New rib wanted

So I am shopping for a new dinghy, a 10 foot rib It will be stowed on Weaver davits while underway. I am a full-time live aboard at anchor. So far the best prices seem to come from Achilles and Apex. I am open to hearing about experience and recommendations from the board

There are companies on the web that make similar ribs without the name brand for a lot less. Some are US made, probable more now with the tax changes.

I just purchased an 8’6” hypalon aluminum bottom / aluminum floor rib on sale from west. $2700. Was a good price based on a lot of comparisons

West Marine had a sale recently, my neighbor bought a 10-foot hypalon rib. I helped him inflate it and put it in the water it floated exceptionally High. If you stood on the ones pontoon the other pontoon would come out of the water. He put a 15 horse Yamaha on it ,took a ride returned. And deemed it unsafe. He said no way he was going to let his wife right in that boat it was unstable. He returned it to West Marine

“And deemed it unsafe.“
That’s one of the pluses of doing business with West Marine right now. “The customer is always right”

motion30 said:

West Marine had a sale recently, my neighbor bought a 10-foot hypalon rib. I helped him inflate it and put it in the water it floated exceptionally High. If you stood on the ones pontoon the other pontoon would come out of the water. He put a 15 horse Yamaha on it ,took a ride returned. And deemed it unsafe. He said no way he was going to let his wife right in that boat it was unstable. He returned it to West Marine

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IMO any 10' RIB with a 15HP is a potentially unsafe boat.
Or it can be perfectly safe in the appropriate hands.

I have a 10 foot West Marine and its great. Outlasting some of the bigger nsme brands my friends have and it hangs all year uncovered.

I have an 8hp on mine and it does 15 knots with just me, a 9.9 would be perfect, 15hp is probably too much for the feint hearted unless you stay off the throttle...but any RIB is dangerous if you run it wrong as Smitty447 points out.

As for unstable, with a light load all RHIBs float high. Mine floated and ran nice with the recommended max capacity (4 adults, luggage and groceries). But with just one person, especially riding midship for trimming purposes and a nice vee in front, yes of course it seems tippy, but hardly unsafe. Add a person all the way up front with one at the tiller and mine feels as stable even for my usual passenger who has poor eyesight and a lousy balance.

I cant speak for all West Marine dinks, but the single and double floor 3.10 hypalon is a great deal. I like it better than the Defender model and if it continues to weather well, it was a great purchase (tho I did get it on the Summer sale )

We bought an AB 9.5 with aluminum hull this year. It has a 8hp Mercury on it. So far we are very pleased, and would buy it again. It was an expensive boat, but we keep it covered and it should last 15 years or more. The boat is under 90 pounds, and it seemed to have more deadrise forward than some of the other (fine) boats on the market. The ride of the AB is very comfortable, and the 8hp gives us 15 knots. I would like to have a 15hp motor on it, as it is less than a 10 pound weight penalty...but we already had the 8hp. A bonus for the 8hp is the sound level and fuel consumption...both very attractive.

I am also a BIG Achilles fan. I have owned a couple of them and I still see oldies on the docks, 20+ years old and holding air. Great product.

Good Luck

And another vote for AB here. Not cheap, but top quality.

Keep in mind the quality of a RIB is not always seen, get fabric thickness, some cheaper brands might give you hyp. fabric, but the thickness is exceptionally light.

Marlinmike said:

Keep in mind the quality of a RIB is not always seen, get fabric thickness, some cheaper brands might give you hyp. fabric, but the thickness is exceptionally light.

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Also, gluing hypalon together to make RIB tubes is a labor intensive process (read $). A cheaper RIB may be made quickly and not assembled that well.