R*b

[RossM]

Who invented the Rib and more importantly...

why?

[Jon Fuller]

I think it was that flatacraft fella who owns the 'Clog'. (is it Tony Lee-Elliot) Que .the Prince of Darkness to swoop in and put me right at Bowie knife point.

they do have their uses to be fair, I just don't think they're very cool, and get SO FECKIN SICK of hearing the owners harp on about their percieved rough water ability, when actualy, they're just quite handy coz they're hard to sink, and easy to moor up.....but don't get me started.

[Boatless-Again]

Zodiac

[Jon Fuller]

always prefered the Zepher, or even the Cortina.

[OLD PHART]

Originally Posted by Jon Fuller

I think it was that flatacraft fella who owns the 'Clog'. (is it Tony Lee-Elliot) Que .the Prince of Darkness to swoop in and put me right at Bowie knife point.

they do have their uses to be fair, I just don't think they're every cool, and get SO FECKIN SICK of hearing the owners harp on about their percieved rough water ability, when actualy, they're just quite handy coz they're hard to sink, and easy to moor up.....but don't get me started.

You are not far off the mark there, the concept was originaly designed by the chap who ran Atlantic College in Wales, with input from the RNLI they came up with the Atlantic 21 which was I think the 1st wash through inshore rescue rib.

Tony Lee Elliot was one of the first to produce ribs as a package, around the same time as Humber inflatables in the early 1970's.

I tested the first Force 4 at Fairford after we had raced floppy bottom inflatables for 3 hours, with a 50 merc on the back was loads of fun and virtually viceless.

When Tony asked what I thougkt I seem to remember saying I don't think they will catch on cos they cost as much as a hard boat, How wrong can you be, he went on to produce thousands, and we all know how many manufacturers of ribs there are now.

[Carl]

i had a force 4 as a little lad ,as a tender to the family cruiser,great boat with a 55 johnson on the back............but that was in the days of speed boats(hard boat) and sports boat(rib) they were much simpler times

[Nasher]

My Father had one of the very first Force4s when I was a little lad with a Chrysler 35 on the back. I remember people crowding around it on the beach in Devon asking my Dad what the hell it was.
We had a few of them as I grew up, I even managed to turn a couple of them over.
I inherited the last of them, promptly swapped the Suzi 40 for a 55 and had a great fast little boat.

However it was no good with a young family when I wanted to start doing trips further afield, so it got swapped for the bigger RIB I have now.
When I turn that over I'll be in trouble.

Sorry to dissapoint, but I like All sorts of boats, I just think my RIB suits my needs at the moment.
Yes I've been out in very rough weather with it, but don't want to do that too often thank you very much, it likes to stand bolt upright on its transom to much, which several of the Ribnetters can claim to have first hand experiance of when we did Pompey - Yarmouth in a F6 last year.

I try not to get involved with the Hard boat vs RIB debates, but do like to mention the Bowe knife I keep clenched between my teeth when Jon starts on the other site.

Nasher.

[Jon Holmes]

Originally Posted by Jon Fuller

always prefered the Zepher, or even the Cortina.

As long as you dont mention the "Corsair" Jon!

Ooops, to late.

[Jon Holmes]

Just imagine if the Fleet at Trafalgar had been fitted with tubes?

What then?

We'd all be eating bread without butter, drinking coffee without milk, taking 2 hour lunches and driving the most ridiculous styled vehicles on the planet.

"Is that what you want? Cos thats what would've happened"

Would you like to be caught in a rib in the ocean in crossfire?

If it aint broke, dont fix it.