Folding Transom RIBs

[Minggat]

I'm considering a new dink. The folding transom RIBs look like a good way to save space. Anybody owners of one of these willing to share their pros and cons?

[GordMay]

Walker Bay’s “Genesis Light” model comes with a cup holder!!!
➥ Walker Bay Boats

[Minggat]

Uh huh.
I was hoping for a little more input. But thank you for keeping my thread from dying young.

The Walker Bay only folds down to a 13" thick package. Not as much space saving as I'd hoped. Avon has one that folds down to about 8" if I remember right.

I'm in Mexico now, headed to So Cal this weekend. Planning to go kick some... air chambers

[RunningFish]

I have a Walker Bay. I believe it's only 13" thick at one point, the deepest part of the Vee hull. Personally I'm very happy with its low profile. The attached photos will give you a sense of the space it takes while folded. While inflated, the folded transom doesn't seem to introduce any compromises. I would recommend the boat.

[Sailabel]

Hola Minngat,
Ditto on the Walker Bay Genesis. Like the others, we found that it just folds flat enough on our fordeck when cruising to not be a visibility issue.

I was originally concerned about the folding transom holding up to the surf landings and dinghy wheels. It wasn't an issue for us. When we bought the Genesis, we also purchased the brackets/braces to make it a 'rigid transom'. We haven't installed them as we have not noticed any flexing at all. If you plan on installing the landing wheels, you might ask each dealer if the transom was designed for that load, and the places to drill through, so you don't hit the internal bracing/extrusion.

A few years ago, Genesis had a problem on a few of the hypalon boats with a couple of seams coming loose. Not a big deal and a bit of hypalon glue would fix it easily. But Walker Bay decided that it was not representative of the quality of boats they build, so they gave me a new boat. They were arranging to have it shipped to Nogales (I was in Guaymas at the time), but we worked it out for an exchange in San Diego. This shouldn't be an issue on their newer boats.

If you're serious about the Genesis, you can purchase the 'fancy' seat to go with the 'lite' model boat. It's a bit more comfortable and has a storage bin. We also found one model of 6-gallon gas can at Downwind Marine that would fit under the seat. Strap it down and there is 6-gallons of fuel securely stowed out of the way.

But to go back to your original question, we've had two folding transom RIB's (zodiac and walker bay) and neither have provided any problems for us.

Steve

[GordMay]

And don’t forget that it has drink holders - who writes this bllushti copy?

BTW: Steve & Cindy’s website at ➥ Untitled Page answers (from their perspective) a LOT of the questions that newbies ask here. Good stuff guys - required reading!

[CAELESTIS]

I have the Avon RIB Lite. I love it. It replaced an air floor Mercury that was one season old. The Mercury was too bouncy/flimsy at higher speed.

The Avon is also lighter than the Mercury. Both are the 310 (10'2") size.

[Minggat]

Thanx to all. Fells like a good choice and nobody had negative input.

Gord, if you want, I'll check and see if you can just buy the cup holder without buying the rest of the boat.