Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats
Find your RIB at West Marine
RIBs, or Rigid Inflatable Boats (also called rigid hull inflatable boats or "RIB boats" by some), combine the rigid hull of a fiberglass boat with the inflatable tubes of a sport boat. This creates a boat with superb handling and great stability, but limited portability due to the hull structure. RIBs are commonly transported on a trailer, or left inflated on deck or on davits. Compared to other types of inflatable boats, RIBs hold their value well due to their superior performance which stems from the rigidity of their fiberglass hulls.
When choosing a RIB, there are several factors to consider. These are the boat’s capacity, the type of floor, the number of inflation chambers, air holding ability and the maximum horsepower rating. Let’s start with capacity.
How much capacity do you need?
West Marine offers RIBs rated to carry three, four or five passengers. Every inflatable boat we offer has a transom plate on it that states the boat capacity in pounds, which of course includes the weight of the personnel on board combined with cargo.
Hull Shape and Floor
All of the RIBs that we offer have a rigid, v-shaped, fiberglass hull which enables them to track well, punch through chop and make tight turns. Some RIBs like the West Marine RIB-310 and RIB-350 have stringers inside the hull that support a flat deck on top. This gives users a flat deck to walk on.
Number of Chambers and Air Holding Ability
RIBs are offered with two or three air chambers. Of course, compared to two-chambered boats, three-chambered boats offer greater redundancy in the event one of the chambers sustains a puncture.
The air chambers of the RIBs we sell are either made of Hypalon or PVC. In a nutshell, Hypalon compared to PVC is much more resistant to UV light, which makes a Hypalon boat your best choice if you are planning on using it in the tropics. However, PVC offers superior air holding ability, because their seams are heat welded unlike the seams of Hypalon boats which must be hand glued. The heat welded seams of PVC boats eliminates a problem called "wicking" which can occur with Hypalon boats. The term "wicking" refers to a process whereby air within an inflation chamber enters the fabric at a seam, slowly travels laterally through the fabric and exits the boat at another location. Because the leakage is fairly slow, what this amounts to is that you will need to top off a Hypalon boat with air more often than one made of PVC.
Horsepower Rating
West Marine offers RIBs rated for use with a 6 1/2, 10, 15 or 25 horsepower outboard motor.
Need more help?
For a general guide on what to consider when selecting an inflatable boat, see our Buyer’s Guide to Inflatable Boats.