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Now RIBs can tow the line
16 Jun 2008
The system gives the multipurpose and adaptable RIB one major function that it lacks so far - the ability to tow other vessels.
It makes such an efficient rescue machine from an RIB that Mr Leeuwenburgh can see the unit being widely adopted by many smaller waterways and harbours, where space is at a premium but the need to respond to vessels in trouble remains, getting them back to safety (and out of the way of other boats) quickly and efficiently.
At the show he demonstrated the way a 60hp RIB, weighing only 400kg, can pull as much as 15 to 20 tonnes, even with the line at a divergence from the boat. 'It is all down to the way the force from the towing line is centred around the pinion of the propeller' he explains.
Read more in Maritime Journal.
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