The family-friendly 2010 Southampton Sports Boat and RIB Show at Ocean Village Marina has come and gone. Mike Pullen was there to pick out some of his personal highlights . . .

Now in its sixth year, the 2010 Sports Boat and RIB Show was formally opened by one of the world’s best offshore sailors, Mike Golding OBE. It was a thoroughly auspicious start to a free event that had been blessed with brilliant sunshine and a tremendously engaging cross-section of exhibits from the UK marine industry.

Down on the water, the Freestyle Asylum personal watercraft team and the Thundercat Racing UK crew got people in the mood - and visitors quickly began taking to the water in a variety of ways. The RYA’s RIB driving sessions, the Sunseeker Experience trips (pictured right) and Dave Mumford RIB Rides got visitors out, while demo rides from the assorted pontoon exhibits also added some weight to the traffic of showgoers heading in and out of the marina.

Appropriately, the show was supported by the BMF’s ‘On The Water’ campaign. Among its goals is the commitment to inspire people to go boating more regularly and to provide them with the information, resources, advice and ideas they need to achieve it. As the one show in the annual calendar where visitors really get to engage with the hardware, the Sports Boat and RIB Show seems like the perfect stage for making th at happen.

Beautiful boats

Hockley Marine
Hockley Marine, UK dealership for the Capelli range of boats, was on hand with the new Tempest 770WA Cabin RIB. Making its show debut, the 770 uses the same world-famous hull as the Rubson Raid endurance craft, the difference being that, by raising the deck and making a hard superstructure, the space is now used to incorporate a cabin with double berth and separate toilet. The show boat came packaged with a Suzuki DF250 outboard and should be capable of around 45 knots but, most extraordinary of all, it actually looks both more compact and more stylish than the open version of the same length. It’s very neatly arranged indeed.
02476 664414
www.hockley marine.co.uk

MRL
Southampton-based MRL, importers of Stingher, Predator and Redbay RIBs, brought an extremely impressive fleet. As well as a Stingher 10-metre with twin Mercury 350hp Verado engines, they brought a Stingher 800GT with a single Mercury 300hp Verado, a Stingher 680GT and a Redbay Stormforce 650S. But it was the Redbay 1050 Stormforce that stole the show - partly for its uncompromising build quality and partly for its shock mitigation seating from Scot Seats KPM Marine. Their triple-stage shock mitigation system offers a small amount of side to side movement to help reduce the chance of jerk injuries. It is also the first seat of its kind to offer height adjustability.
02380 335333
www.mrl-uk.com
www.scotboatseats.co.uk

Piranha RIBs
Here’s a relatively new name in the world of RIB building. Piranha RIBs build boats from 3.3 to 6.8 metres in length and here at the show, they graced us not just with a debut in the form of the 6.6, but also with a level of value for money you really had to see to appreciate. As well as a ready-to-go 5.6-metre RIB package for £16,950, the 6.6-metre craft itself was being offered at just £28,950. Expect to see much more of Piranha RIBs in future issues of the mag.
02392 460309
www.pirhanaribs.co.uk

The exalted pontoon
If you want a pontoon to look good, one of Hunton’s famous express cruisers and a Windy 37 Grand Mistral are an ideal way to make it happen.

Humber reinvented
Here at the magazine HQ, we had use of a 6.3-metre Humber Ocean Pro for a year. It was certainly a robust and worthy boat in a seastate but it was by no means an entertaining RIB to drive. But things have certainly moved on at Humber. The Leisure Pro 8m with the Suzuki DF250 is a boat not just of heavyweight build but also of enormous dynamic ability. Most extraordinary of all is the fact that the demo boat, pictured here, was available to buy at the show for just £41,500. For a RIB of this size and ability it’s an absolute steal. If it’s of interest, give the boys at Humber a bell and pray that nobody has yet handed them a cheque.
01482 226100
www.humberboats.co.uk

Other assorted highlights

Honda
Honda Marine showcased its line-up of four-stroke outboards and complete boat packages and inflatables, all backed up by an industry-leading six-year domestic warranty and free RYA training on engines of 50hp and above. With an outboard line-up ranging from the compact BF2.3 to the powerful BF225 (including the new BF115D), they were available to view not just on the engines stand but also on the beautifully user-friendly AMT day boat range.
01753 590500
www.honda.com

Demon Alert
Most of the 1.1 million boats in the UK are left unattended for long periods and, with boat thefts on the up, the first thing a lot of owners know about a problem is when they turn up to find their boat gone. Demon Alert is aiming to change that with systems and services designed to protect your investment. Catering for all sizes of boat, they can offer monitoring of key systems, wireless security, GPS/Inmarsat tracking with no loss of coverage and video monitoring. They can even provide ‘self-powered’ GSM/GPS trackers, so if you want to know your boat is safe, give these guys a call.
01932 330230
www.demonalert.com

EP Barrus
EP Barrus showed a selection of Mercury and Mariner outboard engines on craft from the likes of Stingher, Revenger, Orkney and Cougar. Mariner and Mercury have the broadest range of modern outboard engines currently available, plus the famous supercharged Verado four-stroke line-up, offering well-documented excellence in the acceleration stakes. Complementing these engine ranges were a selection of SunSport and Walker Bay boats, with some great value packages on offer.
01869 363636
www.barrus.co.uk

Garmin
The Garmin family of marine products now extends from GPS antenna to multifunctional display units, chart plotters, radar, handhelds and fish finders - and  the beauty of the Garmin stand was that it illustrated so effectively how these associated products can now ‘talk’ to each other to create an integrated system. That said, the individual highlight was the new GPSMap 750 touchscreen unit. Featuring a brilliant seven-inch display, and preloaded with marine charts for the UK and Ireland, this highly sensitive integrated GPS receiver also accepts radar input and offers full NMEA 2000 connectivity for greater convenience when adding extra sensors. It is amazing just how rapidly marine touchscreen has progressed.
02380 524043
www.garmin.co.uk

RIB Shack Marine
While not everyone can afford to buy a new boat, some are not even sure they want to and that’s where RIBShack comes in. You get part ownership of a boat for a relatively modest monthly fee. Its’ a trouble-free affair, designed to remove all the doubt and risk from the equation. The price includes tuition, maintenance, launching, recovery and seasonal social events. It’s a fantastic option for those who are new to boating, those who are strapped for cash, and those who are as yet uncertain whether the whole lifestyle really appeals. In the five years or so since the company was founded, the fleet has expanded from a single Ribeye craft to a mixture of 32 Ribeye, Ribtec and Cobra craft, in both open and cabin configurations. As a chance to get involved in boating without too much hassle or financial commitment, it remains one of the very best methods around.
02380 336197
www.ribshackmarine.co.uk

The verdict
Of all the events in the annual boating calendar, the Sports Boat and RIB Show is one of the most enjoyable for real family boaters. This is the one place where everybody comes together to play with the hardware and to enjoy all that is good about boating. And happily, its return to the revamped Ocean Village Marina at the heart of Southampton’s social area (coupled with a free entry policy) has seen it return to form as a thoroughly entertaining festival weekend.

In fact, as a testament to the success of the event, two thirds of the exhibitors have already committed to the 2011 show. Gary Greaves of Hockley Marine said:
“We had a superb show and plan on exhibiting again. We were extremely busy throughout the duration of the weekend and were delighted with the response to the Capelli boats.”

Edward Pedley of MRL was in agreement: “Ocean Village Marina was an easy location to get to and the layout around the marina meant that visitors were able to view the boats from the spectator area above. We have already sold a couple of boats as a result of visitor interest.”

And Roy Kinch of the Sunseeker Experience was just as pleased:
“The show went really well for us. We were virtually non-stop, taking visitors out on the Sunseeker sports cruiser, Enzo, for one-hour taster sessions throughout the whole weekend. It was great to see sailors and motorboating enthusiasts as well as newcomers on board.”

It is ample testament to an event that gets everyone excited about boating, from the freshest beginner to the most seasoned pro. We look forward to lots more of the same next year . . .

Further Information
2011 Sports Boat and RIB Show
Ocean Village Marina, 22-23 May 2011
www.sportsboatandribshow.co.uk