Sand hoppers in the F -Rib ?

[The Gurnard]

Hi fellow F Rib owners..or in fact anyone who thinks they have an answer..but unless you have experience of the F Rib.. you may be hard pushed to know what Im yibbering about ?

The question is easy..but the answer is not so easy..to my mind anyhoo. Ok..whats the question ?

How do you dry your F Rib after using it and washing it down..before folding it up and stuffing it back in the shed ?

My question stems from the two bulkheads in the boat.. that form the hinges. As you know.. there are “chine” channels that enter the bulkheads and a hole at the bottom.

(See photo..red arrows show hole and channel.)

When I hose the F Rib out.. water will go in the channel..and the bulkhead fills up. It drains out the bottom hole..but it takes a long time to drain completely..(Im talking hours..not minutes) To my mind..there must be some kind of sponge type matrix of channels or similar.. inside the bulkheads.. so it doesn’t run out immediately. Its probably there due to the nature of the hinge mechanism..and is part of the patented “New Technology to allow the F Rib design” ?

It is certainly not an issue..but it annoys me slightly ..trying to ensure the boat is completely dry before folding it up..in case of mildew at a later date..especially left over the winter period. Im also aware that sand gets washed into the channels..regardless of how careful I try to be .. avoiding it. Can sand eventually clog the bulkhead ?

Today when I flushed it all out after three days use ..two little sand hoppers appeared out the hole..and were still alive lol.. is it a breeding hutch for them ?

Can I safely block the hole and channels off to avoid the bulkheads filling with .. living... jumping .. breeding sand hoppers

Answers on a post card if you please.. or post below. Im sure I am not the only one who has noticed this by now ?

[Martin]

Donny, I know exactly where your coming from. I noticed this too when I packed up in Wales.
I washed it, dried, tilted, dried.. folded, noticed water running out again, so I tilted it on its side, then the other side until empty.
In the morning, more had run out and left a damp patch on the cover.
I re-opened, dried and all is now well.

I don't think I'll be blocking the holes off tho. Thankfully I've never seen those little skitters down here, only in Oban last year.
Perhaps a simple email to Steve and get factory confirmation.

[The Gurnard]

Yup..two hours later.. and there is another " coffee mug full" amount of water drained out. Glad you tried turning it all ways to try emptying it too Martin ..as that saves me experimenting by trying to shake it out. Guess its something we have to live with..as the holes wouldn't be there if not required.

Perhaps a squirt with wasp killer in the wee hole ..will stop the sea lice making a nest in there too

[James]

I'd like to know what the whole really is for.
Before owning a F-Rib I was under the imression it allowed water to drain between hull sections but I don't think it does.
It might be if water goes in the box sections, it's a way for it to escape.

I'll have a look good look tonight or tomorrow

[Paul]

Yup I've had the same problem getting ALL the water out of the box section drain holes despite turning the boat onto its face, sides and on end etc
I resulted to chucking a beer mat into each folded section as I folded it away to soak up any remaining water left within the sections which seemed to work but my boat wasn't stored for months

[Bowline]

Hi all, I had the same issue. I contacted F-rib about it and they said don't fill the holes (I'll dig out the email later for exact wording and explanation of the hole's purpose). I have found that tilting the boat with a wicking material (like a fleece towel) over the hole works. I think the water airlocks behind the hole when you tilt, as when tipped really high I have seen it glug out like a drink bottle emptying.

[The Gurnard]

Thanks guys..and it would be interesting to learn the explanation for the holes Bowline..and thanks for your conformation of contacting F Ribs over it.. that saves me repeating the question to them

[Bowline]

Unfortunately I can't find the email as is always the way.... But seeing as so many people have the same enquiry I have contacted F-Rib again for a bit more detail. I think it is worth the repeat query, as this is UK's most active forum for F-Rib owners, building knowledge base for their product can only be a good thing.

[philpot]

Strangely enough I posted a reply to this thread Donny but it is not here so not sure what happened there, anyway, when I made an enquiry about the holes just after I got mine, Steve checked with the factory and advised me that they were simply part of the production process because I thought they were drain holes from one section to another which they are not.

I had no direction as to whether they could be filled but decided not to take that course of action, instead, I popped in some soft sponge rubber industrial ear plugs that I used to use when clay shooting. I now use electronic headsets but still keep getting a few pairs for when I take friends shooting. Simply roll them lightly between finger and thumb to evenly compress them and pop into the holes, they will expand back to the original size and seal the hole. They can of course be simply pulled out if needed and to be honest I didn't leave them in but that is your choice.

Please bear in mind that my boat has only been used on fresh water so flat water but I assume they would work for you in choppy seas. For what they cost, it is worth trying.

Phil

[Martin]

Hi philpot,
We had a slight issue a few weeks ago that left us with no alternative other than rolling the forum back a few weeks to a solid state.
We thought we'd documented it quite well, but as your unaware of it, I guess we didn't do it as well as we'd thought.

Apologies from the team for your post deletion, it certainly wasn't intentional.