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Displaying items by tag: redbay boats

Way back in the dim and distant OtherTime, back in the vaguely-remembered May of last year when we still hadn't really grasped how our lives had been totally pandemically changed, we ran a story about how super-host John Brennan of Kenmare and his son Adam were working with Redbay Boats of the Glens of Antrim to create the ultimate personalised variant of the northern firm's Stormforce 1450.

Well, despite everything that has been done or imposed or thought up to foul up cross-border trade and the exchange of ideas, the new machine is now cutting a dash on the Kenmare River and the ocean beyond, and doing so to such good effect that the Brennan hotel group can offer you a handy jaunt out to the Skelligs before stopping off somewhere agreeable for lunch.

The constraints of using the giant RIB configuration will sometimes result in a rather unsightly super-structure. But as our header pic of a sister-ship indicates, the design team at Cushendall have come up with something uniquely attractive in itself, while the fact that it does the business is shown in this vid of the Skelligs voyage experience by Nick Burnham of Aquaholic

And if you fancy the complete guided tour of the boat, try this for size: 

An alternative layout for the Stormforce 1450An alternative layout for the Stormforce 1450

Published in RIBs
Tagged under

Belfast Harbour Police has welcomed the arrival of its first fully equipped Police boat which will improve water safety and crime prevention along the city's popular waterfront.

The patrol boat which forms part of a programme of investment in water safety, is named Bowstead, after John Bowstead, the first Constable appointed to police the quays in Belfast during 1824.

Bowstead will operate on waterways within Belfast Harbour, focusing on public access quays and areas popular with visitors.

A fully trained crew of Belfast Harbour Police Officers will be supporting the Harbour’s ambition to be a safe and attractive place for everyone.

The boat was manufactured by Redbay Boats in Cushendall, Co. Antrim and will also support Belfast Harbour Police’s joint operations with Lagan Search and Rescue, the PSNI and Border Force.

Published in Belfast Lough

#PilotBoats - Belfast Harbour has completed its £2 million deal with Redbay Boats for two new pilot boats to service the city’s busy waterfront, as The Irish News reports.

Already on service is the Captain Michael Evans named after the Belfast’s former deputy harbour master who was killed in the Manx2 Flight 7100 crash in Cork in 2011.

It’s now been joined by the Ben Madigan — also a Stormforce 1650, a new design by Redbay Boats based in Cushendall, Co Antrim, and celebrating 40 years in business this year.

The Irish News has more on the story HERE.

Published in Marine Trade

Whatever your business, Redbay Boats have many years experience working with the various regulatory bodies to provide safe and seaworthy craft for commercial operations the world over. Projects both in the UK and abroad have included:

  • Fishery Protection Vessels
  • Ballistically protected drug enforcement vessels
  • Coastguard rescue and patrol vessels
  • Survey vessels for both seabed and
  • environmental applications
  • Search and rescue lifeboats
  • Fire support and airport rescue vessels
  • Navy, military and police vessels
  • Small passenger ferry vessels

The Stormforce range is extensive with RIB boats from 6 to 16 metres in both open boat and weather protected formats. All hulls feature a high dead-rise (deep-V) hull form with spray rails for additional lift, drip and a dry ride. The hulls have an excellent length to beam ratio and a high bow sheer for improved sea keeping. When the superior quality GRP hull is combined with the large diameter inflatable tubes the performance, stability and safety of these boats is unrivalled.

Redbay Boats are committed to building serious commercial RIBs to meet both the demands of our customers and today's stringent regulations.

All RIB's are built in accordance with modern International Stand Organisation (ISO) regulations, required by the various regulatory bodies including the MCA and BV. These include construction (materials, workshop, control and scantlings), Systems (fuel, electrical, fire protection, bilge pumping, steering etc.) and many other specific regulations.

Redbay Boats ISO 9001 Quality Management System covers all aspects from sales, production right through to after sales and in-life support. The system was developed in-house, allowing for optimisation of our production line. Each new build undergoes strict quality management procedures, including up-to-350 point checks through the build program.
This is further reinforced through pre-delivery inspections and sea-trails.
Redbay Boats use only the Scott Bader® matched performance marine system which is fully Lloyd's approved.

"Redbay Boats aims to manufacture and deliver a Best-in-Class product to both its leisure and commercial customers. The company is committed to quality excellence, as well as providing an unrivalled customer service" Redbay Boats Quality Policy

From the formation of the company in 1977, Redbay Boats have been constructing strong, sea-worthy craft. Building on experience and knowledge from the early clinker style wooden boats production of the renowned Fastfisher fishing boats began in the 1980s. By 1993, the first Stormforce Rigid Inflatable Boat (RIB) was built and the RIB range quickly expanded to become one of the most well established and respected brands in the industry.

Redbay is located in the heart of the Glens of Antrim. The location has had a significant bearing on the development of the company and the boats. With the Western Isles of Scotland only 16 miles away, and Rathlin Island with its infamous tidal flows only round the corner, the ideal testing and developing grounds for any boat are on our doorstep. Not only do the boats have to be built to cope with these Atlantic conditions, but safety and comfort of the crew is of utmost importance.

Today Redbay Boats use a perfect combination of dedicated CAD packages with controlled modern construction processes to achieve products that meet the demands and expectations of our customers and ourselves. Traditional values are still evident throughout the company and knowledge is still the best design tool we have.

Redbay Boats is in a continuous cycle of developing and redeveloping the product range, to ensure that we remain at the very forefront of the industry. Many of our staff have valuable sea experience, reflected in the close association with the local RNLI station.

Redbay Boats operate from a modern 20,000 sq ft production facility in County Antrim Northern Ireland. The factory has a dedicated GRP tooling shop, moulding shop, assembly shop and stainless fabrication shop all on site.

With launching and hoisting services on site the company can accommodate all variety of commercial craft through production, re-fit and in-life support activities.

Located just 40 minutes from Belfast International Airport.

Published in RIBs

People don’t generally associate Ribs with fishing, their perception is that the hooks will puncture the tubes.  One man Hamish Currie has disproved this theory, Hamish who runs one of the top charter angling businesses in Ireland has just taken delivery of his new purpose built 10 meter rib.

This new rib replaced his previous 9m rib which Hamish has fished for the past six years. In that time Hamish has customers from all over Europe and has been the top Irish specimen boat for the last five years. Last year Hamish’s rib caught one hundred and thirty nine Irish specimens and the heaviest Irish & British skate at 247lbs.

Having worked his old rib for six years Hamish decided to order a purpose built rib, putting his experience and needs to the team at Red Bay Boats, we came up with what we feel is the ideal charter angling boat.

The first advantage of the rib is that there is no sideways roll as the tubes touch the water at rest this cuts out the sickness that many anglers experience on a rolling hand sided boat. The next advantage is the low horse power required to push the boat.  Hamish boat is fitted with a single 285hp Yamaha diesel stern-drive at 18 knots his fuel burn is 20 litres per hours. This gives him a range of 400 miles and at top speed of 28 knots.  

 


So the design spec of the new boat is as follows – 10 meter overall, with a beam of 3.5m, self draining deck complete with twin stern scuppers extra D-fender and cladding, heavy duty tubes with 3 compartments per side. Island wheel house with seating for ten persons and helmsman Fish hold/storage lockers and stern, sealed engine box all with reinforced lids for added fishing space 1m high side deck and rails large bow storage locker with anchor and rope storage in the very bow.  Hamish carries 1500ft rope and anchors in 400ft of water so with the bow storage he can haul his anchor from deck level!  The wheelhouse features two Seaglaze sliding doors, with a separate toilet on the starboard rear. The off-set forward console houses the Garmin 12’ plotter complete with depth and radar, stern camera, Garmin VHF, 2nd Garmin fish finder and sound system, under console there are storage areas for the various bits of fishing tackle needed to catch large fish, weights, traces etc. In order to get enough walk round space round the wheelhouse Red Bay opted for a D section tube, this enabled us to mould a straight side and deck encasing the tube, the result a full walk around boat with 23.5 meters of fishing space on a 10m boat this is exceptional. Rods are stored above the cabin roof along with the liferaft, boat hook etc. < /br> < /br> < /br> < /br> The Yamaha stern-drive is fitted with twin props for max drive and grip, the leg can be trimmed up for shallow work and ease of launching and recovering. Hamish hauls his rib each day with the aid of a special drive in trailer. Hamish believes his boat to be the best angling boat available, the large fishing space, lack of roll, ease of running, excellent sea keeping range and the fact that the boat can’t sink would indeed all add up to the perfect angling rib.

For more details and photos visit www.redbayboats.com and www.predatorireland.com. If you would like to try Hamish’s boat then send redbay an email.

The boat is coded to mca: Cat 3.

 

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Published in RIBs

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Information

Dun Laoghaire Harbour is the second port for Dublin and is located on the south shore of Dublin Bay. Marine uses for this 200-year-old man-made harbour have changed over its lifetime. Originally built as a port of refuge for sailing ships entering the narrow channel at Dublin Port, the harbour has had a continuous ferry link with Wales, and this was the principal activity of the harbour until the service stopped in 2015. In all this time, however, one thing has remained constant, and that is the popularity of sailing and boating from the port, making it Ireland's marine leisure capital with a harbour fleet of between 1,200 -1,600 pleasure craft based at the country's largest marina (800 berths) and its four waterfront yacht clubs.

Dun Laoghaire Harbour Bye-Laws

Download the bye-laws on this link here

FAQs

A live stream Dublin Bay webcam showing Dun Laoghaire Harbour entrance and East Pier is here

Dun Laoghaire is a Dublin suburb situated on the south side of Dublin Bay, approximately, 15km from Dublin city centre.

The east and west piers of the harbour are each of 1 kilometre (0.62 miles) long.

The harbour entrance is 232 metres (761 ft) across from East to West Pier.

  • Public Boatyard
  • Public slipway
  • Public Marina

23 clubs, 14 activity providers and eight state-related organisations operate from Dun Laoghaire Harbour that facilitates a full range of sports - Sailing, Rowing, Diving, Windsurfing, Angling, Canoeing, Swimming, Triathlon, Powerboating, Kayaking and Paddleboarding. Participants include members of the public, club members, tourists, disabled, disadvantaged, event competitors, schools, youth groups and college students.

  • Commissioners of Irish Lights
  • Dun Laoghaire Marina
  • MGM Boats & Boatyard
  • Coastguard
  • Naval Service Reserve
  • Royal National Lifeboat Institution
  • Marine Activity Centre
  • Rowing clubs
  • Yachting and Sailing Clubs
  • Sailing Schools
  • Irish Olympic Sailing Team
  • Chandlery & Boat Supply Stores

The east and west granite-built piers of Dun Laoghaire harbour are each of one kilometre (0.62 mi) long and enclose an area of 250 acres (1.0 km2) with the harbour entrance being 232 metres (761 ft) in width.

In 2018, the ownership of the great granite was transferred in its entirety to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council who now operate and manage the harbour. Prior to that, the harbour was operated by The Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, a state company, dissolved in 2018 under the Ports Act.

  • 1817 - Construction of the East Pier to a design by John Rennie began in 1817 with Earl Whitworth Lord Lieutenant of Ireland laying the first stone.
  • 1820 - Rennie had concerns a single pier would be subject to silting, and by 1820 gained support for the construction of the West pier to begin shortly afterwards. When King George IV left Ireland from the harbour in 1820, Dunleary was renamed Kingstown, a name that was to remain in use for nearly 100 years. The harbour was named the Royal Harbour of George the Fourth which seems not to have remained for so long.
  • 1824 - saw over 3,000 boats shelter in the partially completed harbour, but it also saw the beginning of operations off the North Wall which alleviated many of the issues ships were having accessing Dublin Port.
  • 1826 - Kingstown harbour gained the important mail packet service which at the time was under the stewardship of the Admiralty with a wharf completed on the East Pier in the following year. The service was transferred from Howth whose harbour had suffered from silting and the need for frequent dredging.
  • 1831 - Royal Irish Yacht Club founded
  • 1837 - saw the creation of Victoria Wharf, since renamed St. Michael's Wharf with the D&KR extended and a new terminus created convenient to the wharf.[8] The extended line had cut a chord across the old harbour with the landward pool so created later filled in.
  • 1838 - Royal St George Yacht Club founded
  • 1842 - By this time the largest man-made harbour in Western Europe had been completed with the construction of the East Pier lighthouse.
  • 1855 - The harbour was further enhanced by the completion of Traders Wharf in 1855 and Carlisle Pier in 1856. The mid-1850s also saw the completion of the West Pier lighthouse. The railway was connected to Bray in 1856
  • 1871 - National Yacht Club founded
  • 1884 - Dublin Bay Sailing Club founded
  • 1918 - The Mailboat, “The RMS Leinster” sailed out of Dún Laoghaire with 685 people on board. 22 were post office workers sorting the mail; 70 were crew and the vast majority of the passengers were soldiers returning to the battlefields of World War I. The ship was torpedoed by a German U-boat near the Kish lighthouse killing many of those onboard.
  • 1920 - Kingstown reverted to the name Dún Laoghaire in 1920 and in 1924 the harbour was officially renamed "Dun Laoghaire Harbour"
  • 1944 - a diaphone fog signal was installed at the East Pier
  • 1965 - Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club founded
  • 1968 - The East Pier lighthouse station switched from vapourised paraffin to electricity, and became unmanned. The new candle-power was 226,000
  • 1977- A flying boat landed in Dun Laoghaire Harbour, one of the most unusual visitors
  • 1978 - Irish National Sailing School founded
  • 1934 - saw the Dublin and Kingstown Railway begin operations from their terminus at Westland Row to a terminus at the West Pier which began at the old harbour
  • 2001 - Dun Laoghaire Marina opens with 500 berths
  • 2015 - Ferry services cease bringing to an end a 200-year continuous link with Wales.
  • 2017- Bicentenary celebrations and time capsule laid.
  • 2018 - Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company dissolved, the harbour is transferred into the hands of Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council

From East pier to West Pier the waterfront clubs are:

  • National Yacht Club. Read latest NYC news here
  • Royal St. George Yacht Club. Read latest RSTGYC news here
  • Royal Irish Yacht Club. Read latest RIYC news here
  • Dun Laoghaire Motor Yacht Club. Read latest DMYC news here

 

The umbrella organisation that organises weekly racing in summer and winter on Dublin Bay for all the yacht clubs is Dublin Bay Sailing Club. It has no clubhouse of its own but operates through the clubs with two x Committee vessels and a starters hut on the West Pier. Read the latest DBSC news here.

The sailing community is a key stakeholder in Dún Laoghaire. The clubs attract many visitors from home and abroad and attract major international sailing events to the harbour.

 

Dun Laoghaire Regatta

Dun Laoghaire's biennial town regatta was started in 2005 as a joint cooperation by the town's major yacht clubs. It was an immediate success and is now in its eighth edition and has become Ireland's biggest sailing event. The combined club's regatta is held in the first week of July.

  • Attracts 500 boats and more from overseas and around the country
  • Four-day championship involving 2,500 sailors with supporting family and friends
  • Economic study carried out by the Irish Marine Federation estimated the economic value of the 2009 Regatta at €2.5 million

The dates for the 2021 edition of Ireland's biggest sailing event on Dublin Bay is: 8-11 July 2021. More details here

Dun Laoghaire-Dingle Offshore Race

The biennial Dun Laoghaire to Dingle race is a 320-miles race down the East coast of Ireland, across the south coast and into Dingle harbour in County Kerry. The latest news on the Dun Laoghaire to Dingle Race can be found by clicking on the link here. The race is organised by the National Yacht Club.

The 2021 Race will start from the National Yacht Club on Wednesday 9th, June 2021.

Round Ireland Yacht Race

This is a Wicklow Sailing Club race but in 2013 the Garden County Club made an arrangement that sees see entries berthed at the RIYC in Dun Laoghaire Harbour for scrutineering prior to the biennial 704–mile race start off Wicklow harbour. Larger boats have been unable to berth in the confines of Wicklow harbour, a factor WSC believes has restricted the growth of the Round Ireland fleet. 'It means we can now encourage larger boats that have shown an interest in competing but we have been unable to cater for in Wicklow' harbour, WSC Commodore Peter Shearer told Afloat.ie here. The race also holds a pre-ace launch party at the Royal Irish Yacht Club.

Laser Masters World Championship 2018

  • 301 boats from 25 nations

Laser Radial World Championship 2016

  • 436 competitors from 48 nations

ISAF Youth Worlds 2012

  • The Youth Olympics of Sailing run on behalf of World Sailing in 2012.
  • Two-week event attracting 61 nations, 255 boats, 450 volunteers.
  • Generated 9,000 bed nights and valued at €9 million to the local economy.

The Harbour Police are authorised by the company to police the harbour and to enforce and implement bye-laws within the harbour, and all regulations made by the company in relation to the harbour.

There are four ship/ferry berths in Dun Laoghaire:

  • No 1 berth (East Pier)
  • No 2 berth (east side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 3 berth (west side of Carlisle Pier)
  • No 4 berth  (St, Michaels Wharf)

Berthing facilities for smaller craft exist in the town's 800-berth marina and on swinging moorings.

© Afloat 2020