TWL: RIB and outboard.
I have my boat finally, have picked the radar/chart plotter, getting
everything done that's needed. I do need to select my next tender. I have
Weaver davits on my swim platform and thinking RIB. Anyone have experience
with Aquapro's? They have Aluminum instead of fiberglass and look great. I
know I want Hypalon and a four stroke engine but brands are open to
suggestions/experiences.
Phillip
Phillip,
I don't know about Aquapros, but I have a Force4 aluminum-hulled RIB,
and I'm very happy with it. It's much lighter than a FG RIB, I drag
around on barnacle-encrusted beaches with impunity and only suffer
scratched paint. It performs under power very well, and since it has a
deep vee it rides well too. It also cost less than comparable FG RIBs.
It's 10'. I power it with a 15 hp 4-stroke Yamaha which I'm completely
happy with. I can get on plane easily with 3 people and have even
gotten 4 people up on occasion. Total weight with motor isn't much over
200 lbs. It has a PVC fabric instead of hypalon - hypalon would be
better, but here in Alaska our rubber products don't degrade from UV
very fast so it doesn't matter as much.
One improvement that made a huge difference was adding fins to the
cavitation plate on the outboard - I believe these were DoelFins, and
the ride and performance were improved amazingly. The best $35 I ever
spent on a boat product.
Bob Deering
Juneau Alaska
I have
Weaver davits on my swim platform and thinking RIB.
Phillip
Here is some advice I gave to someone a yr or so ago.
You will find it difficult to swing the RIB up on the Weavers.
((((As an aside. I am building davits for the RIB as we are not satisfied
with the Weaver davit. By the time we drop it in the water and hump the 15
hp onto it we find that it is not nearly as convenient as we would like. A
smaller lighter motor would change this equation but then our smaller
motor would not get it on a plane.
YMMV, our experience.)))))
I went thru the same lifting charade sev. mos. ago when I installed Weavers
for
my RIB.
Here is how I solved the geometric problem.
First I have a p/h boat so it is shaped in the back like a sedan. Don't
despair
double cabin owners I have a possible solution for you too!
Anyway, I attached a small pad eye high up on the aft bulkhead beside the
back
door. I fabricated a backing plate, from alum flat bar abt 3/4 inch wide by
3
inches long .
This is on the inside of the cabin wall ,it is up near the ceiling and not
even
noticed.
This is the attachment point of a block and tackle set up. The hook of the
block
and tackle is snapped to the far side of the dinghy and the other block is
snapped to the pad eye.
The pulleys each have two shives and the one that is attached to the
bulkhead
has a dead eye for the end of the rope. This allows you to have the end on
which you are pulling on the boat block so that you are pulling down on the
rope.
It works well .
The block and tackle set up snaps off and is stored in a plastic grocery bag
and
placed in the lazarette.
Double cabin boats or the like without a high point can accomplish the same
by
attaching the block to the rail or to he house. It is just a few feet to
the
house so this is really no problem.
The RIB is heavy enough that I could not comfortably pull it up even
working
fr the bridge deck. That is why I came up with this system.
Caveat. A friend who just got back fr. a year long trip to the Bahamas and
all
the way to Venezuela ( on a CHB 45 just like CCRIDER) cautioned me that a
heavy
wind could rip the inflatable off of the platform.( You need not ask just
how
he knows this.) He suggested and I did what he said, I mounted two 6 inch
cleats on the top of the back rail . On one I tie the bow line of the Rib,
(that
is looped through the d ring on the far side) and to the other I tie the
stern
line of the dingy. It is then securely tied down . We experienced winds of
over
45 mph in Jan on our way back fr Corpus Christi Texas and the RIB held
steady.
CCC
M/V CC RIDER
CHARLES and PAT CULOTTA
Patterson, La.
http://www.geocities.com/charlesculotta/
I had a 5 HP Nissan ion my 10' RIB and went for a 8 HP Yamaha 4 stroke.
While the engine ran great, I found that the blasted thing was so heavy
that I could barely get it on an off the dinghy. I am sure that I will
someday dunk it after losing control. Also the engine housing on the Yam
is so smooth in the rear that I could not get the standard webbing
carrier to hold reliably.
I have St Croix davits but they are not strong enough to lift the boat
and motor. It is not the davits but the way they are attached to the
transom. The transom buckles when I try to lift it. I got the davits
with the boat.
I still do not have a good solution. Dinghy sure are a pain.
Gregory Han
Key Biscayne FL 33149
305 361 2133
<<<<<<<<I have
Weaver davits on my swim platform and thinking RIB. Anyone have
experience
with Aquapro's? They have Aluminum instead of fiberglass and look great.
I
know I want Hypalon and a four stroke engine but brands are open to
suggestions/experiences.
Phillip