Favorite console style RIB?

[JustBob]

I did some searching here and did not find a thread like this, so I'll start one.

What are your fave console style RIB's? I'm thinking like 12 footer. One friend of mine said he favors the Walker Bay. I see Twisted Tree has an AB.

You?

 

[menzies]

I have a 15 AB RIB And love it - wish I could get it on the boat. Tempted to upgrade the davit to do so.

We have an 11 Novurania with a 25hp Yamaha on the back on the boat, it's fine for our dinghy to shore needs but is a little wet.

 

[BandB]

Wifey B:


Williams 385.

Can't help it, I like jets.

Now, if you're looking for ones to hang those things off of....outboard motors I think is what they're called, Novurania is very nice but expensive.

 

[ragin cajun]

Made down the road from us....Metal Shark

 

[BandB]

I have a 15 AB RIB And love it - wish I could get it on the boat. Tempted to upgrade the davit to do so.

We have an 11 Novurania with a 25hp Yamaha on the back on the boat, it's fine for our dinghy to shore needs but is a little wet.

Wifey B: Size does matter. Seriously, I'd get the largest that the boat will allow. Amazing how much difference even an extra foot makes.

 

[koliver]

Wifey B: Size does matter. Seriously, I'd get the largest that the boat will allow. Amazing how much difference even an extra foot makes.

Took me a while to move up from 11'soft bottom to 10'RIB, then to 12' RIB with a console, but no regrets. My transom won't take any more length or I would have gone bigger still.
Menzies: I had to strengthen my davits to get the 10 hoisted. Once that was done, I could handle the weight of the 12. 750 lb full load.

Mine is a Caribe. I am very happy with it, Hypalon tubes, FG hull, flat floor, bow tank, good sized console with fish finder/plotter, dry running in most conditions. 40 Honda gets me to 25 knots at WOT.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
I'm looking to upgrade to a console style model from our 10" AB but I'm quite concerned about the added weight. Right now, the AB is about 185lbs with ?lbs of a 15hp. Yamaha 2 stroke. The lifting tackle (original 1979 wooden mast) may not be able to take much more strain. It creaks and groans as it is....Hmmm....

 

[Bruce B]

Wifey B: Size does matter. Seriously, I'd get the largest that the boat will allow. Amazing how much difference even an extra foot makes.

Buzzkill! Just what every guy wants to hear...
Bruce

 

[twistedtree]

Like Bob said, we have an AB with aluminum hull. Th Al hull is much lighter than FRP and consequently requires a smaller motor making it lighter yet again. The result is a much larger dinghy for the same weight. Our 15' is under 800 lbs all in. There was a long thread in this not too long ago.

 

[JustBob]

That Williams jet looks pretty awesome. No outboard to bang into the railings, scratch the boat deck, get stolen!

Has anyone driven one. Does it suck (pardon the pun) doing reverse? I have driven jet ski boats, they aren't too "precise" shall we say.

 

[Acheron2010]

The smallest and most useful one that comes to mind is the Bullfrog Yacht Tender

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. A. Thanks for that. I'll look into it.

 

[BrisHamish]

Another vote for AB from me. Top quality. Like Twistedtree, we have one of the AL models with an aluminium hull for lighter weight (ours is the ALX13 model with a 40hp 4 stroke outboard).

Re Williams jet tender, I found manoeuvring those things at low speed is very tricky.

H.

 

[nmuir]

We used to have a Novurania RIB (tiller steer, no center console) , but we changed to a 13' Rendova with 50 hp 4 stroke Yamaha and really like it. The one down side is the weight - and it sure is heavy - but that comes with the Rendova design of fibreglass sides coming up and over top of the tubes. This is why we got it as we have mounted downriggers and a prawn trap puller on it, plus my wife loves the extra confidence being able to step on and off a hard step. We have had it fishing offshore off Hakai, long runs across Georgia Strait, up some of the inlets up north, etc. Heavy and so handles seas really well - a real exploration vehicle!

 

[JustBob]

... we changed to a 13' Rendova with 50 hp 4 stroke Yamaha and really like it.

Rendova is out of business. Would probably want a new boat with a warranty.

 

[BandB]

Buzzkill! Just what every guy wants to hear...
Bruce

Wifey B: Half the guys don't.:lol:

 

[Dougcole]

Not to high jack the thread, because we all have our own preferences, but I've never understood the appeal of a CC in a RIB under about 15'. The console and associated seats just take up so much space.

We have an 11' Caribe light, with no seats in it whatsoever and no floor, it's the "biggest" dinghy i could afford space and weight wise. It constantly seems to be full to overflowing with fishing tackle, free diving gear, groceries, beach chairs and umbrella, a big dog, water jugs, coolers....not to mention the 4 humans that use it.

I've looked at 12' ribs with consoles and wondered how people fit in them.

Might make it a little drier, I can see that, but it's a small boat, how dry can it be?

It's like, just my opinion, man.

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. D. MY reason for replacing our current AB which is probably very similar to your Caribe is my failing back. I agree a console DOES take up room but I can only sit on a side tube for a very short period of time before the pain takes over. Back support is a MAJOR consideration. Capacity and dryness a very distant second place...

 

[The Other Gary]

My new RIB just became a poster for the Grand Inflatable Boats facebook page.
11 foot rib with console and steps in the tube ends plus a 20 hp Tohatsu was 11K Canadian with tax.
If weight is an issue you will like this.

 

[BandB]

There's also a decided difference in how people use dinghies or tenders. Many of you use them to get to and from shore from an anchorage. We very seldom use them for that purpose. We use them to go explore so speed is important, seating capacity is important. We normally launch them at marinas. On the other hand open space and carrying capacity isn't important to us because we don't use them as shopping vehicles.

 

[ktdtx]

I have an 11.5' Bullfrog and I don't have to inflate it.......EVER.

Ken

 

[Nomad Willy]

ktdtx,
Then it's not a RIB.

I have no favorite RIBs as they are all too heavy.

 

[ktdtx]

You are correct.

Ken

 

[smitty477]

The AB center console under 11' is a good match with a 25-30 hp for a reasonable weight. Enough room for 4 average sized adults and it can still plane out. The larger RIBs above the area of 15' realty run much better then the smaller ones and are mostly capable of being towed as an option to lifting on deck. For the most part a 12.5' RIB is the largest size that can be lifted on deck or a platform on boats in the 35-50' range. We have had great results with Novurania, AB , Zodiac and Nautica although the Nautica's are not built anymore.

 

[menzies]

BTW, our last tender was a 10' AVON RIB. I haven't seen it mentioned yet. Avons have a great reputation and last for decades.

 

[Larry M]

We've only owned one, it was a 13.5' Avon RIB with a 50 hp 2 stroke on the back. We only owned it, 6 months, but it was fun. It was great for exploring. It had down riggers, good electronics and even had a shrimp pot puller. We found though it was too big for our needs and burned too much gas. It was also too heavy at ~750 lbs. The first time we lifted it off the boat deck, We thought Hobo was going over.

 

[ranger58sb]

What are your fave console style RIB's? I'm thinking like 12 footer. One friend of mine said he favors the Walker Bay.

We have a Walker Bay 310FTD WITHOUT console, but thought maybe useful to comment.

First, quality on ours seems OK, even though we had to have some (apparently successful) re-glueing done after several years of mistreatment and some minor leaks -- which didn't cause the boat to be unusable at all.

Second, the folding transom is no longer a useful feature for us; we got a trailer, so we don't need to fold and cram the thing into the back of the Suburban every Fall like we did before. I expect a rigid transom would be a good thing, or at least slightly better. No issues with out hinge, though.

Third, I think the WB console looks pretty nifty... but it adds a bunch of pounds and I'm not sure we could carry it as well on our cantilevered swim platform mount. If less cantilever, maybe... but then that would remove an advantage, since we can now (with cantilever) walk between dinghy and boat.

But then it also came down to cost. We needed a dinghy, the console would be easier on my back and neck (less twisting), but I didn't happen to have the extra $$$ at the time. That would have been be $$$ for console version, and $$$ for davit strengthening.

My thought was to maybe eventually add the console to our boat, which is still possible, might do, down the pike sometime, at our convenience.

-Chris

 

[seasalt007]

This 2016 AB 12 came with the tug with a 30 hp Suzuki. I would not have bought one this big because of the hassle of getting it on and off the boat. Once in the water, however, it is a joy. Steering wheel, bimini, chart plotter and VHF.

 

[smitty477]

The 10-1/2 AB with a 30 4 stroke was a good combo and ran very well over the years. It required lifting fins on the back to easily get on plane when heavy but that worked well.

 

[JustBob]

Thanks everyone! I will have an appropriate crane on the boat deck, so weight shouldn't be much of a factor. It will be for exploring, heading into a town or restaurant from anchor, that kind of thing.