Agree with you, they're not really "rigid inflatable boats". If you remove the 'collar' they're just long skinny fiberglass boats. Apart from using one as a tender and you can tie up alongside boats and jetties, I can't see much practical advantage either.

That said, there's a few out there now that look pretty cool, the Airship 330, and a 'mega-rib', would make an awesome day/party boat.

Love this thing........


RR

the inflatable tubes do contact the water even when running, particularly when the water gets rough. They provide a large amount of damping/cushion and help with stability.

foot for foot up to 25’ when boats are still in the “lightweight”category a rib will be lighter and have better seakeeping ability, usually with equal or better speed with less hp than a conventional boat. I have logged thousands of hours in RIBs and they certainly have their place, particularly as support boats for water sports, tender, exploration, rescue. Very durable also, they are hard to “pop” and the tubes are segmented so you don’t just lose the whole tube with one hole.

When they get so big the tubes can’t be scaled up proportionally l they are just a center console with a goofy bumper tube all the way around...

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thanks SailTexas for the great explanation and gives us a better explanation of the pros.

I've observed other types of RIBs where the tubes are not inflatable but are solid composite foam or rubber material, what material is that?




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That thing is HUGE!

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CastleRock Carbon Cat designing new RIB cat in 28 foot length










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Alfred Montaner is live....now!


let's watch the sunrise in Miami!








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