Why Are RIBs Preferred as Dinks ?

[Christian Van H]

Just to put things in perspective, on my first long cruise I had a roll-up slatted floor Zodiac and no motor. I rowed everywhere, sailed the whole East coast and Bahamas, and had a blast. It can be done. My current boat came with an RIB Caribe, and the first time I tried to pick it up was the last. This thing was HEAVY, and I'm not a weakling. So far,I have always been able to pick my dingys up, and haven't had to drag them over really sharp stuff. If there was an aluminum hulled RIB that I could fit in my lazerette, I think I would get it ASAP. I simply hate having anything lashed to the deck (dingys, jugs, junk, etc.). I have davits for coastal cruising too...

[zeehag]

Originally Posted by thinwater

I admit it.

My first boat was a beach cat.

My second boat was a faster catamaran (Stiletto 27).

My third boat is also a cat, tamer, but still quite capable of double digits and faster than my tender.

I think I'll go ice climbing tomorrow. It's a testosterone thing.
Sail Delmarva: When the Ice Gets Too Firm for Sailing...

that looks like fun!!!!! testosterone gets to have all the fun!!!!!!!
only just recently that females got into testosterone activities-- but is fun!!!!
i used to work sports car races at the track-- corners during events--flagged many years--was a gas----loved my ribs--but i am finding ease and simplicity are not spelled "rib", unless there is a nice fat catamaran with davits for the stowage of them.....

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by thinwater

Perhaps my bad back colors my judgment, but for those of us that cannot lift great weights, it is the most important factor--far more important than money or speed or wet buts. I'm not made of sugar and won't melt. We have towels. I don't have a new back.

I have a Caribe L9, a Honda 9.9, and a really really bad back. I've been on and off disability for years. Staying off disability is a matter (for me) of not doing dumb things. *grin* A 4:1 lift on an engine hoist solved the outboard problem, and the spinnaker halyard and a big winch solved the dinghy issue. I can get the dinghy on and off the boat, including the engine, in about 20 minutes; with help from Janet we can get that down to about 15.

My problem has been weight distribution - the lighter dinghies and heavier 4-stroke engines are less than a match made in heaven. In our light RIB, even with all our gear and the gas tank up front we have to both shift as far forward as we can to get up on plane. I think the lighter dinghies should have tubes that extend further aft to provide buoyancy to offset the weight of 4-stroke engines.

[Bash]

Testosterone?

Back in my scuba instructor days, I had a 6-meter Hurricane with a 125hp Evinrude.

Folks always used to ask how many divers it would carry. The standard response was, "If the other diver is pretty, two."

[Christian Van H]

Originally Posted by zeehag

the only thing RIBs have over roll ups is the FUN FACTOR. come on, guys, is all it is-- testosterone and fun factor.

So let me get this straight... RIBS are for pleasure? :-)