Can so many rich people be wrong? Mike Pullen visits the Williams test lake in Oxfordshire for a look at the baby version of the superyottie’s pin-up totty . . .

It has been said that Williams make toy boats. Not the kind of toy you play with in the bath or on your local duck pond, but big boys’ toys, designed for keeping on big boys’ boats. In that respect it is all true. Toy boats is exactly what they make. But the compact 385s is a very serious piece of equipment too. I’ve got a whole load of analogies prepared. It’s a lightweight with a heavyweight punch. It’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s like chewing a chili or inhaling an Absinth. And as such it is kept as a bit of a trick up the Williams sleeve. It is essentially an ace they can pull out of their hand to trump any other tender in the world. And as luck would have it, it is British too . . .

Built in the Oxfordshire countryside by an enthusiastic band of craftsmen, the quality of the build across the entire Williams range is equal in all respects to the quality of the best superyachts. In order for a boat like this to be successful, it has to be that good. It has to catch the same wealthy eye that is courted by Azimut, Ferreti and Sunseeker. Naturally then, the fact that this is a compact RIB does not deter its creators from putting as much effort into the design and build as was no doubt put into its future mothership.

The Williams tricks
A tender has a difficult job to do. It needs to be all things to all men - compact, safe, practical, lightweight, great looking and faster than an angry wasp. Factor in the restriction on size dictated by stowage and handling aboard the mothership and it has to be a very clever little craft if it is to do its job properly.

In the case of the 385s, most of these things seem to be in place. It is compact enough to sit on the stern of a 40-foot cruiser and yet it can carry as many as five adults and a child ashore in safety and comfort. It can tow a waterskier for an afternoon of entertainment and afterwards it can metamorphose either into a pleasure craft for the adrenaline junkies or a civilised water taxi for a sophisticated evening meal.

This is a key concept, because if a personal watercraft is a motorbike on the water, then the 385s can’t just be a go-kart, however much fun it is to drive. It needs to be more refined, more acceptable, more comfortable. And, dynamically speaking, it needs to be extremely stable, even under the most severe provocation. After all, the size of the mothership may mean it faces long trips to shore through open and exposed waters. And the nature of its work may also mean heavy or uneven loads. It is no surprise then that the tubes sit squarely on the water at very low speeds, providing enormous reserves of stability at rest.

Lifting up her skirts
As soon as you hit the throttle, the little Williams accelerates like Usain Bolt out of the blocks and onto the plane in under three seconds. It is like being fired out of a catapult. The turbocharged, twin-cylinder Weber MPE engine, producing 143hp and a red line of 7,800rpm is ferocious fun and yet, despite all this frantic activity going on below the console, it is not a noisy boat to drive at all. The vibrations have been brilliantly isolated.

Taking all this power and transferring it to the jet unit requires a bigger jet port and the turbojet utilises a stainless steel impellor to gain every ounce of performance and reliability. The sheer volume of water being pumped through is sufficient to create a wonderful rooster tail at high speed, enhancing the rocketship image and doing nothing at all to dampen your enthusiasm for the trip.

When underway, the strakes provide plenty of list, for an easy low-speed plane. Even at these low speeds, the tubes, so important at rest, are well clear, acting only as oversized spray deflectors. Unless you come of the plane, they won’t come into play again until you heel hard into a turn, when they add their stabilising influence to the manoeuvre. This is precisely as it should be but it’s the balance of this boat that really hits the mark. Within seconds of taking the helm you feel confiedent and connected. It’s a rare and wonderful thing.

The details
The central ‘throne’ type seat in front of the helm holds a single passenger in plenty of comfort. But when more people need to get on board, the armrests lift out of their retaining slots and turn to create backrests on either side of the console. With this done, three adults can sit side by side across the centre of the boat. The fuel tank and engine, meanwhile, are located over the centre of buoyancy, balancing out the helmsman at the stern. It is a simple answer that goes against the more common layout of a centre console with passengers aft, but it works beautifully.

Driving a jet
Driving a jet boat is not difficult. Yes, it needs a different approach when manoeuvering, but under normal driving conditions it is just the same as any other boat. The only proviso is that you need to realise your steering comes from the jet, rather than from forward way. If you back off in a hurry and turn the wheel you can lose steerage, but by keeping the power down, you can retain a huge amount of directional control.

With a measured approach there is no slip at all in the turn but learning to ‘powerslide’ is one of the jet’s great pleasures so have a go. Parking a jet also reveals a fresh set of tricks. By using the wheel and the bucket control in unison you can do pretty much anything you want, including crabbing sideways with the jet ‘out of gear’. It’s tremendous fun.

Verdict

The Williams is everything that is good about a PW crystallised in a beautiful package and stripped of everything that is bad about a PW. It has the style to grace the most exclusive harbours in the world, the power to entertain the most ardent thrill seekers and the balance to delight the boating purists. It is such a good little RIB in its own right that it seems wrong to confine it to superyachts. Yes, you can get a lot more boat for this money, but I can guarantee you won’t get much more entertainment. As a family boat for those with a taste for something finer, it might just work . . .

Why you would

• Sublime handling balance
• Excellent refinement
• Beautiful build

Why you wouldn’t

• It’s unsurprisingly expensive

Performance
RPM    Speed (knots)
1400 idle    2.7
2000    3.3
3000    5.2
4000    8.1
5000    24.7
6000    34.0
7000    39.5
7800    45.5

Specifications
LOA    3.82m
Beam    1.76m
Dry weight    360kg
Height    910mm
Engine    143hp turbocharged 
two-cylinder four-stroke
Max speed    45.5 knots
Fuel tank    50 litres
Passengers    five adults plus one child
Price (as tested) £26,143.75
Price (385 standard 98hp) £22,853.75

Contact
Williams Performance Tenders
Vogue Business Park
Berinsfield
Oxfordshire OX10 7LN
01865 341134
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www.williamsjettenders.com