Whether you’re looking to buy a RIB boat or would just like to learn more about this popular stye of boat, this blog will clarify all of the benefits to be enjoyed when boating with a rigid inflatable boat.
Rigid inflatable boats – or RIBs – are a distinguishable type of boat that are a popular choice for many. With so many spotted on Australian waters these days, you may be keen to learn more about this type of boats or looking into buying a RIB boat yourself.
Whether you’re tossing up between buying a traditional vs rigid inflatable boat, or looking to understand what exactly makes a RIB boat so good, we’ll be breaking down the advantages of RIBs here to help you establish whether a RIB should be your preferred choice for boating.
What are the advantages of a RIB boat?
Rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) offer immense safety, stability, versatility, comfort and performance. It is for these factors that you see RIBs used not only as recreational cruising craft, but also across commercial uses including lifeguards, navy and rescue.
Let’s dive further into these advantages and what they mean for you when buying a RIB boat.
Why buy a RIB boat (rigid inflatable boat)?
1. Excellent handling on the water
Thanks to the very nature of their design, rigid inflatable boats are great on the water, no matter whether it is flat calm or rougher conditions. The inflatable tubes that sit along the edge of the boat in particular offer numerous benefits.
Firstly, they provide extra buoyancy, making the boat more stable both when it’s moving or when it is still. Many RIB owners enjoy the stability that their boat provides them especially when they are out fishing, as it creates a comfortable base to cast and reel from. With this added buoyancy and stability, you’ll find that the boat has less lean when you’re driving, making it easier to helm and in particular, a great vessel to learn boating on.
The inflatable tubes also provide shock mitigation properties. This means that when cruising across water at speed, or travelling through choppier conditions, your ride will feel much more comfortable onboard the boat. Many boat users who take their kids and family onboard find comfort in knowing that all passengers on the boat will feel much more safe and comfortable with this shock absorbing quality.
2. Exceptional performance
The combination of rubber tubing and hard hull elevates the performance of a rigid inflatable boat on the water.
With tubes that provide extra buoyancy, the boat can get further out of the water and on the plane far more easily. You’ll also find that turning corners is quick and responsive thanks to the easy maneuverability of a RIB boat.
The hull on a RIB boat is also a key factor in driving strong performance. Here at Grand Boats, our rigid inflatable boats are defined by their high step hull design which vastly improves the efficiency with which the boat interacts and contacts the water. You’ll find the particularly steep hulls on the Grand D600 and D950 further improves the performance of the vessel, making it great for high performance water activities.
3. Perfect For Water Sports
With their exceptional performance in mind, a RIB boat’s affinity for water sports can only be expected! Many wakeboarding, waterskiing, tubing or wake surfing lovers look to rigid inflatable boats in particular as their boat of choice. Beyond the performance and efficiency that we’ve already touched open, rigid inflatable boats are a more open craft with a lower freeboard, making them easier to access from the water. Additionally, RIBs can hold a higher outboard power, making them powerful and ensuring they provide the perfect wake for your towing sports.
Here at Grand, our wakeboarding boats are fitted with features including ski towers or poles as well as stern step plates, retractable ladders, storage lockers and showers. You can learn more about why RIBs are good for wakeboarding in our insightful guide.
4. Comfort & capacity
Rigid inflatable boats are popular choices for family boating thanks to the great comfort and capacity that they offer. While RIBs can greatly vary in size (starting as small as 2 meters in length and going up to 20 meters+ in some cases!), you’ll find that the capacity of people they can have onboard typically exceeds that of regular hard boats of similar sizes. The ability to sit on the wide tubes in particular provides extra seating options for those on the boat.
Here at Grand, our RIBs range from 3 metres in length (with a rating to have four people on board) up to 8.5 metres in length (with a rating to have 16 passengers on board). Maximising seating, storage and deck space on board is also central to the design of our boats. Our centre console designs create a more spacious deck layout, with room to easily move around the vessel and helm, while the addition of spacious bow sunbeds, removable tables, deep-set moulded seats at the stern enhances comfort and seating space for your passengers.
5. A safer boating choice
Perhaps the most important consideration of all is the incredible safety that rigid inflatable boats offer. They are in fact safer than conventional hard boats, thanks to the inflatable tubes that mean you and your passengers are much safer when onboard the boat.
These tubes act as shock absorbers when you’re riding through waves and conditions, meaning that passengers onboard don’t feel the lumps and bumps of rough conditions and are less likely to be thrown overboard when the boat is travelling at speed.
The rubber Hypalon tubes also make the boat more stable and give the boat less pitch or roll, meaning that when you’re turning corners, the boat doesn’t lean too far over to one side. This will make your passengers on board feel much more secure within the boat.
There’s no need to feel concerned about what happens if tubes deflate – in the rare instance that this happens or that your tubes experience a tear, rigid inflatable boats are designed to float even with no tubes at all!
It is for these reasons that you so often see lifeguards and rescue teams using boats with inflatable tubes.
So, what RIB boat should I buy?
If you’ve decided that a rigid inflatable boat is the right choice for you and you’d like to buy a RIB boat, your next step will be identifying which of the many RIBs available is the best one! This will ultimately come down to how many passengers you’d like to have, how you’d like to use the boat, and of course, your budget. To help you navigate that a little further, we’ve broken that topic down further in our handy guide on finding the best RIB for you.
If you’d like to discuss further, get in touch with our team today to learn more about some of the Grand RIB boats for sale here in Australia.
