F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Following on from Philpots 'F-RIB a few modifications' thread http://f-ribsandsibs.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=220 I thought I should highlight some important issues if you intend on fitting transom wheels to your F-RIB

The F-RIB 275, 330 and 360 (Not the 375) transoms have a 'lip' at the top which can prove problematic when fitting your transom wheels because it protrudes 30mm out from the transom face which will prevent you mounting any flush type transom wheel You will need to get a 'cranked' type transom wheel BUT you will also have to take into consideration the outboard you are using to prevent any fowling between the wheel and outboard Philpots 'cranked' transom wheels shown in his thread work for him on his 330 and 15hp Parsun outboard however when I tried the same set-up on my 360 with a 20hp Tohatsu they would not work at all
As you can see from the photo the space between the outboard and the transom on full lock would not accept the wheel or bracket without fowling unless the mount was almost at the bottom of the transom and when putting the wheels in the down position, sat the boat at waist height making mounting the outboard on/off very difficult indeed As the correct F-RIB/WinBoat 'cranked' launch wheels are not available in the foreseeable future I needed to get the shallowest 'cranked' wheels I could and here they are.
Philpot's type on the left and the shallow 'cranked' ones I've found with a standard tyre assembly and larger 380mm fitted. With some VERY careful measuring over and over again, operating the wheels through their 'arc' up and down with the outboard mounted and operating it also through its 'lock to 'lock' positions there was only one place they would mount and work right at the lowest possible point on the transom with the tyres firmly against the webbing For all the hard work and hassle it took to get some wheels to work has however been rewarded with bonus that I can also use larger 380 diameter tyres if needed and a nice secure, easy to use locking mechanism Paul

Sorry
In my haste to post this I forgot to include that I took Philpots tip on buying the plastic chopping boards to use as spacers
Obviously my mounts are below the water line thus requiring an absolute seal between the mounting bracket and transom
You'll need to use a Marine grade sealant such as 3M, Sika or Dow Corning rubberised/silicone to act as a gasket and sealant to prevent any water ingress within your transom below the water line

Do not use cheap silicone to seal the brackets as they will not perform against salt water and UV

Paul

Good report Paul.

I am guessing the 20hp engine you have must be considerably larger that my 15hp as I manage to avoid this problem. It is true, the boat height is higher with using the longer wheel shafts but I find it a comfortable position to mount the engine although my Parsun is only 37kgs.

I am pretty happy with my setup however I may well switch to a set of 'Beachmasters' if I can afford them at some stage.

Well done mate you got there.

Phil

PS Sikaflex 291i is in my opinion the best sealant bonding agent you can buy and I have used the product many times both in boats and kayaks without a failure.

Yet another cracking write up Paul, You and Phil are getting a bit nifty at this

Aye Phil it's been a bit of PITA but got there in the end
If I'd been running the Honda 10hp then I had plenty of room but the 20hp was a different matter with only 50% of tiller movement
On the sealant front the main thing is owners must use a marine grade that is a sealant and a gasket to prevent water penetration which all the top priced names are

I looked at the Beach Masters and I'd agree they are good I'm still wondering if they would be better over using the larger 380mm alternatives
I'll leave you to go buy them and test them first

Paul

The interesting thing about the Beachmaster wheels is that everyone who has them has no issues whatsoever with soft sand so on these wheels I would take a risk and go to the smaller wheel size.

Phil