ADVICE ON A ROOFRACK BOAT

[Cliff]

[quote="Paul"]OK so I'll chuck my thoughts into the debate having owned a 3.8 high pressure "V" floor sib and now a F-Rib360 both weighing in at 48kg, I also have a 4X4, caravan and have transported both boats on the roof.

Some excellent points Paul, thanks for the input, It's rare for me to be defeated by any problem, and this doesn't seem much of a problem, but time will prove me right......or wrong

[Si Crowe]

just a thought but you want a rib, ok.
you want to put it on a disco roof rack, ok.
you have a roller at the back of the roof rack, ok.

So why not put an electric winch on the front of the disco, cable up over the roof rack on to the towing eye in the rib's bow and with a remote slowly winch up.

ideally you'd need two people. one to winch, the other to lift the transom a bit and guide. or devise a removable rail that runs from the roof rack to the ground at 45 or less degrees to guide the rib up straight as you winch...

cable back over the roof rack down the rail guide to rib and pull. the premise is simple, execution could be a fun project.

or.... summat like this???

http://www.camp4ever.com/3-1m-kimberley ... -alloy-rib

more than one way to skin a cat!

or get a tinny aussie style...

[Cliff]

Hi Si, I'm thinking along the same lines, the winch is a must probably remote control to make it one man op.and the guide rails most likely. The kimberley is a great looking rib, but I don't think they have a dealer in the UK. Cheers for the input

[Andy B]

Cliff,
If you are looking for a cheap RIB to experiment with the Caribe is for sale mate.
It's an MVPL10 so 3.1m long
I could let you have it for £350 on it's own. If you need a trailer or an outboard i could also sort you out with something.
The tubes do have some patches, but it holds air.
It's nothing special and would make an ideal tender, after all thats what it was designed for.
It'll be going on Gumtree in the spring so until then it just taking up space here...

http://f-ribsandsibs.com/viewtopic.php? ... lit=caribe

[Cliff]

Hi Andy, Thanks for the offer, I might just take you up on it, like you say it'd be a good starter boat, I'm committed to buying a new 9.8hp tohatsu, so I don't need a motor.. not sure about a trailer, but it would be handy to store it on with a cover over it and maybe use it when I 'm not in the caravan. I need to sort a few things out before I decide, give me a week and I'll get back to you.

[Phil]

Hi Cliff,

Not sure what Disco you’ve got (and the LPG tank may get in the way), but I’ve recently purchased a Disco 4 with my other half. One of the main reasons we got it is that it easily fits my folded F-RIB 360 in the boot, with all 5 seats still in use and a 15hp OB in the rear passenger footwell.

I did a fair bit of research and got a lot of helpful advice from this forum on the way to getting my Disco. Albeit, without your engineering solutions, I found trying to get the boat on to the padded roof racks of a much lower C-Class estate a major PITA between two. I gave up after my co-lifter put a dent in the roof! Forum thread with pictures of the boat in my Disco here:

http://f-ribsandsibs.com/viewtopic.php? ... 9&start=40

I also beach launch and the best method I have so far is to use a combination of launch wheels for hard sand and lifting the inflated F-RIB between two over soft sand and shingle, minus the outboard. I carry the outboard down to the water separately and have just got an OB lifting bag, which will make the job a lot easier!

A little further down (due to its cost) the F-RIB wish list is a collapsible boat dolly with balloon wheels. Douglas recommended this to me and it looks superb for rolling a fully loaded boat with engine over pretty much any surface. The only issue is that it’s £700!!!

Cheers,

Phil






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[Phil]

nb in terms of lifting the boat on to a roof rack, I’m referring to folded F-RIBs. I tried both the 330 and 360 before buying the latter.

As said already here, they’re definitely easier to move once inflated, although I’d imagine still tricky to get up on a roof single-handed and will come with a fair bit of wind resistance at speed.

BTW, the 360 is a fantastic fishing vessel and plenty of room for 2 with rods and gear.


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[Cliff]

Hi Phil, It's a disco 1 last of the line, the rack is over 6' off the ground, someone before me put a lifted suspension and big chunky wheels. The lpg tank takes up half the rear boot space about 2' high (but it's 60p a litre, so sacrifices have to be made, I've put a shelf above, so still have a usable space, enough for the OB. The lift will have to be by a winch and sliding ramp, as for the wind resistance, it may help to deflect over the caravan. The F Ribs are great, but the cost + the add ons may rule one out initially for me, anyway, we'll see how it goes. By hook or by crook, I'll be a waterborne by spring. Cheers Cliff

[chris moody]

The F-Ribs are great, but they are definitely pricey. I personally could not justify the cost so went down the air floor Honwave route.

[Phil]

Hi Phil, It's a disco 1 last of the line, the rack is over 6' off the ground, someone before me put a lifted suspension and big chunky wheels.

Your Disco sounds like a beast Cliff! Love a modern classic series 1.

Best of luck getting in to the water. I’m very new to the whole boating thing, but have found few things come close to the feeling of being out at sea, in nice weather aboard your own small vessel.

+1 on the F-RIBs being expensive. Psychologically, I trained myself to think of the cost as divided between the number of trips made, going down the more I use the boat. Only 9 trips squeezed in before the winter, so I’ve got some catching up to do in 2018!

I’m sure you’ll have a great time whatever boat you go for [emoji106].


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