F-Rib, a few mods

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philpot Great Britain
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F-Rib, a few mods

Post by philpot » 11 Apr 2015, 11:32

There were a few things I needed to do to my Frib 330 before I start to use her so here we go.

Firstly, I wanted to use my wheels from my Excel as they were 360mm dia and I find them to be much easier to get over softer ground. The problem is that the transom on the Frib has a lip which prevents the wheels locking in the upright position and so needed spacers making in order to be able to lock them up when on the water. I could of course bought 250mm wheels but not too keen on going that small.
philpott1.jpg
The size difference is quite considerable when you put them together. I must admit however if I could afford a set of Beachmaster wheels, I could be tempted. I made a couple of plastic spacer plates to give me enough clearance.
phil2.jpg
A quick check with the wheels on just to make sure
phil3.jpg
I also wanted to fit spacers on the outside transom engine plate as my Parsun seems to touch the lip of the transom and again I made a few ready.
phil4.jpg

It may well be the Parsun which has a smaller radius where it sits on the transom but nevertheless 9mm of plastic was used to create a better fit.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized %1%2.
phil5.jpg
phil6.jpg
While I was playing I also stuck on a piece of rubber to protect the GRP top lip as I can be a tad clumsy putting the motor on so prevention is better than cure.
phil7.jpg
I still have the cuddy to fit but I am not so keen to use the supplied adhesive as it has to be mixed with acetone at 20% and that worries me a little. I would be interested to hear what you guys think on that one. Here are the fittings that need gluing
PHIL8.jpg
Now in the past when I have had a puncture, which has always been in warm weather, I stuck the patch with no air in the tube, only pumping the tubes back up after the glue has cured. The instructions here are to fit these connectors with fully blown up tubes and leave to set for at least 12 hours. Well I am tempted to buy some of the Poly Marine adhesive and fit them with no air in the tubes in order to allow the connectors to stick properly as I cant see they will shape around the tubes when blown up. Is it me guys, or do you agree, I would be interested to hear your comments. I also think the air temperature at this time of the year will need the tubes to be flat in order to get a good grip.


On a different subject. As I get older, I am finding it tricky to put the 15hp in the car on my own and whilst it is a 2 stroke weighing 37kg, it still bloody heavy for me. Now I have looked at the trolley with wheels fitted to the handles so you can slide the engine in quite easily but at £150 and taking quite a bit of space, I thought of another way for this old tart not to hurt my back again.
I had some industrial castors in the garage and fitted them to a piece of plywood
PHIL9.jpg
Then glued some thick sponge to give support to the engine
PHIL10.jpg
By standing the outboard up against the car tailgate, using a piece of rubber backed door mat to protect the bumper, I am able to basically lift the prop end of the engine just a little, which while the engine is leaning on the car allows it to lay back into the car and on the little skate.
Difficult to explain in words so I hope it makes sense.
The engine is now VERY easy to move around in the car and when in position, simply lock the wheels of the skate and away we go. Reverse the process when taking the engine out. It really does make life much easier.
This is something you will all turn around and say, yes we do a similar thing and if so, I'm sorry to be a boring just seemed to be a back saver for me.

Phil
Last edited by Martin on 11 Mar 2018, 01:01, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Images embeded MH (Photomuppet link removal)
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Fishery Pokery (27 Apr 2020, 23:04)

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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by Paul » 12 Apr 2015, 22:18

Great post as always Phil and many, many thanks :Hats

Your part about launching wheel fitment has proved invaluable to me because of the 'lip' at the top of the F-RIB transom proved to be problematic :!: :!: and every transom, dependant on the outboard that owners will be using on it, throws up different issues :o
Owners need to mount their outboard, swing it through its operating arc of 'lock to lock' to ensure it doesn't fowl the launching wheel bracket assembly and wheel prior to drilling their transom :!:
Owners being unable to obtain the correct F-Rib transom wheels at this present time :cry: without enough 'crank' on the arm to stop any wheel fowling of the anti-splash webbing between the transom and tube and fowling of the outboard need to choose their launching wheels VERY carefully :!: and take GREAT care in measuring, operating the launching wheels in the up and down position prior to drilling their transom :!: :!:

I'll do my own thread to explain and hopefully prevent anyone's heartache :|

Paul

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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by Martin » 12 Apr 2015, 22:38

Excellent posts both of you... You should be working at NASA :D
Obviously a new concept brings along new problematic issues, the more we can suss out now, the less struggling new buyers encounter...
F-RibsAndSibs.Com.... :whistle
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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by blootac » 13 Apr 2015, 07:29

Those are very professional looking cuts you've made philpot! Mind if I ask how you made them?

philpot Great Britain
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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by philpot » 13 Apr 2015, 09:13

It is strange you have asked that Phil because I have been asked a number of times if I used a CAD router, the answer is so basic it is untrue, a hand saw , belt sander to remove bulk corners and a finishing sander. To be honest, you don't need a belt sander but I have one so used it.

Getting hold of the right materials is the key factor. The thicker white plastic is made from nylon cutting boards available from ebay or many shops in different thicknesses and is without doubt, one of the most useful products for making different things to use on a boat or kayak. The black plastic is number plate base material which along with some yellow and white, I picked up from the tip as someone was about to throw it in the skip, I stepped in and scrounged about a dozen pieces 12'' x 10'' :shame

Phil

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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by sailrepair » 30 Jun 2015, 10:37

that is a very useful post.

Is the top surface on the transom cosmetic or is it structural forming a fort of "I" beam structure? I think I would be tempted to cut it a bit if required.

How easy is it to totally detach that type of launching wheels? Most seem to have a bolt as the pivot but I have seen some that have a pin and "R" shaped clip which I presume may be quicker if I wanted to take the wheels off.

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RONHAS Portugal
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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by RONHAS » 05 Feb 2020, 17:33

philpot wrote: ↑
11 Apr 2015, 11:32
There were a few things I needed to do to my Frib 330 before I start to use her so here we go.

Firstly, I wanted to use my wheels from my Excel as they were 360mm dia and I find them to be much easier to get over softer ground. The problem is that the transom on the Frib has a lip which prevents the wheels locking in the upright position and so needed spacers making in order to be able to lock them up when on the water. I could of course bought 250mm wheels but not too keen on going that small.

philpott1.jpg

The size difference is quite considerable when you put them together. I must admit however if I could afford a set of Beachmaster wheels, I could be tempted. I made a couple of plastic spacer plates to give me enough clearance.

phil2.jpg

A quick check with the wheels on just to make sure

phil3.jpg

I also wanted to fit spacers on the outside transom engine plate as my Parsun seems to touch the lip of the transom and again I made a few ready.

phil4.jpg


It may well be the Parsun which has a smaller radius where it sits on the transom but nevertheless 9mm of plastic was used to create a better fit.
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized %1%2.

phil5.jpg

phil6.jpg

While I was playing I also stuck on a piece of rubber to protect the GRP top lip as I can be a tad clumsy putting the motor on so prevention is better than cure.

phil7.jpg

I still have the cuddy to fit but I am not so keen to use the supplied adhesive as it has to be mixed with acetone at 20% and that worries me a little. I would be interested to hear what you guys think on that one. Here are the fittings that need gluing

PHIL8.jpg

Now in the past when I have had a puncture, which has always been in warm weather, I stuck the patch with no air in the tube, only pumping the tubes back up after the glue has cured. The instructions here are to fit these connectors with fully blown up tubes and leave to set for at least 12 hours. Well I am tempted to buy some of the Poly Marine adhesive and fit them with no air in the tubes in order to allow the connectors to stick properly as I cant see they will shape around the tubes when blown up. Is it me guys, or do you agree, I would be interested to hear your comments. I also think the air temperature at this time of the year will need the tubes to be flat in order to get a good grip.


On a different subject. As I get older, I am finding it tricky to put the 15hp in the car on my own and whilst it is a 2 stroke weighing 37kg, it still bloody heavy for me. Now I have looked at the trolley with wheels fitted to the handles so you can slide the engine in quite easily but at £150 and taking quite a bit of space, I thought of another way for this old tart not to hurt my back again.
I had some industrial castors in the garage and fitted them to a piece of plywood

PHIL9.jpg

Then glued some thick sponge to give support to the engine

PHIL10.jpg

By standing the outboard up against the car tailgate, using a piece of rubber backed door mat to protect the bumper, I am able to basically lift the prop end of the engine just a little, which while the engine is leaning on the car allows it to lay back into the car and on the little skate.
Difficult to explain in words so I hope it makes sense.
The engine is now VERY easy to move around in the car and when in position, simply lock the wheels of the skate and away we go. Reverse the process when taking the engine out. It really does make life much easier.
This is something you will all turn around and say, yes we do a similar thing and if so, I'm sorry to be a boring just seemed to be a back saver for me.

Phil
Hi philpot,

Could you please provide some more photos of the wheels in order to allow us to have a better ideia how they stay on the transom?
Thanks and regards
MOTS

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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by warder54 » 07 Feb 2020, 11:51

Nice job @philpot . Re fixings: I used the supplied glue and fitted to inflated tubes in the warmth of my hallway which has plenty of space. They mould to the curve of the tube with no problem at all and have now been on and secure for over 2 years. I fix the canopy to the tube fixing with suitable stainless "R" clips for easy on and off.
Why am I here - I should be in my boat fishing!!
Mike Elliott

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Re: F-Rib, a few mods

Post by Alan » 07 Feb 2020, 16:14

I decided not to use the adhesive supplied to attach the canopy support fittings and use a marine inflatable adhesive on the inflated tubes simply because I attached D-ring Grab Handles that way and they have remained secure under some aggressive conditions and slightly large friends. It sounds like either will work well. I do like the "R" clip idea as that would speed up assembly and eliminate my dropping of the nuts into the beach sand.

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