Dive RIB

Well as some of you know we are busy setting up our stuff here in Exmouth.

We want to get a trailable kick arse rib to take any of you folks out if you ever get over this way.

Something like this. DIVE RIB

Wags .. if you want new i have some suggestions as I have looked into this myself .. if you want second hand .. then i prolly can't help you being half way across the world.

Giles any info yo have would be cool.

Woody in AUS make good aluminun Ribs with removable tubes for easy repair.

Was thinking Naiad 8.5 with a cuddy cab up front and canopy down to the back with tank racks down the middle with seats. Twin 250 HP as most boats are under powered once you get tanks onboard.

It might also get classed as Closed Deck then we get a 30 NM range..straight out into the deep blue...

What did you come up with?

My friends had theirs built in NZ...

http://www.divevavau.com/tonga_tango.asp

Are you interested in a little less space and having inboards diesels at all ?

those woody's are nice ... I am looking into if the ones I know are manufactured near you .. most i looked at are in the USA .. Mercury and Zodia have good lines right now .. and I also like Novurania .. however what I need to dig out at work for you tomorrow are the custom made ones .. well not custom but smaller companies .. they have some unique designs.

Hey Mike can you ask you friends who build it in NZ.

Abit like this pic..see who the Cuddy Cabin goes right to the front, then run the canopy right to the back to protect from the wind and sun.

Giles I don't think we would try to import one from the US. NZ or close by would be fine. We want outboards....

Like this but have the Cabin right to the front...

Man we could drive up and see Mike at Yap if we got one like that I recon..

You seem to have a thing for Naiads. If you're interested the nearest Naiad builder to Exmouth is Kirby Marine Fabrication in Perth:

http://www.kirbymarine.com/

They built ours and we love it!

http://www.gudgeon.id.au/Diving/Our%20Boat/index.htm

Kirby Marine also built the Fisheries 7.5m Naiad that's hanging around town from time to time now.

Wasn't sure if you'd seen these www.gemini-inflatables.com

Hello Gudge

Yes your setup is a nice one alright.

Just went to KirbyMarine...I'll give them a call tomorrow, cheers for that.

The 8.5 one looks the go but would go with twin 250HP and run the canopy all the way down to the back for sun protection.

With the Alloy hull we should still be able to get the 30 mile survey for it.

We want to stay away from glass hulls.

wags.... just sent an email...

As far as I’m concerned ALL RIBs are kick arse!

Here’s mine, just finished cleaning it up before putting it to bed for the winter. I’m waiting very impatiently for next April to get here (and for all the bergy bits to disappear) before I put it back into the water again.

It’s a little small for what you’re looking for, but then it’s was a helluva lot cheaper too!

Six metres, 90HP four stroke Yamaha, and good for six divers (with gear) and an extra non-diving boat minder. The engine has awesome power and speed with excellent fuel consumption, and is very quiet.

The boat and motor weigh in at about 1600 lbs., and the weight capacity is a little over 3000 lbs. or 16 people. I keep it on a trailer and it has to be the easiest boat I’ve owned for trailering and launching.

I ditched the Humminbird Matrix 27 GPS/Chartplotter that came with it and upgraded to a Lowrance LMS-337C Colour GPS Chartplotter with a Navionics digital chart of the Great Lakes. I wired the new GPS unit to the VHF radio so the radio will transmit Longitude/Latitude automatically when the distress button is pressed on the VHF radio. Sweet.

Diving from it is fantastic. With its’ great boat speed, it is nice to get from dive site to dive site promptly. The boat doesn’t rock from side to side much with its’ low centre of gravity and makes a stable dive platform. Water entry is a breeze by leaning back and sliding over the tube. I use a removable fin friendly dive ladder to climb back aboard via the rear transom. I have had some very large friends wearing double tanks ascend the ladder without any problems. While the four-foot long ladder is adequate, I find a slightly longer one would have been a better choice.

When it comes to fuel consumption and trip planning, I believe in the rule of thirds (one third of the fuel for the trip out, another third of the fuel for the trip back, and the last third for contingencies and possible emergencies), so I replaced the two 23 litre gas tanks with a larger 128 tank for greater range.

Possible boat excursions for the new year could include the Kingston/Brockville area at the other end of Lake Ontario (we call it the Caribbean of the Great lakes with it great underwater visibility), Tobermory (Shipwreck diving Mecca of the lower Great Lakes) and possibly a few pleasure boat camping cruises up the Trent and Rideau Canal Systems (both at least 200 Kms. long).

Would I buy this boat again? You Betcha!

Hope you get as much fun out of your next RIB as I’m getting with mine.

P.S. Sorry for the out of the water boat shots, but I’m having too much fun driving it to take any in water shots!

We have twin Suzuki 4 strokes on our boat and they are the dogs bollocks. Quiet, smooth, economical, and reliable. It was a big decision to switch away from Yamahas but I have never regretted it.

They are about 2 years old and have a little over 1000 hrs on them and they still run like new, I wished they still looked new

We had the boat out of the water for 3 months this Fall and when we relaunched the boat the motors fired up and ran smooth at the first turn of the key.

Martin

The 8.5 one looks the go but would go with twin 250HP and run the canopy all the way down to the back for sun protection.

 

With the Alloy hull we should still be able to get the 30 mile survey for it.

 

We want to stay away from glass hulls.

Getting it built to survey should be no problem as the bulk of Kirby Marine's Naiads are built for Sea Rescue groups, the police, fisheries and other government departments and all these groups have to have boats built to meet survey. So Rob has a lot of experience in this area.

The great advantage of an aluminium hull is that it is easily customised during and after construction to get exactly the configuration you want. Fibreglass hulled RIBs are much less flexible in design as you are locked into the standard range of hull shapes and modification after construction is extremely difficult.

The Naiads are built like brick sh!thouses! I've spent a few years working for various aluminium ship design and building companies and the strength of construction of the Naiads is incredible. Rob Kirby has promised me my money back if I ever put mine up on a rock and put a hole in it!

Hey looks like there are a few of you out there with Ribs. Paul you need a 115HP on that....

Anyhow gave Rob a call at Kirby Marine. The aluminum 500hp 8.5 meter one looks like the one for us....Keep you posted on developments.

Now once we get it, all you mob will have to come over to dive with us and give us some of ya money to help pay for it

He remembered you Gudge and was nice to chat to.

I think something like this would be apt for shooters.

I think something like this would be apt for shooters.

Now drew, that is cool. Well found.

d

That is kinda cool Drew ... but regular boats have too much maintenance to do .. that thing would be insane

Professor Drew..He knows everthing about everthing

How did you find that.

When it comes time to pick the divers up, just zoom around underwater and scoop them up.

I like the superglide.

Ha, ha..I thought it had sprung a leak...

Good for lost diver location...

Dive safe

DeanB