Advice needed - Shipping a rib dinghy.

[Rogsails]

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had received a rib dinghy delivered if so how was it packed/folded ? Or has anybody sold and sent a ribbed dinghy ? I found a good deal on a used caribe 9 ft but will need it shipped any advice would be greatly appreciated. As I can’t unhinge shipping will be cheap but if it could somehow be deflated and folded onto the hull it might cut down costs.

[Stephan]

Originally Posted by Rogsails

Hello,

I was wondering if anyone had received a rib dinghy delivered if so how was it packed/folded ? Or has anybody sold and sent a ribbed dinghy ? I found a good deal on a used caribe 9 ft but will need it shipped any advice would be greatly appreciated. As I can’t unhinge shipping will be cheap but if it could somehow be deflated and folded onto the hull it might cut down costs.

There really is nothing inexpensive about shipping a RIB, which has to move by Truck Freight.

You do not say where the RIB is located, nor do you mention the destination address. Maybe there are lower-priced options on a regional basis. Private transport.

For best transportation price with a commercial carrier, a RIB needs to be packed down tight, then it needs to be boxed and then it needs to be banded to a forkliftable shipping pallet cut to size.
National Motor Freight Classification [NMFC] no longer lets a RIB move as KD "knocked down", it is classified based on cube & density (space it consumes on a truck). So depending on where the RIB is and where it needs to go, it may be much more than you factored in for this deal.

Stephan

[Rogsails]

Originally Posted by Stephan

There really is nothing inexpensive about shipping a RIB, which has to move by Truck Freight.

You do not say where the RIB is located, nor do you mention the destination address. Maybe there are lower-priced options on a regional basis. Private transport.

For best transportation price with a commercial carrier, a RIB needs to be packed down tight, then it needs to be boxed and then it needs to be banded to a forkliftable shipping pallet cut to size.
National Motor Freight Classification [NMFC] no longer lets a RIB move as KD "knocked down", it is classified based on cube & density (space it consumes on a truck). So depending on where the RIB is and where it needs to go, it may be much more than you factored in for this deal.

Stephan

Ok thanks for the reply, in your experience can the pontoons be safely folded onto the hull ? I was planning on using uShip the shippers often aren’t as fussy with having items on pallets etc. So my main concern is what’s possible with reducing the size to as small as possible.

[Dsanduril]

When we bought our (3.1m) RIB it was delivered to the marina in a pickup truck as packed by the manufacturer. Big cardboard box with plywood bottom. Tubes appeared to have been vacuumed to get minimum size. Folded into hull neatly. All "accessories" packed into hull as well.

Pulled out of box, inflated, launched, and away we went.

[smac999]

On a boat trailer?...

[Rogsails]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

When we bought our (3.1m) RIB it was delivered to the marina in a pickup truck as packed by the manufacturer. Big cardboard box with plywood bottom. Tubes appeared to have been vacuumed to get minimum size. Folded into hull neatly. All "accessories" packed into hull as well.

Pulled out of box, inflated, launched, and away we went.

Thanks that’s exactly the information I was looking for regarding folding the tubes to the hull.

[JPA Cate]

Disinflating the tubes, sucking them out, is what we do every time we go on passage, to make a smaller footprint on deck. Over time, it creates wear places on the tube material, but just once, for shipping should not be a problem at all. And the plywood bottom of the "box" can be slid around on a truck.

Ann

[Dsanduril]

Our RIB is 10’2” x 5’8” when fully inflated and it easily fit in a standard pickup bed (4’ x 8’) with room to spare while inside its box. So, yes, you can save a fair amount of volume by deflating and folding for shipping. If I had to guess I’d say it was about 7.5’ x 3’ x 2.5’ packaged up.