10 RIBS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
FIRST ATLANTIC CROSSING For Enda O’Coineen the Atlantic was unfi nished business. He had tried to cross the Atlantic in a Zodiac infl atable in 1977 only to capsize and be rescued a few hundred miles short of the Scilly Isles. Eight years later he was back on the Atlantic in a 16ft Humber RIB. This time the boat was fi tted with a self-righting system. The Humber had two outboards, a 50hp and a 10hp but with limited fuel Enda’s plan was to sail much of the way with Halifax, Nova Scotia, as the starting point. He ran the engine on some of the early leg and for a short while each day after that to keep it serviceable. The journey was anything but smooth with the skipper suffering
Enda O’Coineen made the fi rst
Atlantic crossing in a RIB in 1977
one capsize and getting close to running out of food and fuel. With only enough fuel left to motor into harbour, Enda fi nally made landfall on the south coast of Ireland after 28 days at sea. He motored into Dunmore East in the early hours to complete what is thought to be the fi rst crossing of the Atlantic by RIB.
AVON SEARIDER While the RIB was making waves on the Atlantic, the Galt brothers based on the Isle of Wight were working on a design using tubes supplied by Avon. At that time Avon was building its remarkable Redstart and Redcrest infl atable boats, which were transforming the yacht tender market because they could be defl ated and stowed away on board and infl ated when needed. Eventually Avon teamed up with the Galt brothers and their designs evolved into the famous Searider range. Seariders were the fi rst commercial leisure RIBs to have a rigid hull moulded in GRP and opened up the family RIB market offering an accessible, good-value entry-level option to new boaters. The fi rst Avon Searider RIB was
exhibited at the London Boat Show in 1969. It was 4-metres long and was followed by the 5.4-metre model. Today nearly 45 years on, Avon still sells its Searider range.
The ground-breaking Scorpion cabin RIB made overnighting a real possibility
SCORPION CABIN RIB RIBs fl ourished in the leisure marine market
and by the 1990s these tough infl atable boats were being used for more serious cruising and adventurous sea crossings. This prompted Scorpion, by then one of the
leading British builders, to think, “Why not carry your sleeping accommodation with you?” And thus, the cabin RIB was born. Scorpion introduced its fi rst cabin RIB in
1997. Under the raised foredeck were two vee-berths plus a small galley and heads. The additional accommodation transformed a RIB’s cruising potential and increased this boat’s popularity even further. Fast, fun and now an affordable family dayboat. Scorpion worked hard to ensure the extra space was integrated without compromising the ride. The fi rst cabin RIBs were outboard powered and fi ve were built before Scorpion introduced the Sting, a cabin RIB with inboard diesel power in 2002. Twin 315hp Yanmar diesels coupled to MerCruiser sterndrives are the standard power. The Sting is still in production, with 19 built so far. They are used for both racing and cruising.
The Avon Searider transformed the leisure RIB market
AUGUST2013 37
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26