To Grand RIBs owners, important informational updates

Learn more about your boat, secure its long life and most importantly your own safety.

It’s hard to overestimate the importance of such a thing as User’s Manual. “Why do I need it? I sure know how to handle a boat and that manual won’t tell me anything new!” some may say. Others may give it a try and quickly browse it to just get acquainted with the general info. But in the end, everyone will sure open it when something goes wrong. So, to say the least, User`s Manual, apart from the general info, also provides tips and rules one should follow to avoid this big & scary “wrong” from happening😅

First of all, you need to understand that a boat is somewhat similar to a car and need start treating it like one, in terms of its maintenance. In fact, due to the extremely aggressive nature of saltwater, your boat requires even more careful maintenance than your car. Regardless the best existing marine grade materials and its properties you have to closely monitor its condition and take regular care. So starting from the gelcoat, inflatable tubes and stainless steel, and topping it with the electrical parts, cushions’ foam and wood - the boat requires more attentive and thorough care than a car, tips and rules on which just so happen to be thoroughly written in your User`s Manual😉

Second of all, and maybe this should have been the first reason to read it, your manual contains vital safety information like general rules of use and behavior on a boat, that might safe your property, your driving license and your life. Also, one should not forget that on top of our own requirements, operation rules and tips as a boat manufacturer, there are also these international standards that everyone must comply with and that are a subject to frequent changes and updates.

And the last but not least reason to read your RIB model’s manual attentively, if all the others were not convincing enough, is warranty😉 All our (boat manufacturer’s) operational rules written down there are actually the cautions you should follow to ensure your boat stays under warranty. 

To give some examples, in the latest issue of User’s Manual, for nearly every RIB boat model that we have, we have updated and extended safety information on the fuel and electrical systems.

Or another instance of a most recent update… Did you know that your waterski mast or roll bar is only supposed to tow a waterskier or wakeboarder? Up to a certain weight, obviously… And, it is actually prohibited to tow any kind of tubings like donuts, banana tubes, etc, and God forbid other boats, with that towing mast or roll bar. You should only do that kind of heavy towing with your rear towing eyes, according to the towing rules and depending on the situation! *this actually applies to all our models of Golden Line and Drive Line series, and by the way Silver Line roll bars are designed for navigational purposes only, so they are not supposed to tow anything at all.

Or one more example… Are you sure you are using your anchor set with electric windlass the correct way? Did you know that, if lifted quickly and unsupervised, the anchor can get twisted upside down leading to damaging the hull and/or the tubes of your RIB. To avoid that, you should lift your anchor slowly and attentively, and make sure you watch the last couple of meters of the anchor chain closely to make sure that the anchor is going into the correct position.

All this and many more really important information is written in the User’s Manuals. Not knowing new international or operational rules does not exempt from responsibility, which is why it is mandatory to check our website frequently for availability of an updated User’s Manual and familiarize yourself with it. 

We suggest that you do it once a couple of months, or once a year before going out on the water - for those who only use boats for a couple of weeks in summer season. These manuals are available for downloading here in the “Owners Manual” tab, or on the separate page of your particular inflatable boat model on the “documents” tab.

Boy, this article came out heavy😅 But look, we know being on the water is all fun and stuff… We get it. However, water is a powerful element, especially when it comes to being in the open sea. So, it is in your very own best interest to make sure you are familiar with ALL the rules, special features and tips of your vessel before you go out, because safety on the water should be always your top priority, just as it is for us👍