Our 12 years with and without RIB Shack Marine, by Ken Mead.

We decided that we’d quite like to buy a boat having enjoyed fun on friends’ boats over the last 45 years. So in January 2006, we visited the London Boat Show.

At that point, we were unsure exactly what type of boat we were looking for. That was until we saw two 275 HP engines on the back of a cabin RIB with the strapline “Shared boat ownership without the hassle”. That was it, we – well one of us – were hooked!

We chatted to one of the RIB Shack team who gave us his insight into shared boating. We were so taken by the scheme that we agreed to a sea trial on a 6.5 metre and a 10-metre cabin RIB.

Although the cabin RIB was exhilarating, there was one problem, one of us could not see over the dashboard. (due to having little legs!) The 6.5m was perfect and we signed the shared ownership contract.  We then waited for the first weekend in May to do our RYA training on Raleigh 2, the training boat.

Darwin

Our boat, called Darwin, duly arrived and during the first 5 months of ownership, we went out on her 29 times. You could say we were very impressed with the scheme.
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Ken & Cathy on Darwin

After five years, the contract lapsed on Darwin. RIB Shack sold her on our behalf and the 4 owners’ received 25% of the sales price back.

Hudson

We then bought a second-hand share in Hudson, another 6.5 metre RIB. We were very impressed as she had the newest gadgets and technology onboard.

Ken enjoying Hudson

We used the scheme’s ability to swap weeks and we were also able to borrow other boats, if available, when it was not our allocated week. We had 3 fantastic years of fun and RIB tickling laughter with so many stories to tell.

Time to take a break

We sold Hudson and made the decision to call a halt on the scheme in April 2015 to look for other thrills.

Throughout that spring/summer, we did find that there was something missing in our lives. My wife then made the fateful decision to let me visit the Southampton boat show in September without her!  Needless to say, I fell in love with the new 6.5 metre Sport RIB with a 200 HP engine on the back.

3 weeks later, Colin, who runs RIB Shack Marine, let me know that there was a share available on a 5 month old 6.5 m Sport.

Invictus

My wife was pragmatic and so we signed up again and focused on more RIB tickling experiences. We owned Invictus until March 2018. When we had decided that for us, the scheme had run its course.

Cathy enjoying Invictus

Kingsman

Having given notice to sell, not even a month had passed before Colin told me about a new power boat they were introducing to the scheme. A Four Winns Vista 255 Sports Cruiser. Our adventure with RIB Shack Marine continued when Kingsman arrived in April. It’s been a completely different experience to that we enjoyed on the RIB’s. The sports cruiser has a cabin, heating, cooking facilities, toilet and shower.

We have so far slept aboard for 15 nights since we did our Helmsman’s course and the adventure continues…

Enjoying fun on Kingsman

RIB Shack is the ideal scheme for us as. We have a busy life away when we are not on the water. We lack the time to do maintenance and upkeep on the boat. We relish our one week a month usage and enjoy spending time planning how best to use our time aboard.