RIB to use at their first waterfront property. “They’re taking it out for morning coffee rides and afternoon sunset rides; they’re celebrating Thanksgiving with the boat in the water,” he says.
Keenan is also seeing RIB owners take advantage of the fact that the boats are easy to tow on a trailer, because of their light weight. “I have one customer whose kids sail all over the country,” he says. “So he tows his RIB all over the country to go to the regattas. He has a 45-foot Tiara, but he uses this boat to take the kids sailing.”
Velutto says Ribcraft is seeing similarly increasing interest now that RIBs are being built with features that more closely resemble what’s available on other types of boats.
“We’ve always seen customers look to us on the recreational side because they see the Navy or the Coast Guard or their local harbormaster using our RIBs. They say if it’s good enough for them, it’s good enough for their family,” Velutto says. “I think there’s now a demand for larger RIBs. People are either moving on, or they’re seeing them out there and catching on.”
Here’s a look at a few big RIBs from five major manufacturers that can be ordered with the kinds of features and amenities that make them usable as much more than a traditional dinghy.
ZAR Formenti Italy’s ZAR Formenti has been building boats since 1979. Burke says the boats have been in the United States since 2011, with as many as 150 of them entering the country each year. The ZAR Imagine 130 is the new flagship that premiered at boot Düsseldorf in Germany this past January. It’s a 43-footer with two staterooms, a tender garage and a galley. There are eight tube compartments and the boat has a maximum rating of 18 passengers.
Staterooms on a RIB may sound unusual, but they’re made possible by the hull design that ZAR uses on its boats. The builder carries the inflatable portions only about three- quarters up the length of the boat, instead of all the way around the bow, the way most other RIB builders do. ZAR’s boats instead have a big rise at the bow, creating the under- deck space.
“The faster you go, the smoother the ride gets,” Burke says. “All the water
stays under the boat and provides an incredibly dry ride.”
There’s still enough of the inflatable portion to help newer boaters feel confident, he adds. “I’ve heard the story a thousand times, that dad’s got a Grady-White, but it has a fancy, shiny side and everybody’s afraid to dock it. The inflatable is softer on the sides, so people are more comfortable. And if you’re more comfortable, you’re going to use it more and you’re going to be safer.”
Miami-based Highfield Boats offers six lines of aluminum-hulled RIBs. The Sport line has a few models, including the new 650 and 800, that Lavigne says are popular with families who use the boats for day cruising. The Sport 900 is the flagship model in the line. It’s an inch shy of 30 feet length overall with 60-knot speed and standard features that include sun beds, a removable table, a built- in fridge, a freshwater shower, a bow boarding step and a Sunbrella top. A hardtop can be ordered as an option. The Sport 900 is built with six air chambers. Its maximum rating is 15 people on board. “It’s very versatile,” Lavigne says. “You can customize our RIBs for any activity you’re looking to do. If you want more sonars to go fishing, that’s OK. If you want a good sound system, it’s possible. Our dealers can set them up the way the customer wants to make them.”
Ribcraft USA Massachusetts-based Ribcraft USA just added new seating configurations to its 7.8 and 9.0 models, which are about 25 and 30 feet length overall, respectively. The Ribcraft 7.8 has a maximum rating for 14 people, while the 9.0 can take as many as 18 people on board.
“We’ve added some additional bow seating,” Velutto says. “Before, it was either a small little seat or a bow platform up there. Now, we have more horseshoe-style seating with a table that pops up and a lounge area.”
Those amenities are in addition to others that are available throughout the range. “Even in our smaller boats — the 21, 22, 25 and bigger — they have stereo systems,” he says. “We offer freshwater showers, the head, built-in and integrated coolers. If you wanted refrigeration in the bigger boats, it can be done.”
Zodiac Nautic This builder, which is based in France, expects the Medline
110 | The Report • June 2023 • Issue 104
5.8 to premiere in early 2024 as the newest model in the Medline roster of day-boating RIBs. The newest model that consumers are likely to see at boat shows before then is the Medline 7.5, which is a 24-foot, 1-inch model that is rated to take 16 people maximum.
“Our Medline series is our family boat range,” Parker says. “We’ve got dual wings at the back of the boat behind the tubes, which are pretty large access platforms with a ladder on one side and a shower on the other. We have cockpit lighting, joystick steering, electronic controls— pretty much anything you’d see on a fiberglass boat. There’s also convertible seating, and you can add things like tables, sundeck cushions and stern cushions. We have a U-shaped rear lounge on some of our models that provides a lot of security for families.”
Also notable about the Medline range is its availability with bright accent colors, which include teal and orange—a far cry from the little white dinghy of years past.
“We looked at the most popular features that customers have requested over the years, things like hull and upholstery colors, and made those standard,” Parker says.
Grand Marine This manufacturer builds its boats in Ukraine, where a number of other RIB companies have factories facing challenges from the war with Russia. Despite the war, Grand is still producing what numerous dealers say are high-quality RIBs, and an increasing number of U.S. dealers are picking up the brand.
“Based on our success with the bigger inflatables, we decided to take on the Grand Boats line,” says Keenan, who is expecting to take delivery of his first Grand order this April in Connecticut. He has already sold a Grand 850L here in the United States. It’s the flagship model of Grand’s Golden Line. The boat is just shy of 28 feet length overall with five chambers and a maximum capacity of 12 people.
“It has a refrigerator, an option for an electric grill, a full head—it can have all the same amenities as any 26-foot center console. And you can put twins on it,” Keenan says. “They’re good- looking boats. And I’m a traditionalist, a New England guy. If it doesn’t look good, I don’t want to sell it.”
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