Floating Rib
15-02-2012, 11:36 AM
Hi guys, weather has been pretty crappy so i thought id post about my boat which is a little different to a lot used by the guys on the forum.
Firstly let me say im very jealous of some of the fantastic boats you guys operate, i always hoped when i grew up (hasnt happened yet) that id have a nice 6m haines or Cruisecraft etc in the shed. Having spent my youth around Swiftcraft Vikings, V Seas, Cruisecraft Rangers etc this sort of boat was on my wish list.
Unfortunatley several conditions made such a purchase a little difficult, a low small garage, no yard to store a boat, lack of reasonably priced storage in Bris. Being keen to move to a bigger boat to fish outside after several years chasing estuary fish in my tinnie i felt a bit frustrated as to what my options are.
I hadnt even considered a RIB until browsing ebay oneday and saw one on the sunny coast for sale, tweaked my interest so i started researching Zodiacs, Avons etc. Found several older models not badly priced but being unsure of Tube life and with most running older 2 strokes i wasnt sure about the secondhand option. Had a gander at a few new ones around Brissie and found most made in China or South Africa ( which are fine).
Found a RIB dealer at Coomera and checked out their BRIG range made in the Ukraine, sounds a bit dodgy but these guys have been making Ribs for about 20 years, engineers who found themselves unemployed after the breakup up of the whole soviet block type thing so started building boats.
I was pretty impressed with the finish of these so after a bit of back and forwards bought a 6.2 Brig Falcon from them, powered with a 115 Merc 4 stroke on a Dumpier trailer(yes not happy with trailer).
The BRIG ticked the box for me in a lot of areas that i couldnt get around with a conventional glass hull these being;
The console and tower fold down to allow entry to the garage
The tubes deflate in about 2 minutes allowing the width(2.5m) to fit in the gargage.
Its a nice sea boat that has handled some rough conditions quite well, also a pretty dry ride.
I can remove from garage and setup and inflate tubes with 12v pump in less than 10 mins.
200 litre fuel tank which allowed us to spend a week at Lady musgrave tooling around fishing and snorkelling.
Nice ecomomy eg 160kms whale watching(manly to flat rock twice and back and forward) for 65 litres running about 3800rpm (37kms hr average) top speed 60km/hr. Boat also has a quick fit ski pole.
Overall weight less than 1000kg which is nice for towing. And light enough for me to launch by myself easily.
Rated for 12 people which i would never carry but 6-7 across to the wrecks is no problem.
Fantastic boat to dive/snorkell from.
Things that arent ideal:
As the sides are quite low you arent able to lean against the sides when fishing, thankfully stability is pretty good.
Storage is limited in that no side pockets etc and rod holders arent standard, accessory patches can be glued onto
the tubes and these will hold a vast number of fittings(rod, cup holders, tie down points).
Not a lot of shelter unless the bimini is up. Also fishing room isnt huge as the tubes make up quite a lot of the beam.
Ive had the boat for several months now and have been quite happy with it, performance with the 115 is ok although 130-140 would be nice for the 5% of the time when loaded up pushing back through a bar into a runout tide.
It rides fairly quiet and spray is generally thrown well away, turns very quickly and stays nice and straight when running down the face in a following sea.
Only real problems ive had have been some trailer issues which the guys at Sirocco Marine sorted as the manufacturer wasnt that helpful, jockey wheel is also
rubbish and will need to be changed. The guys at Sirocco have provided excellent
after sales which is nice for a change these days.
So not what i originally had in mind but ive found this boat does many things well and ive been using it far more than the tinnie i had.
Cheers
Floating Rib
Firstly let me say im very jealous of some of the fantastic boats you guys operate, i always hoped when i grew up (hasnt happened yet) that id have a nice 6m haines or Cruisecraft etc in the shed. Having spent my youth around Swiftcraft Vikings, V Seas, Cruisecraft Rangers etc this sort of boat was on my wish list.
Unfortunatley several conditions made such a purchase a little difficult, a low small garage, no yard to store a boat, lack of reasonably priced storage in Bris. Being keen to move to a bigger boat to fish outside after several years chasing estuary fish in my tinnie i felt a bit frustrated as to what my options are.
I hadnt even considered a RIB until browsing ebay oneday and saw one on the sunny coast for sale, tweaked my interest so i started researching Zodiacs, Avons etc. Found several older models not badly priced but being unsure of Tube life and with most running older 2 strokes i wasnt sure about the secondhand option. Had a gander at a few new ones around Brissie and found most made in China or South Africa ( which are fine).
Found a RIB dealer at Coomera and checked out their BRIG range made in the Ukraine, sounds a bit dodgy but these guys have been making Ribs for about 20 years, engineers who found themselves unemployed after the breakup up of the whole soviet block type thing so started building boats.
I was pretty impressed with the finish of these so after a bit of back and forwards bought a 6.2 Brig Falcon from them, powered with a 115 Merc 4 stroke on a Dumpier trailer(yes not happy with trailer).
The BRIG ticked the box for me in a lot of areas that i couldnt get around with a conventional glass hull these being;
The console and tower fold down to allow entry to the garage
The tubes deflate in about 2 minutes allowing the width(2.5m) to fit in the gargage.
Its a nice sea boat that has handled some rough conditions quite well, also a pretty dry ride.
I can remove from garage and setup and inflate tubes with 12v pump in less than 10 mins.
200 litre fuel tank which allowed us to spend a week at Lady musgrave tooling around fishing and snorkelling.
Nice ecomomy eg 160kms whale watching(manly to flat rock twice and back and forward) for 65 litres running about 3800rpm (37kms hr average) top speed 60km/hr. Boat also has a quick fit ski pole.
Overall weight less than 1000kg which is nice for towing. And light enough for me to launch by myself easily.
Rated for 12 people which i would never carry but 6-7 across to the wrecks is no problem.
Fantastic boat to dive/snorkell from.
Things that arent ideal:
As the sides are quite low you arent able to lean against the sides when fishing, thankfully stability is pretty good.
Storage is limited in that no side pockets etc and rod holders arent standard, accessory patches can be glued onto
the tubes and these will hold a vast number of fittings(rod, cup holders, tie down points).
Not a lot of shelter unless the bimini is up. Also fishing room isnt huge as the tubes make up quite a lot of the beam.
Ive had the boat for several months now and have been quite happy with it, performance with the 115 is ok although 130-140 would be nice for the 5% of the time when loaded up pushing back through a bar into a runout tide.
It rides fairly quiet and spray is generally thrown well away, turns very quickly and stays nice and straight when running down the face in a following sea.
Only real problems ive had have been some trailer issues which the guys at Sirocco Marine sorted as the manufacturer wasnt that helpful, jockey wheel is also
rubbish and will need to be changed. The guys at Sirocco have provided excellent
after sales which is nice for a change these days.
So not what i originally had in mind but ive found this boat does many things well and ive been using it far more than the tinnie i had.
Cheers
Floating Rib