With an expanding fleet, Piranha is fast becoming a big predator in UK waters. Alex Smith heads for Hayling Island for a look at the company’s new 5.8-metre RIB.

Our experience of Piranha RIBs began at the 2010 Sports Boat and RIB Show, when Nick Edgington turned up with a pair of boats that were remarkable for at least three very good reasons. Firstly, at a time when economic difficulties were seeing plenty of established boat brands

abandoning the bottom end of the market in pursuit of higher profit margins, these new Piranha boats were relatively small. Secondly, in stark contrast to the almost pervasive malaise of an industry that seemed to be struggling to sell boats at the time, Nick himself came across as effervescent, approachable and optimistic. And thirdly, the prices of his new boats (even by entry-level standards) were deliberately, uncompromisingly accessible. In short, even then, we knew that this was a company well placed to carve out a very prominent niche for itself.

The 5.8 as a Piranha ambassador

Despite its relative infancy in the UK, the Piranha range is already very comprehensive indeed - and it’s not just about RIBs. It kicks off at the bottom end with three small inflatable boats (the Airdeck 2.3, 2.5 and 2.7), before rigid hulled boats occupy the 3.3 to 7.6 metres spectrum. There are no fewer than ten RIBs in this line-up and, at 5.8 metres in length, the test boat we have here is the fourth largest in the RIB fleet.

Now it may be only a couple of boats away from the range-topping 7.6 but the 5.8 immediately comes across as a very appropriate ambassador for the way Piranha does things - not least because it offers lots of user-friendly accessories without unduly inflating the purchase price.

Consider the inflatable collar for example, no pun intended, it is a large-diameter unit with a very modest bow taper and prominent rubbing strake. And while that has you thinking this is likely to be a fairly traditional RIB, the 5.8 is not so much characterised by its high-capacity tubes as by the proliferation of areas where GRP mouldings dominate the layout…

Read the rest of the Test in the July Issue of Sports Boat and RIB