Rib vs. HP-V

[bport]

Looking for advice on my first inflatable. Our primary use will be ~1 mile rides from our marina to the beach but I may put davits on our (soon to be delivered) 330 DA in the future. My question is RIB vs. slats vs. HP-V. West Marine has an article pushing HP-V which makes them sound like a good compromise (much lighter than a RIB but planes quickly, or so they are saying). Being able to deflate and roll up for transport would be a big plus. Thoughts? :huh:

 

[390pi]

Funny; I test drove the West Marine 420 HPV and 350 RIB both with 15 hp Mercs and the RIB seemed much more solid.
However, I imagine you are looking at the smaller versions.

I assume you are looking in the 10' range.

The RIBs are considerably heavier than the HPV or roll up types but perform better due to a signficant keel.

Keep in mind, you will need to wrestle the motor in place if you choose to inflate/deflate and not use davits.

 

[Two Peas]

I've got no experience with a RIB, however, here are a few thoughts after using my 9'6" high pressure inflatable with v bottom...

With one person in it, it planes quickly. With two, I can't plane at all. The trim tabs I ordered were delivered this week and I plan to install them tomorrow. We'll see how it planes after the install. I only have a 6hp on mine.

As for the whole idea of roll-up...

Mine weighs about 85lbs. It is MUCH easier to lift and move around when it is inflated. When it is deflated, it doesn't roll up, it kind of folds up 3 ways and fits into a giant hockey-equipment type bag. Carrying it when it is in the bag is very tough (I'm 6' 200lbs). Just moving it from the pickup truck to my garage (about 20 feet) left me with purple bruises on my shoulder from the straps. As for storing the folded deflated dink on board - good luck with all that... On my 360, the deflated dink is HUGE, does not fit under the aft seat, and takes up more space than a VW beetle - making the swim platform the only place this thing can go...

Deflating it makes it very easy to store in the garage though, and it is surprisingly easy to fold it up and get it back in the carry bag. I would have bet lots that once originally removed from the bag I'd never get it back in...

 

[Pietro]

I have recently moved to a RIB, a 7' 11" Honda+5HP... I hope I'll test it very soon.

My experience with hi-pressure bottom is the one of ever deflating floors...
Usually they use standard valves that, from what I experienced, are not up the task..

 

[Still LauCo]

I've had both. The RIB is by far a more versatile boat. I use it as such. I'm getting rid of my 15hp for a 25 hp to be able to take the kids tubing and such... The family loves to just take off from the marina to the local anchorages on the dinghy, sometimes we just use the boat as the launching point.
I thought the same thing, I wanted to be able to store, and then inflate the soft bottom boat. The above post is right on. They are hard to move around, and it takes some time and effort to get set up. I won't go back, the RIB is like having a second boat, the soft bottom was kind of a novelty for a while, but wasn't what I was looking for.

 

[La Maddalena]

This summer I'm planning to buy Zodiac 310 RIB (5'-3" beam x 10'-2" long) and the Hurley davit system. My wife wants to get a 5 HP Honda motor to save weight, I think the 9.9 Honda is a better choice for the additional HP. Any comments about whether the 5 HP is enough?

 

[Pietro]

This summer I'm planning to buy Zodiac 310 RIB (5'-3" beam x 10'-2" long) and the Hurley davit system. My wife wants to get a 5 HP Honda motor to save weight, I think the 9.9 Honda is a better choice for the additional HP. Any comments about whether the 5 HP is enough?

5 hp on a 10' 2" seems a little underpowered to me...just consider that Honda is selling here in Europe 5 HP + 7' 11" as a package.

 

[KIMO]

The real truth: Had I bought the dinghy first, I might not have bought the 260DA …it is lots of fun!

Use to have a Mercury 270 (hypalon) with high pressure floor, got a leak in the floor after a few years and it was a better deal to trade up to a a new 310 (hypalon) also high pressure floor. Both used the same 6hp (4 stroke) Mercury. No problem planning with one or two adults (no fins or add ons).

Between the rolled up dingy and the motor laid flat, they pretty much fill up the aft seating area in the cockpit. At our dock, we take the dinghy off; when out on mooring at Catalina, it is inflated in about 15 minutes, the motor mounted and off we go. Other than lifting off of the big boat, a folding handtruck is used to move it around. I use a Bravo 12-HPP pump to inflate and it is the only way to go!

But wait, there is more: The other advantage for the roll up / high pressure floor is away from the Sea Ray. We 'toss' it in a VW van and head for the Colorado River for camping trips, and to explore lakes and harbors where we might not want to take the big boat. Gets us out on the water way more that way. And no trailer is needed.

Would I like a RIB with a big motor, maybe even a jet instead of a prop? Oh yeah! But for the $3000 I spent, the 'ease' of moving it around, and all the extra fun, the high pressure floor is just right.

 

[fwebster]

Storage and weight were the reasons I chose a HP air floor inflatable. At 56 lbs my Zodiac is very manageable, rolls up for transport and for storage under the guest room bed. While a RIB handles better and is more like a boat, you cannot handle it by yourself and storage is an issue. Inside it takes up too much space; outside it weathers quickly.

THe other thing I have learned.....the hard and expensive way......is to avoid store brand boats and Quicksilver inflatables. Some people have luck with them, but nobody in our area does. Quicksilver seams last just about as long as their warranty, then stuff like transom brackets, oar locks, hand holds oar locks begin to fall off. Store brand boats are designed to sell at a price point, not necessarily to give the buyer long service life. Even if a boat is advertised as made by Zodiac, Avon, etc, they have to leave something out to sell them at lower price points that branded boats. Maybe it is features, maybe it is fabric specification, maybe it is fabric weight.......Stick with Zodiac, Avon, Achilles, etc. and you may spend a little more money on the front end, but you won't be inflatable shopping year after next either.

 

[Turtlesboat]

This summer I'm planning to buy Zodiac 310 RIB (5'-3" beam x 10'-2" long) and the Hurley davit system. My wife wants to get a 5 HP Honda motor to save weight, I think the 9.9 Honda is a better choice for the additional HP. Any comments about whether the 5 HP is enough?

don't buy the 5hp, you'll be engine shopping next year. I have a caribe 10'5"ish RIB with a 15hp 2 stroke. Now that i've got it running good, it flies. It's a heavy dink and I don't think a 5hp will be much fun.

I had a 2.5hp in a 6' rollup dinghy and while it was OK to go to shore, it just sucked in the fun arena.

 

[Graham Lorimer]

Just my 2 cents worth.........

We have an Avon 3.1 RIB, bought a brand new 9.9 Mercury 4 stroke, and it really did struggle to get up and plane with two or more people, I would question the ability of the latest 9.9 to put out anything like 9.9 horsepower.

I sold that engine and fitted a second hand Mariner 15 HP two stroke, now the RIB is absolutely the "dogs dangly bits", great fun, and it flies along. So much nicer to use when it does everything you want at about half throttle.

Moral of the story...... buy the biggest engine you can within spec., it always pays in the end.

Graham