Through uncertain and challenging times we have remained incredibly busy, still manufacturing our range of Stormforce RIBs for both commercial and leisure clients throughout the UK, Ireland and much further afield. We are also very busy developing our new website which is due to launch in late September but in the meantime we thought it importnt to share a quick snapshot of what we have been up to.
Launched in February the 3rd Stormforce 1150 is to be used as a passenger boat out of Oban in Scotland. The owner of the boat, Sandy Campbell of Venture West is a previous customer of ours and adds this 1150 to his fleet that includes a Stormforce 12m.
Also launched in February this Stormforce 8.4 Expedition is the perfect leisure cruising boat with double cabin up front for accommodation, galley unit with 12V fridge and sink and a toilet cubical with the option for a shower. This 8.4 in particular was the first to be fitted with the larger Yanmar V8 engine the 8LV, producing 320hp through sterndrive propulsion and pushing the boat to 40knots.
This Stormforce 650 featured twin 100 HP Yamaha outboards pushing the boat to 40 knots. One benefit to twin outboards is its maneuverability in tight marines or jetties. Also fitted with Flexiteek marine decking to give it a more softer and leisure look. The owner of this boat is a previous customer of ours who currently also owns a bigger 7.4 Expedition canopy RIB also with twin Yamaha outboards.
Hull number 4 of our Stormforce 1150 model was launched in late June just in time for the super summer weather. This 1150 was fitted with a number of features that were new to our Stormforce range, first of all was the twin Webasto electric opening roof hatch, these maximize the ventilation into the cabin when running and are a nice feature to have on a summers day. The colour scheme is also a first with cream GRP and green hypalon tubes to really set this rib apart from the rest. The customer requested the boat to be fitted with water jets to match is old Stormforce 11m so we fitted Twin Hamilton Jet292 water jets, close couples to Yamner 6Ly-440 inboard diesels.
Once things began to open up again after lockdown we were able to export our RIBs with this 1250 destined for Norway. Loaded up on the back of a lorry it was with the customer in less than a week, just in time for the summer. This leisure, all black 1250 is to be used to cruise around the beautiful fjords of Norway.Fitted with accommodation for up to 5 people, a forward toilet/shower cubical and large galley space it has the ability to cruise for weeks with onboard living.
Above is the latest Stormforce 8.4 Expedition to roll down the slip at Redbay. ‘Loggerheid’ was commissioned by Calum McFadyen a longstanding Redbay customer and it replaces his Stormforce 750 of the same name. Calum opted for a slightly more modern glass panel window system manufactured specially by Seaglaze Marine and I am sure you will agree the results are quite striking. Powered by the Yanmar 8LV-370 it is the first Expedition boat to get this power-plant which pushes the boat effortlessly to 42 knots with a very comfortable 30 knot cruising speed.
August 9th saw Conor and Charles start what would be an epic delivery journey from Redbay to Tromso over the course of six days. The latest Stormforce 1250 was destined for Svalbard, Svalbard is a Norwegian archipelago between mainland Norway and the North Pole. At 77 degrees north it is one of the harshest environments that any boat can be expected to operate and can regularly experience temperatures of as low as -30 and 24 hours of darkness during te winter months. This 1250 has been added to tour operator Svalbard Adventures fleet along side their existing Stormforce 12m.
The first leg of the journey saw the boat sail from Redbay to Bergen in just two days. After what looked like the perfect weather window the boat departed Redbay on Sunday 9th August at 6pm destined for Scrabster on the northcoast of Scotland to lift fuel. Cruising at 19 knots through glass like conditions the 292 mile journey to Scrabster took just 15 hours with the crew running thought the night and rotating watch shifts.
After a quick nap and refueling for both the boat and crew they set off to cross the North Sea to Bergen. The North Sea is reputed to be one of the most challenging and roughest stretches of water where only the hardiest of fisherman dare to go, fortunately on this trip that was not the case. The 16 hour crossing only required the window wipers to be used twice because of extremely calm conditions, something totally unheard of in the north sea. After an uneventful 600 miles at an average speed of 19knots the boat was arrived in Bergen where it was handed over to its new owners, the Svalbard Adventure group. From Bergen it continued its journey north to Tromsø through the majestic fjords before being loaded on to a ship destined for her final home in Svalbard.
The latest boat to sea trial is the fifth 1150 to date and his one being commission to Paddy McLaughlin. This is Paddy’s 5th Redbay in the past 20 years and replaces his Stormforce 11m. A first for this boat is the engine package. Unlike the previous boat this one has been fitted with the smaller 4 Cylinder Yanamr 4LV-250 coupled to the Yanmar Zt370 stern drives. Even with the reduction in horsepower the boat still managed 35 knots with 1200L of fuel on board.