VESSEL REVIEW | Tuggerah Lakes 21 & Batemans Bay 21 – Australian volunteer rescue group expands RIB fleet

Australian volunteer maritime search and rescue (SAR) organisation Marine Rescue New South Wales recently took delivery of two new rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) in a series from local builder Yamba Welding and Engineering and New Zealand-based Naiad Design, partner companies under Australia-based The Whiskey Project Group.

Sister boats Tuggerah Lakes 21 and Batemans Bay 21 both utilise a split console RIB design developed by Naiad. Marine Rescue NSW selected the "walk-through" layout afforded by the split console design since it created a safer environment for its volunteers. Specifically, crews no longer need to stand or walk along the cabin sides to get around the small deck on each boat, thus reducing the risk of them falling overboard.

The new boats each have a length of 6.3 metres, space for two crewmembers plus additional personnel, and two Suzuki outboard engines that can deliver speeds of up to 38 knots. Operations can be undertaken from inshore waters to as far as seven nautical miles from the coast. The boats are also trailer-transportable, providing an additional option for quick redeployment depending on Marine Rescue NSW requirements.

Both RIBs are fitted with a full Raymarine suite of maritime navigation equipment. Tuggerah Lakes 21 also has additional equipment in the form of a Teledyne FLIR rotating thermal camera. Batemans Bay 21 meanwhile boasts a quick catch launch system that will allow the boat to be quickly launched from a trailer and into the water, thus minimising deployment times as well as ensuring operators' safety.

An additional protective feature on each boat is a wrap-around guardrail to minimise the risk of impact damage on the outboard engines.

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