F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Hi there,

We are usually spending the summers in Croatia and have been renting boats in the past years. A problem we have is that during the high season and when the weather is good all boats are booked and we are not able to do that day trip we were hoping to do. The F-Rib looks like a great alternative in those situations. I do have some questions though:

1. We are a family of four, but often bring friends, so capacity for six would be good. Hence, the 430 or 460 seem to be good options. Of the two models, which one handles better in high speed?

2. A typical trip we would do is from Krk town to Rab town. Looking at the photos I am wondering though if those seats are going to be too uncomfortable for such a long day trip. Any thoughts?

3. Am I reading correctly that the 430 can carry an enginge which is twice (!) as powerful as the one that can go with the 460?

Kind regards

Hi MVS, Welcome to the forum.

The Frib 430 is a relitivly new product from foldable rib, Though the hull design is that of the standard frib 330,360 and 375 models so you can call it tried and tested. They just extended the length slightly and made the 430 into a 4 section hull rather than the three section regular sized fribs.

I believe (i've not seen one in person yet) that the 460 hull is a design more suited to a sailing boat, The 460 actually has the sail option so that kind of speaks for itself.

The f-rib 460 has a recommended 15hp outboard spec with a max hp of 15hp
The f-rib 430 specs a 30hp max outboard. The frib 430 has substantially larger tubes too.

On those figures and hull quotes alone, I'd say the 460 is for someone who wishes to potter about and the 430 is a beast waiting to be tamed... I know which i'd be buying

Please do keep us updated on your thoughts and final purchase, we'll chip in and help wherever we can.

Regards,
Martin

Hi Martin,

Many thanks for your quick reply!

It sounds like the 430 is the more suitable choice for us then; stability and high speed is a priority. Also appears the 430 has a wider cockpit than the 460, so probably there is not too much difference in terms of cockpit volume.

Any thoughts regarding my second question? Will it be too uncomfortable for a full day excursion? Perhaps more meant for shorter 1-2 hour trips?

Best regards,

Thats a difficult question to answer, I suppose it depends how supple your body is, how resilient you all are to the bounce from the chop and what sort of waters you intend to go out in.

If it helps, We do an annual trip on the forum where i would normally be out in the boat for a approx 8 hrs per day
I have the frib 375...
Myself, the Mrs and daughter would do 5-6 hrs out at a time without any problem. That woyuld be a short day out with a mid-day picnic landing/stretch and wander about.

For seat comfort.. Though a little expensive, the f-rib seat cushions are superb.. you'll not get a numb bum on them.
I sit on the tubes, i hate the seats tbh, but that's my style of sibbing/fribbing in any craft i go on.

Hope that helps a little ?

Martin

Hi MVS,

I don’t know if you finally bought the f-rib but regarding the comfort question I can tell you our experiences. We also go to Croatia (for now) in summer and are familiar with the kind of trips you’re planning to make. At first we went out with our Honwave T40 like out of the box, no cushions or whatsoever. within a few days I put the swimjackets on the bench for a bit of comfort. That didn’t work so well when speeding up or hitting big waves.
Then I bought two Allpa seats and mounted them onto the bench with a swivel. You can’t steer or use the throttle without the swivel.
I had to mount a square bar underneath the bench and let it rest onto the transom, otherwise the bench bends backwards. I don’t know the built quality of the bench but that’s critical. The ones from my former sib broke when the ride went though.
Here’s a pic from my set up.

I think i beat you all when it comes to comfort.... I actually take my beanbags with me. they amazing to lounge about on for the passengers.