SMOOTH RIDING
NO LONGER THE UGLY DUCKLING AND THE WORKHORSE OF THE MOTHERSHIP, MANUFACTURERS ARE DELIVERING A HUGE RANGE OF LUXURY AND MULTI-PURPOSE RIBS. WORDS: CHRIS CLIFFORD
nboard, outboard, jet powered, electric, amphibious or with foils - the list goes on. It sure is a long way from the humble orange painted rescue boats demanded by SOLAS, for today the RIBs offer a level of luxury only previously seen in the limousine tenders that were smashing the market nearly 10 years ago. And, the prices are as varied as the size and shapes on offer too, from the very reasonable 3-4m jet power RIBs you might see on the back of a 20m Sunseeker to incredible 15m plus chase boats with four Mercury racing outboards strapped to the back.
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Diversity is the key word when we now talk about RIBs. I still believe the versatility of these tenders is key and the platform certainly affords a very wide scope of usage for the crew, guests and owners. It all comes back to the space available onboard and in the tender garage - but we are now seeing more input from tender suppliers in the build process, so the motherships are not left with a little envelope opening where they are meant to stuff the bosses favourite tender.
As with the upturn in explorer yachts driven by a new breed of owners coming into the market, we are seeing (I believe) a shift away from the over luxurious tenders towards a market that is looking for a little more life and adventure in their tender and this is where the RIBs can deliver fun, versatility, diversity and power in bundles. As a platform the RIB can still offer complete luxury with large sun lounging areas and plenty of space to enjoy a sip of something fizzy, and then it can quickly be changed into a diving boat with the central console and plenty of room to move around and store equipment.
Got a decent off road vehicle or a couple of quadbikes? No problem - load her up on the tender, head ashore, bring down the transom and off you go. Of course this is a specific beach lander type craft, but we’re now seeing every want and need covered by the line of RIBs hitting the market.
30 | WINTER 2022 | ONBOARD
Dependent on your view point for power solutions, whether you are a traditional outboard nut, like the hidden attributes of the inboard, hanker for the manoeuvrability of the jet tenders or are looking for electric options - it’s all out there.
Are RIBs getting larger? Well I think like everything in this world - people just want everything bigger and of course with the size of the motherships on average increasing, the tenders they can carry are following in this trend. Carrying a dozen guests in complete luxury while keeping the salt water splashes off their cocktail dresses is a breeze for these luxury utility tenders, and then the next morning, you pack up the kids and a few toys and off they go for a mad day exploring the wonders under our precious ocean waves. Safety, well no need to go into too much detail here - RIBs have long been known as one of the safest craft on the market and with all the added research and development by the manufacturers this is only getting better.
In conclusion, whether you want to pack two, three or more outboards on the back and scream down the coast to the bosses next lunch engagement, have a tender that can whisk the guests in divine comfort over the waves to their dinner appointment ashore, have a little run-about for crew trips ashore, jump on the electric bandwagon if you are travelling to regions where this is more pertinent or whether the boss is just looking for something a little funky - RIBs have it all and more.
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