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The History/Development of the Stormforce 9.1 & 11

Stormforce 9.1

Our 9.1 RIB was a natural progression from our range of smaller single diesel RIBs. One of the main instigators was a long-standing customer, Julian Cooke. Julian originally bought a 6.1 Redbay fitted with a 100hp Suzuki. He used this for one season and moved to a twin outboard 6.1. Next move was to a 7.4 fitted with a single Mercruiser 180 diesel engine. With the Scottish Islands on our doorstep, Julian was discovering the delight of many of these Islands. With longer weekend trips and the need for more reliability, we began discussing a twin inboard engined RIB. Many pints of Guinness later and with the help of Joe McCollam (Naval Architect) and Paddy McCambridge (mould fabricator), the 9.1 Stormforce began to take shape.

All Julian’s cruising experience and recommendations were recorded and a new design was built around these. Safety was top of the list, the boat had to have twin diesel engines, capable of 15-20 knots on one engine, independent electrical and fuel system, large storage areas, well protected seating area etc. We decided on a hard nose boat due to a number of reasons. From our cruising experiences, we recognised that the bow of the RIB was only used to strap down luggage and as an anchor locker/platform. Mooring or Anchoring is difficult with a conventional high bow. Furthermore, a diesel RIB driven with its weight being driven into a bad following sea would run the risk of detubing if stuffed into the back of a wave.

Stormforce 11

Our hard nose overcomes all these problems. It provides a mounting area for three cleats and bow roller, anchor and anchor winch. The hard nose is entered through a fibre glass door, inside it houses an anchor locker, space for an inflatable tender and masses of dry storage. The last and most important feature of the highly flared nose is that it gives total protection to the tubes and in the event of a big sea, the buoyancy provided by the flare pushes the bow up immediately.

Shortly after the 9.1 entered production, Puffin Dive Centre in Scotland approached Redbay with the need for a longer version of the 9.1. Subsequently, we lengthened the mould, with the intention of returning it to the original length after the two Ribs were built for Puffin. However, the mould was never shortened, and the 11 metre has proven to be one of the main success stories of Redbay Boats.