Hardboat vs R(h)ib

[John Gulliver]

I'll dive from either but hardboat every time given the choice. I've never dived from, or even seen, one with a lift, though, so I voted for the ladder variety but I'm sure lifts are great. Many (most) diveboats have lousy ladders, though, with narrow, slippery rungs and hopeless handrails and they're often hung at the wrong angle. Grrrrrrrrr! You'd think that when somebody pays hundreds of thousands buying/building and fitting out a diveboat they'd afford the few extra pounds a decent ladder costs.

[Diving Dude]

I voted hardboat with ladder because I've not yet ussed a lift.

But if Paul Oliver reads this l'll change my vote to Rib, because l'll be diving with his cowbar mob next weekend off his club Rib and you don't need a lift with Paul to haul you onboard.

Matt l didn't see Rib with lift on your list, there's one from poole called Preditor, l think this was the skipper that had a friendly chat with Sreve W about using his shot on the earlier Swanage gig.

[Mark Davies]

<font color='#000080'>I can't imagine that anyone who has dived from a hardboat with a lift could possibly prefer anything else! Used Scott Waterman's boat, The Quest, this summer. The easiest diving I've ever done!

Sure we'll all take whatever we can get, and cope with it quite gladly, but there's no kudos in making the diving harder than it really needs to be.

Of course someone (probably Finless, in sheer mischief) will claim that lifts are for poofs and proper divers don't even need ladders to get into a hardboat. Bollocks!

[Mark Chase]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] (steve-k @ Aug. 22 2003,17:02)]but rib diving is much more fun, especially when you drive

You need help


So kit up drag your stuff down the beach, drown in your own sweat, rupture your self getting your twin set on the rib, have the piss taken out of you all the way to the dive site for bringing a twin set on a rib, dislocate your nose kitting up in the rib. Get in do the dive then &nbsp;have to de kit in the water before rupturing a lung passing twin set up to rib before making a compleat twat of your self trying the imerse bounce and twist sit on side manouver which ends up with you face down in the slops on the bottom of the boat and getting a slap from the 18 stone dive babe for accidently grabbing her left tit in the atempt of preventing perminant facial scaring due to dodgy boat entry.

Oh yes ribs are great


Big boat with big lift and punka walla to remove fins kit get G&amp;T etc.

ATB

Mark Chase

[Lou]

Hardboat, no contest, any time. &nbsp;Even the worst ladder in the world in 100 times more elegant than trying to get back into a rib. &nbsp;Especially if you are of &quot;womanly&quot; proportions! &nbsp;My arms just aren't long enough to get my centre of gravity onto the tubes, let alone try and sit on the bloody thing, Mark! &nbsp;I need a good yank in, which generally means asking some complete stranger to grab your arse/crotch/thigh or whatever really comes to hand. &nbsp;You can't even slap them for it later!

Plus on a hardboat you have something more substantial to hold onto to be sick, and live in less fear of being launched into the ocean sans scuba!!

And before anyone mentions cost, 2 dives of the F&amp;B shuttle at Portland costs the same as a hardboat charter for the day - how the hell does that compute?

[Andy the Coastie]

I voted for HARDBOAT WITH A LADDER because i'm the senior coxswain for our clubs one.

And YES, i do think ya up to it,,, bacon butties on morning dives and burgers on afternoon / evening dives .

Nice engine box with bottle rack to sit and kit up on, easy entry and exit.
Good nav aids &nbsp;ie,, laptop linked to GPS

oh forgot ,,, as much t &amp; coffee as you can get down ya neck.


Andy

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plus a nice friendly skipper with a nice &nbsp;and doesn't rock the boat to much to make you

[Paul Oliver]

Woosies the lot of you,

Its got to be a Rhib, salt water in the face, compressed spine, fitted toilet, loads of space, fumes, no sarnies, skinned knuckles on the winch. Thats what you call diving.

Getting in is easy, just work out at the gym for 2 hours a day all winter and hey presto, easy recovery.

The extra joys of reversing the thing down the stupid narrow slip at Dover is also a big bonus. Lots of people standing around to give good advice on how to do it right, (do DIR cover rhib launch and recovery?).

Even better getting the thing up the green slim covered slip at LW in a front wheel drive Mondeo, LOL. But hey i get to dive for free cos i tow it.

Don't forget the fun of washing it down at the boat shed while re-filling the bottles. Divers = Kids when the hose pipe comes out - every time.

Safe Diving

Paul
BSAC Diver Cox'n (and thats a harder exam than any of the diving ones i've done).

[Andy the Coastie]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ]BSAC Diver Cox'n (and thats a harder exam than any of the diving ones i've done).

My mind boggles....

a) did you get dive quails from kelloggs ?
b) were you crap at boats to start of with ?

ONLY JOKING MATEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

So, when you doing RYA Yachtmasters with a commercial endorsement ?

[Paul Oliver]

Andy

Plan was to do Day skipper last winter, but i was not impressed with the instructor (did my radio course), and i did not have the time due to work shittte.

Next year maybe.

Regards

Paul

[Dan]

Well I mainly dive of a nice rib which has a ladderDive eclipse
But given a choice it has to be hard boat with a lift and anyone who votes different is either lying or is a bit on the strange side