Small RIB boat with HDPE hull

Hello,

Does anyone know if there is a small (about 3 -4 meter or so) RIB style boat with a HDPE hull? I see aluminum and fiberglass but i don't see HDPE, or something similar to what is used in kayaks, etc.

Any leads, links, thoughts?

Any reason to not use HDPE?

Thanks.

Mac

 

Welcome to this forum , Mac.
Probably no one has needed to design that kind of boat until now, but from a technical point of view there is, as far as I know, no reason not to design it. From a practical point of view, this material might not be efficient, I don't know.

 

Here is a detailed description of a small rotomoulded polyethylene catamaran on OldMulti's long running thread 'Multihull Structure Thoughts' - could something like this work for what you have in mind?
Multihull Structure Thoughts https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/multihull-structure-thoughts.62361/page-181#post-931717

Here is a chap who built a barge out of HDPE -


And another chap built a RIB type boat -


Maybe something like this is what you have in mind?

 

There is a company west of you called Bullfrog Boats

They use foam filled poly tubes but have an aluminum floor

We owned the 11 1/2 foot model with 25 or 30hp on it for a few years. Safe and seaworthy was the goal and we had a crane/davit on the 490 to enable lifting it
Carefully check the weight as HDPE boats are not that light I think the 11.5 with a 30 hp motor was supposed to weigh in the 700 pound range.
Another big advantage was that with the D shaped tubes, the inside open width can be 16 - 20 inches more than a similar length inflatable. Some 11 foot inflatables have as little as 26 inches of inside the tube width so
that the D shape inside can be much space to move around in.

When we purchased our 11 1/2 it was actually from the factory in Washington ( that was several years ago )so the pricing was very attractive.

Just some things to look out for

 

HDPE is heavy and comes as sheet or tube, so the design (not specified) is limited to working within narrow parameters.
What’s wrong with fiberglass? It is a wonderfully strong and adaptive material.

 

I've seen them here in Australia, this isn't the type I've seen but may meet your needs 300 Tuffy | Polycraft https://www.polycraft.com.au/300-tuffy/
Here is another Whaly 370 https://www.whaly.com/en/whaly_3701.html and another All You Need to Know About Plastic Boats - FSP Australia https://www.fspaustralia.com.au/all-you-need-to-know-about-plastic-boats/

 

This?
Dinghy | Rowboat | Lifeboat | Dinghy Sailboat | Dinghy Motor https://portlandpudgy.com/

 

I suppose if you could mold it with a complex lattice to keep it stiff enough to make it work it wouldn't be that heavy.

 

Hi, thanks to everyone for the great replies. Here is what I am thinking and looking for ( see below). This is just a general inquiry. I am thinking of a roto molded or thermoformed hull, maybe 10 ft or so with a little bit of a v hull , something that could plane at a relatively low speed. The hdpe or sheet formed hull could have a foam lining for safety. This is just a thought as it would be easier to produce than fiberglass, and much tougher.

I am thinking the RIBS would be inflatable (Avon, etc), and the pressure would form fit the HDPE designed hull with straps, like a river raft frame. Just make the rear self bailing, so if it leaked, no problem. Super pressure on the HDPE would be good to stop water.

Just a terrible quick sketch of the idea below. I can draw in sketchup if needed. But the idea is to have a really nice hull, that can take a pounding from rocks, gravel, sun, etc. Super fast and cheap to make. And removable inflatable rib collar. Just strap the collar down similar to river raft frame style.

Anyone see anything like this? I have seen a few of the all plastic rib style and they look tough, but really heavy. The ultra marine above looks really nice, Are the ribs plastic or inflatable?

Again, thanks for everyone's input.

 

This came up in conversation today oddly enough I guess there's an outfit on the other Road going to town selling HDPE Roto molded ribs. I guess they have two sitting out front I'll try and swing by one of these days if I remember to drive that way and take a picture of them but they're basically what you sketched except for the tubes aren't inflatable they're rotomolded as well.

 

Hi
I see lots of super cool boats with HDPE pipe ribs. They look like they are for police, etc and super heavy. Really cool stuff, But more in the budget of the oil companies and the military, etc

And quite a few all HDPE boats from Australia, New Zealand , and the Netherlands. Again really cool , but all plastic. They all look heavy

Thanks for the feedback

 

Hi,
Thank for the link. I have seen a few all plastic ones. China has loads of them, and the good ones are from Australia, NZ, and The Netherlands. I posted a quick sketch of what I was asking about. Maybe someone has seen the HDPE hull and inflatable upper ribs I put in the sketch.
There are a few high end boats with HDPE ribs, but the prices are crazy expensive as they are custom made. They are awesome.
Thanks for the reply.

 

How does it hold up on rocks and gravel? thanks.

 

Whaly boats, sorta what your sketching.

 

There is a nice range of them here:
Tideman Boats BV | Indestructible HDPE Workboats https://tidemanboats.com/