Revenger, the famous and much-loved British RIB builder, has launched its biggest ever boat in the form of the 32-footer. Mike Pullen heads for Southampton to get the official UK exclusive.

In recent times, there has been a trend towards larger and larger RIBs, with ever more complex layouts. Many RIB builders are even beginning to incorporate larger ‘tube-top’ cabins, but Revenger has remained true to its roots and produced yet another performance RIB with the familiar layout of the tried and tested Revenger open boat.

I already feel quite honoured that Sports Boat and RIB is the only magazine to have been given access to this boat, due to her being delivered to her new owner just a few days after our sea trials. Despite some fairly grotty weather then, we were always going to jump at the chance to take a look at this craft. But on arrival, we had an additional treat in store. Not only did we have the new 32 with a pair of Yamaha ME422 High Output sterndrive engines, but we were also greeted by the outboard version of this RIB, resplendent in teak and looking eminently purposeful with a pair of Verado 300s on the transom. It was most definitely time for a play . . .

First impressions

The new Revenger 32 is immediately recognisable as a craft of inherited bloodline. You get that traditional Revenger shape, with a sleek, angular profile and radically tapering tubes giving a knife-like outline. However, the hull has been treated to some serious performance-enhancing modifications, including two steps to reduce the wetted area and aerate the water on either side of the keel line.

This all sounds pretty high-tech, but let me assure you that stepped hulls go back to the very beginnings of planing boats. Even the flying boats during the war years had stepped hulls to help free them from the surface tension of the water, so the efficacy of a stepped hull on a fast performance craft remains just as valid today as it has always been.

Caviar or Champagne?
Seeing the two boats lying alongside each other in the marina shows that the sterndrive engines are significantly heavier than the outboards. The outboard boat sits with the cones of the tubes just touching the water at rest, while the inboard diesels have the boat sitting far lower at the stern. If you see the inboard boat on her own it doesn’t look out of place, but side by side with the outboard version the difference in displacement is very noticeable.
This difference in weight is in fact the key difference between these two boats. The layouts are very similar and, while the outboard version is fitted with a weather protection system over the helm that the inboard boat lacks, they share the same basic configuration and the same excellent Revenger-designed electric bolster seats.

These seats are like no others. They use an electrically operated squab that allows you to position things exactly as you want them at the touch of a button. The control is positioned on the side of the seat but it is designed in such a way that knocking it accidentally is not on the cards. In action, the supports really grab you and hold you firmly in place. They are full body depth and come with additional back leverage to provide both lateral and dorsal resistance.

The seat are formed as part of the A-frame mast that sits overhead and allows the weather protection cover to be fitted. This is a substantial structure, built out of 50mm stainless steel tubing and, even running hard, there is no flex through the seats from the overhead mast. It carries the electronics and lighting systems and, unlike a great many modern craft, it actually positions the navigation lights at the specified height separation and well out of the way of roaming occupants.

The stern bench is equally supportive, with a high backrest and a sculpted seating section that supports the backs of your knees. There is also plenty of depth to the padding to provide a damping effect to the ride, making it very comfortable, even when being driven in sporting mode.
Ahead of the console, there is a jump seat that will take two at a squeeze, plus low level handrails for security underway. The watertight seat base lifts to provide hatch-access to the cuddy below, which is very useful if you want to use it as an extra stowage space. Otherwise, the forward part of the boat is given over to an open bow that is used mainly as a sunbathing area.

The forward hatches are split in two. There is a main cargo hold that is simply enormous and well able to contain the covers, fenders and warps without even occupying a quarter of the available space. Then there is the separate, smaller, forward chain locker right in the V of the bow. As you might expect, the hatch covers for these holds are fitted with gas ram supports and they close onto rubber gasket seals with double, stainless, lockable hatch fasteners.

A genuine driver’s environment
The console has been re-modelled to fit the new Garmin GPSmap7015 chartplotter in a central position, where it is equally useable by the driver and the navigator. This is the preferred installation, as the new screen gives an incredibly clear readout and the twin processors provide a much faster rewrite for high-speed navigation. There are numerous overlay options too, so that the helmsman can display the information he chooses and the buttons are also enormous, so they are extremely practical to use, even when running hard and fast at sea.

The engine management dials are placed ahead of the wheel in full view, while the switch panel is equally well placed for a fingertip. The ergonomics on the Revenger have been tried and tested over many years and they are just so right. Everything is where it needs to be for safe, controlled piloting, either solo, or with shared responsibilities. This is all wrapped up in a sexy, curved, tinted windscreen with a glorious oval-section stainless steel surround.
The console itself is a substantial moulding. It houses a small cuddy, with a sea toilet and shower that can be covered by cushioned panels to produce room for two to lie down at full stretch. It would be perfectly comfortable for a couple of nights away, or to recover after a long, hard passage. The entrance to the cuddy is through a double hinged door that opens back against the cuddy side. It is all very clever and beautifully executed.

Pedal to the metal
The hull’s twin steps are right at the break of the water when up to speed, precisely where they need to be to aerate the planing surface. The depth sounder is fitted a little forward of these and maintains a depth reading to over 40 knots. The remainder of the hull is unchanged, so she cuts through the chop much as every other Revenger has done in the past.

In this respect the inboard boat, with the extra weight carried lower and further forward, feels particularly composed and in control. The outboard boat with the twin Verados, meanwhile, provides a greater top speed of more than 60 knots (compared to the inboard’s 54 knots), courtesy of extra horsepower, lighter weight and higher revving propellers.

The acceleration of those Verados is just blistering and, while the sterndrives are slower to get going, once on the plane they are not a long way behind. Even the diesel boat propels us to 30 knots from a standstill in just nine seconds, so she is by no means a slouch.

At 4,000 revs we reach 54.2 knots and when we come across a swollen ferry wash, there is no need to back off. With those low slung diesels, the boat is just so planted in the water. The grip generated and the extra torque from the straight six diesels also helps keep the speed up in the turns, without any tendency to steer around the steps. The inflatable collar comes into play only to provide support when heeled over hard. It’s a stunningly composed performance but the outboard boat remains just that bit more nimble.

It’s a finely balanced comparison, of course, but what is not in doubt is the excellence of the hull. The strakes are small in comparison to many boats of a comparable size but they are extremely sharp and very cleanly moulded, which is precisely what you need in order for the hull to shed water fast and make the most of the power on tap. A new boat the 32 may be, but it is great to see that it remains an embodiment of (rather than a departure from) the Revenger traits we all know and love.

Verdict
The Revenger 32 is essentially a big 29, with a cuddy and some hull and console refinements. It is a far truer RIB than the older 31 and yet it enjoys similar luxuries. There are already a couple in preparation for the Round Britain 2012 race and that says it all. If you want the serenity of an Aston Martin, go for the inboard. If you want Bugatti Veyron performance, go for the outboard. Either way, rest assured you have made a very fine boat buying choice.

REVENGER 32

Performance (inboard)
RPM    Speed (knots)
600 idle    4.9
1000    7.4
1500    10.1
2000    21.8
2400    25.5
2500    28.2
3000    34.8
3500    41.9
4000    54.2

Specifications

• LOA    10.5m
• Beam overall    2.8m
• Draft    0.76m
• Deadrise (transom)    21 degrees Deadrise (centre)    24 degrees
• Fuel capacity    500 litres (standard)
• Twin 360-litre tanks (optional)
• Max power (inboard)    630hp
• Max power (outboard)    700hp Inboard engines    twin 275hp Yamaha ME422HO sterndrives
• Outboard engines    twin 300hp Mercury Verado engines
• Price (inboard)    from £93,700
• Price (outboard)    from £91,000
• Price as tested (inboard)    £160,000
• Price as tested (outboard)     £150,000

Contact
Revenger
01489 572404             
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www.revenger.co.uk