October 29, 2008

Day in the Life of an Outdoor Enthusiast

While RIBCRAFT's focus is on building commercial quality RIBs for professionals, I thought it would be fun to highlight some of the recreational uses of every day RIBCRAFT owners. One such owner is Dave Pettigrew, an outdoor enthusiasts who purchased a 5.85 as a means to seek adventure for his family in the British Virgin Islands. Because Dave uses his RIB for a wide number of activities, I've broken his posting into several parts. I hope you enjoy the stories and if you would like to share yours with us, we’d love to hear them as well.

Posting # 1 – Fishing Experiment “19’ RIBCRAFT versus 38’ PowerCat”
As an avid fisherman I have often toyed around with the possibility of quitting my day job and starting a little fishing business. Talking with other fishermen, it was apparent that the biggest costs were boat maintenance and especially fuel. With the fishing grounds 20 miles out to sea, the thought of even venturing out so far in such a small craft as my 5.85 was frowned upon by those not familiar with the seaworthiness of a RIBCRAFT.

So, I decided to conduct an experiment to test the feasibility of trying to make a little side money by being a part time fishermen. I wanted to see what the results would be by spending a day on my RIBCRAFT versus a 38 foot power catamaran which local fishermen were calling the “ultimate” fishing vessel.

First up was the RIBCRAFT. We left before sunrise and cruised directly into 10 knots of breeze and 2 foot seas. Averaging about 15 knots we arrived at the fishing grounds and fished 2 rods until the sun went down. In fairness we had a very good day. Result: $450 worth of fish against $125 spent in fuel. Net profit = $325

Next up was the power cat. Over 38 feet in length, a wide beam, plenty of deck space, this boat was rumored to be the ultimate fishing boat. We loaded up and were quickly into 15-18 knot winds and 3-4 foot seas – in fairness we encountered larger seas this time. Clearly the longer length of the hull provided a smoother ride, but there were still some good jolts. Had I been on my RIBCRAFT, I know that I would have to cruise near 10 knots for a comfortable ride, but being on a boat with twice the length I was surprised to see that our speed was only about 13 knots. After arriving at the fishing grounds we set up the outriggers and downrigger and fished all day just like before. With 5 lines out you would think we would have a greater chance of landing more fish. After fishing until sunset we returned home with about $180 worth of fish which was not a bad day. Our fuel cost was $780. Net loss = $600.

Business lesson learned: Regardless of the day or catch the RIBCRAFT would have been profitable and the PowerCat would have been unprofitable.

But, how do those inflatable tubes hold up to big fish and especially sharks? Stay tuned for my next story.

From Dave Pettigrew, a RIBCRAFT 5.85 customer

Posted by ribcraftusa at October 29, 2008 06:31 PM

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