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Boatbuild

Significant moment on Seawork pontoon

25 Jul 2008

It was a short, unannounced, but noteworthy moment on the Seawork pontoon as Redbay Boats' manager Tom Mclaughlin gave the company's Stormforce 11, Ashlin, a gold badge signifying that it was the 50th vessel of its type to come off the production line. This represented quite an achievement for Redbay Boats, which only started to build the first of the 11m boats in 2001.

The latest Stormforce 11 is a milestone for Redbay Boats.

Redbay manufactures RIBs varying in size from 6.1m to 11m. Their base in the rugged waters of the north east Antrim coast in Ireland is perfect RIB territory, allowing the team to test and refine the models on a continual basis.

Redbay started in 1977 with a range of specialised traditional wooden clinker fishing boats before developing its fibreglass models. The company is justifiably proud that many of the Redbay team are RNLI crew for the local lifeboat station believes that this experience is reflected in its boat building capability.

The order for Ashlin was commissioned by Dennis McGall of Dawson Wam for a price tag of around Ł160,000. The Belfast company specialises in river and marine projects and is active in both the civil engineering and piling contracts market. Dawson Wam intends to use the boat for surveying, on site safety, personnel transport and a variety of other general purpose roles.

This Stormforce 11 is powered by twin 285hp Yamaha ME432 STI marine diesels powering sterndrive units. The deep 'V' hull gives high levels of ability in rough offshore conditions and is combined with sprayrails for improved lift and hydrodynamics. The tubes are designed to sit firmly in contact with the water at rest to ensure maximum stability. A GRP 'HardNose' safety feature is designed to offer complete protection for the two independent tubes and prevent detubing when running hard in heavy seas.

The GRP cabin features Seaglaze toughened marine grade safety windows, four KAB suspension seats, Raymarine E-Series navigation and a Raymarine ST6001 autopilot as well as a galley with a fridge.

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