /><br />RHI's are about middle of the road for how "Dry" they are. The more experience you get driving them, the dryer they are.

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

heh ok

 

[umblecumbuz]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Seaswirl:

I was leaning towards the Whalers because of their so called Unsinkable boats

It's true that Whalers are 'unsinkable' in that if you bury the bows and fill the thing, you can drive the boat dry. This facility now applies to boats other than Whalers.<br /><br />But the problem comes from lack of experience, which breeds overconfidence, as I found out. 'Unsinkable' doesn't mean 'uncapsizable'.<br /><br />And when your Whaler broaches and you get capsized, there ain't much to hold onto, and it ain't self-righting!<br /><br />With experience, even a baby Whaler will take a hell of a pounding in real bad water that will shame many other boats, and live to tell.

 

[stevens]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Those RIBs are extremely able to handle the rough and to stay afloat. <br /><br />Here's a picture of our new local ambulance. Capacity of 26 people at up to 50 knots. Nice to know it's there, hope to never ride in it.<br /><br />

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

that a lot of people lol..and 50 knots is pretty damn fast. Im going to go to this RIBCRAFT dealer down the street in the next week or so just to check them out. Takes 4-12 weeks for them to be customized and delivered though.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Okay seaswirl. I'd like to see a Boston Whaler do this! RHI's

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

wow.....was the landing soft? heh. Those waves are pretty big man. I've been reading a lot of reviews about this company and they've all been positive but if you dont mind, since it seems your in the coastguard (judging by the boat) and since im a little new to RIBS could you maybe check out the specs on some of these make RIBs? http://www.ribcraftusa.com/modelsrec.html <br />Thanks again.

 

[Drowned Rat]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Hi swirl. I am not familiar with ribcraft, but they appear to be well designed machines. Without putting your hands on one and looking it over, it's hard to say if they are as durable or not. If you have the means, go to a dealer and check one out. Ask the sales staff about construction and materials used. Call their customers to get their opinions. And best of all take a test drive if they'll let you. Yes, they are seaworthy and fast, but you may find the layout doesn't suit you needs. Good luck, and I hope you find a boat you really like.<br /><br />BTW. I was in the Coast Guard. '87 to '94.

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Okay! thanks for all the advice drowned. The cool thing with the Ribcrafts is you can customize the layout when you order your boat. My friend up the street has one...i think i might go drive his next week heh. <br /><br />P.S. Coast Guard always scares me...they ask too many questions when you break down hehe.

 

[lakelivin]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Originally posted by Stevens:<br /> Those RIBs are extremely able to handle the rough and to stay afloat. <br /><br />Here's a picture of our new local ambulance. Capacity of 26 people at up to 50 knots. Nice to know it's there, hope to never ride in it.<br />

Do you mean it's capable of doing up to 50 knots with 26 people in it (that would be pretty impressive!), or capacity of 26 people, and top speed (with much less weight) of up to 50 knots? <br /><br />If it's up to 50 knots with 26 people, what's the top speed with only 1 or 2 aboard?

 

[Nos4r2]

Re: Small roughwater boats

Add to the Rib that you can get an inflatable bag for the gantry so it's self-righting and you've got the ideal boat for rough water.(you can see one in Stevens pic) I'd love one but they are so darn pricey over here...<br /><br /><br />Oh to hell with the money I'm gonna sell my boat and buy one anyway!

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Small roughwater boats

if ya really want the best small boat out there, gotta get one of these...<br /><br /> http://www.zodiaccz7.com <br /><br />only problem is that i heard they retail for something like $190K

 

[Gmarkos319]

Re: Small roughwater boats

lol yea thats a nice boat mattt..just 160k over my limit tho heh.