Specialising in designing boats and focusing in aesthetic and usability they started with a facelift of the Corsair 33 Tourism and also launched a new model named Atlantic, which is available in 38ft and 41ft. He added, “From this summer we started face lifting the rest of our models.”
British based RIB builder Scorpion is continually improving its product line and is developing bigger models, to improve comfort, sea keeping, fuel efficiency and reliability. To do this they are investigating using hybrid electric/diesel engines, electric operation in sensitive areas, with diesel performance on the open sea.
Things have not been easy for the British based builder. Owner Patrick Byrne candidly admits, “The repercussions from the financial crash of 2008, are still being felt in our market place. The market remained unpredictable for sometime and Scorpion has had to find a place to operate in. The last five years have seen us adapt to find a place for the business. We have only started to find traction in the last 24 months. It has been a long and difficult journey, in which we have gained unique market knowledge, which we are using to build on our future development. For us
superyachts are choosing to have a strongly built long range chase tender to accompany them. The yachts either tow them astern when on passage or deploy them to travel following the yacht on their own bottom from port to port. Chase Tenders need to be tough while being towed or under their own power carrying guests. There is a constant demand on a boat performing this sort of role and there is little room for down time for such a boat.
Larger super tenders need to be supremely solid and stable, allowing them to undertake passages between Monaco and say Porto Cervo independently from their mother ship at the same time as expertly handling all Mediterranean sea conditions. If tenders crossing the Mediterranean or even the South China Sea sounds like a tough ordeal then what must the Explorer Tender need, to do its job? Aluminium is an optional material for Explorer Tenders. It is really resilient and crew can bang out the hull dents with a hammer or make repairs with a simple welding gun. Also customisation is easier in aluminium than GRP if you want to build it strong. Boarding ramps, bow doors and other special features that Explorer yacht owners tend to favour are also easier to cope with in aluminium.
TYPICALLY THE GARAGE SPACE ALLOCATED TO TENDERS ON MANY NEW YACHTS HAS NOT STAYED ABREAST WITH THE FAD FOR LIMOUSINES, WHICH MOSTLY REQUIRE INCREASED HEADROOM
innovation is a constant process, we are constantly looking for design changes that will improve safety and the quality of our product. Our customer demands have changed, but so has our client base. Is that change due to clients demands or to our different client base?”
Clearly the cost of building RIBs is rising among the well known and established brands. Tenders are becoming more and more expensive year on year, yet it is difficult to pin down quite how much an owner is ready to pay for a tender and even more difficult to establish whether or not there is a limit?
Tenders come in many shapes and sizes including the landing craft type, chase boats, sports boats and rescue tenders. While some are designated crew tenders, others are very firmly consigned to the guest use classification. It is in this category that the limousine tender shines as the star. Typically specified by owners, limousine tenders are often of a rather delicate, some might suggest fancy, design and are not generally the typical robust multipurpose yacht tender many captains and crew crave. Typically the garage space allocated to tenders on many new yachts has not stayed abreast with the fad for limousines, which mostly require increased headroom.
As a result, many limousines carried on yachts under 100m were built around a compromise, which normally means trying to fit too many seats into too small a length, or having to fit them with roofs that raise in order to overcome low slung garage deckheads. These compromises more often impact the use of the tender making them more difficult to handle because they are harder to launch, recover, service and maintain.
Range is not everything when it comes to building the ultimate RIB, they need to be robust at the same time. Increasingly,
The Dutch boat builder Tzunami construct sturdy aluminium hulls to provide durable and memorable experiences at sea and on inland waters. Designed with a beyond limits, fast and rough water experience in mind, their boats are
attaining a speed of over 60 knots an hour and still giving you optimum safety levels. Hans van Dantzig told us that recently the company completed a bullet proof assault vessel capable of reaching speeds of 100 knots. Quite what it was used for van Dantzig does not say!
Much of the innovation we see is surely driven by customer demands. Southern from Pascoe mentions “Over the past five years we’ve seen a significant increase in the direct involvement of Owners. Yachts are larger and therefore the tenders have grown in size and sophistication. We work direct with owners to ensure that their every whim is catered for; custom AV, high speed data connections, 3D sonar, thermal imaging cameras, the list is endless.” Both Novurania and Anthony at Rafnar comment about the desire of clients needing robust or utility craft as they look to take their tenders into more remote areas. Novurania’s bow opening tender is perfect for launching ATVs and Anthony at Rafnar reminds us that many tenders are now used for longer guest transfers and adventure excursions where the water conditions may be more challenging, meaning the tenders need to be up for teh challenge in terms of stability and ride quality in heavier seas.
What an owner expects when he considers a RIB for his superyacht often depends on whether he is purchasing directly or through his captain or management company. Choices vary dramatically now that the RIB has evolved with versions designed for fishing boats to catamaran hulls, landing craft and limousines. The trick is to guide clients towards builders best matching their needs, budget and timescale.
capable of
ONBOARD | AUTUMN 2017 | 49
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