RIB Conversion Plywood Sides

I am aware of an old thread about repurposing the fiberglass bottom of a RIB by building up the sides with plywood. A lot of old RIBs get abandoned/discarded, has anyone done this recently ? Thoughts ?

RIB (Ridged Inflatable Boat) Converted to Wooden Side Boat

 

Welcome to the Forum evansjhenry.

Could you post a link to the old thread you reference?

 

Apologies... first post. Here it is:
Covert RIB to hard sides https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/covert-rib-to-hard-sides.38972/

 

No doubt it can be done if you devote sufficient time and effort,but what do you get at the end of the process beside a sense of satisfaction?The typical RIB hull requires enough power to plane and has a lot of immersed transom area when not planing.To reach planing speed,you have to buy a powerful enough motor and plenty of fuel to keep it going.Most people with that sort of disposable cash would just buy a serviceable hull.I suppose if you chance upon a good motor at a bargain price,the economics change.I'm reminded of a fellow I know who did major surgery to a hull in the hope of making things a bit better and after using the boat for a bit he confided that it would have been a better idea to get a part time job stacking shelves for the same amount of time the project consumed and to use the earnings to buy a decent boat.