What is the ideal size RIB for scuba diving?......

[Wookie]

There's also this option, which my buddy and I both spent about an hour trying to do in drysuits in 45F water. I think we're too fat.

Can't be that. It's the laughing that stops you, not the fat.

 

[Blue Quaker]

Doing the final inspection before taking delivery of our new 5.8m RIB on Saturday. Low profile console and folding light bar so it will fit through out garage doorway + a trailer with swing away tongue so we can close the garage door! Should make it a fun summer for me and the missus

 

[MegDiver792]

we were looking into a rib, but you loose so much space with the pontoons. Evena 21ftr, was ony 4.5 feet width inside. And that 21ftr winds up much much much shorter than it sounds. So we are going instad with a Boston Whaler 24 foot, no cuddy, and room enough for 4 rb drivers, bailouts, and scooters.

 

[Blue Quaker]

we were looking into a rib, but you loose so much space with the pontoons. Even a 21ftr, was only 4.5 feet width inside. And that 21ftr winds up much much much shorter than it sounds. So we are going instead with a Boston Whaler 24 foot, no cuddy, and room enough for 4 rb drivers, bailouts, and scooters.

We had used a 17ft inflatable for the last 23 years (2 in total) and wanted a bit more comfort. Our 5.8m (19ft) RIB is just over 4ft between the tubes...our inflatable was 3ft 4 inches so we think that width is a bonus compared to what we are used to. We are OC divers and can fit 2 sets of doubles + stage bottles in front of the console for a mix dive... or 4 single aluminum 100s for rec diving... no scooters to worry about as far as storage is concerned. The bow locker gives us somewhere to stand the tanks on when we gear up, and an Armstrong RIB ladder takes care of reentry. The pilot's seat is also a storage locker, as well as storage under the bench seat at the stern. There is a lot more room than you would think at first glance + there are only 2 divers using this one We have had up to 4 mix divers in our old inflatable at a pinch, but it was a tight squeeze. We find inflatables and RIBs to be a really stable platform when on station at the wreck site (Great Lakes) compared to other small boats we have used, and that makes the "cramped' space that concerns you acceptable to us. Enjoy the whaler and post a pic when you get it.

 

[shoredivr]

This is Eric Cooper's 25ft RIB with twin engines (Aquaholic Dive Charters, Ontario, Canada)
Holds 9 tech divers with 2 sets of doubles. Though the photo has only two divers on the bench, it accommodated 3 divers with doubles per bench.
The ladder is a great feature. Fast too. This past year he added an awning.

The size is just right for a charter.

 

[Pkishino]

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• Pkishino
• Oct 28, 2017

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• Pkishino
• Oct 28, 2017

One of our rhibs, Rupert 2*300,used for both adrenaline tours and dive trips. Can fit 10 divers + 2 crew fine.. Max is 36tanks once awesome boat, only downside is it drinks petrol like I do frozen margaritas in Mexico.. Too much.. But the customers pay

 

[BoltSnap]

Holds 9 tech divers with 2 sets of doubles

Where does the second set of doubles go if the first one is set on the top of the bench? Is there room under the benches to hold 9 extra sets of doubles?

 

[PBcatfish]

I have a fair amount of experience with a variety of small inflatable boats, so I thought that I would share an overview what I have come to learn.

There are basically 5 types of inflatables & two types of material that they are commonly made out of. The five types are flat bottom roll up, inflatable floor roll up, interlocking hard floor roll up, hard bottom with folding transom, & hard back hard bottom, which is a true rigid hull inflatable boat or RHIB. The flat bottoms handle poorly & usually don't want to go much more than 5mph. The inflatable keel types tend to steer much better & go faster. The hard bottom type handle the best & last the longest, but do not fold up & store in as small of a space. The folding transom hard bottoms sort of bridge that gap, but do so at the expense of HP rating. My 10' folding back is rated for 10hp. My friend has a 9' hard back that is rated for 15hp.

The two types of common tube materials are Vinyl & "Hypalon". True Hypalon was a trade mark of DuPont. They stopped making that stuff probably about 8 or 10 years ago. A French company now makes a close cousin called Panel Orca. The quality is similar. It is often refereed to generically as Hypalon. Hypalon is much more puncture resistant & UV resistant. Vinyl is far less expensive. The RHIBs that you normally get from AB, Zodiac, etc. are made from a consumer grade of Hypalon. Military grades also exist & are available to the public on a special order basis. The military stuff weighs more, but is much tougher.

An 8' inflatable is OK for 1 person to dive from. A 9' is tight for 2 to dive from. A 10' is OK for 2 to dive from. 10hp will get it on plane. A 12.5' is OK for 3 to dive from. 18hp will get it on plane. These numbers are based on a single al80 tank & 12# of lead per diver on a boat with no center console & the correct prop on the motor.

The inflatables are far more tolerant of rough seas compared to hard shell boats of similar size.

If I take my equipment off in the water & tie it to a retrieval line, I can normally fin my way up & over the side of an inflatable to get back on board without issue. Some people take their fins off & use the back flip method, but I don't, especially in rough seas.

I don't like bringing spears, gaffs or fish hooks on board inflatables.

 

[Stoo]

Maybe look into something like a Zodiac Bombard Commando C5 (for say 4 divers plus a boat driver) and then around a 25-40hp outboard. Probably your most affordable option, and you dont need to go name brand like Zodiac, there are lots of manufacturers who sell boats of similar quality for less.

Zodiac has gradually aquired most of their tradtional competitors in recent years, including AVON. The suit different markets. The cottage run-about vs a SEAL Assault vessel are both RIBs, but don't have much in common.

A friend has a Bombard 550 which is inches shorter than mine. That boat is rated for a 90 (he runs a 70 and it's underpowered) where I run a 150. I think his boat/engine weighs about 2200 pounds, mine is close to 5000. He needs jerry cans for fuel, I carry 40 gallons in the hull. His boat cost about 1/3 of the new price of mine and he can pull it with an Edge.

 

[MegDiver792]

I wound up getting a 25ft Boston Whaler that was already setup for diving. Nice dive ladder, swim step, etc. No pontoons to climb over, etc. Skipped the inflatables