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Ireland's sailing, boating & maritime magazine

Displaying items by tag: commercial boats

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

Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) in Ireland Information

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is a charity to save lives at sea in the waters of UK and Ireland. Funded principally by legacies and donations, the RNLI operates a fleet of lifeboats, crewed by volunteers, based at a range of coastal and inland waters stations. Working closely with UK and Ireland Coastguards, RNLI crews are available to launch at short notice to assist people and vessels in difficulties.

RNLI was founded in 1824 and is based in Poole, Dorset. The organisation raised €210m in funds in 2019, spending €200m on lifesaving activities and water safety education. RNLI also provides a beach lifeguard service in the UK and has recently developed an International drowning prevention strategy, partnering with other organisations and governments to make drowning prevention a global priority.

Irish Lifeboat Stations

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland, with an operational base in Swords, Co Dublin. Irish RNLI crews are tasked through a paging system instigated by the Irish Coast Guard which can task a range of rescue resources depending on the nature of the emergency.

Famous Irish Lifeboat Rescues

Irish Lifeboats have participated in many rescues, perhaps the most famous of which was the rescue of the crew of the Daunt Rock lightship off Cork Harbour by the Ballycotton lifeboat in 1936. Spending almost 50 hours at sea, the lifeboat stood by the drifting lightship until the proximity to the Daunt Rock forced the coxswain to get alongside and successfully rescue the lightship's crew.

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895.

FAQs

While the number of callouts to lifeboat stations varies from year to year, Howth Lifeboat station has aggregated more 'shouts' in recent years than other stations, averaging just over 60 a year.

Stations with an offshore lifeboat have a full-time mechanic, while some have a full-time coxswain. However, most lifeboat crews are volunteers.

There are 46 lifeboat stations on the island of Ireland

32 Irish lifeboat crew have been lost in rescue missions, including the 15 crew of the Kingstown (now Dun Laoghaire) lifeboat which capsized while attempting to rescue the crew of the SS Palme on Christmas Eve 1895

In 2019, 8,941 lifeboat launches saved 342 lives across the RNLI fleet.

The Irish fleet is a mixture of inshore and all-weather (offshore) craft. The offshore lifeboats, which range from 17m to 12m in length are either moored afloat, launched down a slipway or are towed into the sea on a trailer and launched. The inshore boats are either rigid or non-rigid inflatables.

The Irish Coast Guard in the Republic of Ireland or the UK Coastguard in Northern Ireland task lifeboats when an emergency call is received, through any of the recognised systems. These include 999/112 phone calls, Mayday/PanPan calls on VHF, a signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) or distress signals.

The Irish Coast Guard is the government agency responsible for the response to, and co-ordination of, maritime accidents which require search and rescue operations. To carry out their task the Coast Guard calls on their own resources – Coast Guard units manned by volunteers and contracted helicopters, as well as "declared resources" - RNLI lifeboats and crews. While lifeboats conduct the operation, the coordination is provided by the Coast Guard.

A lifeboat coxswain (pronounced cox'n) is the skipper or master of the lifeboat.

RNLI Lifeboat crews are required to follow a particular development plan that covers a pre-agreed range of skills necessary to complete particular tasks. These skills and tasks form part of the competence-based training that is delivered both locally and at the RNLI's Lifeboat College in Poole, Dorset

 

While the RNLI is dependent on donations and legacies for funding, they also need volunteer crew and fund-raisers.

© Afloat 2020