The Hoult Spirited 480 project in Tasmania is getting close to launch with the painting now complete. Michael Hoult has reported that he is very pleased with the result and the paintwork is first-class. The target date for launch is March/April next year and we can't wait to see the first of this design on the water. Both inside and outside have been sprayed in high quality 2 pack polyurethane to a very high standard. The next exciting task is to install the deck hardware and fittings followed by the windows. Michael expressed that his enthusiasm is at an all-time high now that all the sanding is done! 

We will keep everyone informed of any future progress that comes to hand.

A client in WA has engaged us to customize this design to suit his particular requirements. He requested to build this boat using Polyethylene plastic sheet. Being considerably heavier than the standard Duflex material usually used for this design, the hulls needed to be re-designed to allow for the new material.

The new hulls will carry this boat boat well with no sacrifice to freeboard or bridgeck clearance. The PE plastic sheet is welded together and has the advantage of not requiring fairing or painting, the material is supplied pre-coloured. PE has now been used extensivley in boatbuilding and has proven itself as a strong, tough and durable material. A local PE boatbuilding company will be carrying out this project for the client. The boat will be powered with an electric propulsion system and set up for extended cruising. 

For anyone interested in this design, click here for more info. 

We will keep you informed as to the progress of this interesting project.

We visited this project recently, the owner has been busy working on some of the fiddly time-consuming jobs like making his own integral fuel tanks, installing the composite hatch gutters and fitting his holding tanks to name just a few. They say that 'the devil is in the detail' and this is usually true although it is what makes the difference at the end.

All plumbing and electrical routing has already been installed and planned out. The builder has also fitted his daggerboard cases and finished most of the cockpit fit-out. Part of the custom design done for him was a stylish cabinet across the aft saloon bulkhead with moulded covers above this to hide the steering gear and instrumentation from the helm station directly behind. Below the helm station is where the genset will be housed and all access hatches/lockers into this area have been fitted with drainage gutters. All service routing has also been allowed for in this area.

For information on the Spirited 480 design, please click here

A new and interesting project underway is a customised 4.2m Ripple design. We are building this boat for a client who requires the boat wheelchair accessible. It will have a custom side access door on the Port side where the loading ramp will be positioned.

The wet-deck will be contiuous except for a Starboard side steering console well as seen on the 4.2m Ripples built in Hervey Bay. This boat is built using the Duflex foam (Divinycell) kit for extra weight saving and it will be craned and stowed on the roof of the mothership in a cradle. Fitted with beaching wheels, lift fittings, bollards, fender strip and some other extras. We will keep you informed of progress with this project as we go. 

For more on the 4.2m Ripple design please click here

We had another opportunity to test out the 3.6m Ripple recently built. Firstly we took some photos of the boat with a single passenger. The boat was powered with the same engine as previously trialled, a 9.9hp Tohatsu 2 stroke. With ideal conditions the boat planed easily and was very responsive. Handling was good and the ride very comfortable. 

Following this we loaded up the boat with supplies and went out for the afternoon, 2 adults and 2 kids. The boat was very comfortable even through the middle of the bay with some confused chop. The twin hulls cut through smoothly and delivered a level ride, there was no bouncing or hobby-horsing as often experienced on a monhull design. Being relatively light-weight the boat runs well just on the plane for a more efficient cruising speed. Sneaking along the shore-line the boat is still efficient at these low speeds. As reported before the boat was comfortable in size at anchor for lunch and a fish.

As a day boat, the Ripple proved itself as an ideal design with excellent performance, stability and ergonomics.

The excited owners Peter and Clara Joyce, launched their Spirited 230 last week. Aptly named "Jigsaw", they have done a beautiful job of the finish and should be congratulated. This boat has been built to serve as a ferry to and from Moreton Island. The interior has been customised to suit this purpose. They are delighted with the performace and have reported:

"The  boat performed very well, even got on the plane on one motor. cruises comfortably at 22 knots with a top speed of 27 knots. We launched in Pumicestone Passage and cruised out against 20 knot south easterly winds with 1 metre chop. Ride was very comfortable. Peter & I are very pleased with her and we are planning on a few more trips across the bay."

This boat is powered with twin 50hp outboards and built from the Duflex balsa kit. For more on this design click here...

Shipping a tender of this size to the other side of the world requires some planning. There are certain restrictions concerning the packing. If using timber to costruct the frame for the crate, it must be graded for this purpose to comply with the customs inspections. The crate for this boat has been made from alluminium which cannot harbour grubs or insects etc. Special care has been taken with how the boat is supported and held inside the crate to avoid any damage. It will now be cladded prior to pick up.

We built this 3.6m Ripple from a Gaboon plywood kit and had the opportunity to do some sea-trials in the boat. This is a widened version of the standard design, the same as previously built for a client in Duflex foam. The extra beam provides for good space internally and additional stability.

The outboard used for the sea-trials was a 9.9hp Tohatsu which powered this boat well. The boat jumps straight onto the plane very quickly and performs efficiently at half or full throttle. The sea conditions were quite choppy at the time of trials and the boat had a comfortable ride for this sized boat with 2 adults. The twin hulls offered good support and held the boat considerably stable side to side while on the plane through the chop. We found that the engine tilt optimised performance when adjusted to a more vertical position (moving the leg aft) and eliminated any prop cavitation. This also improved the ride by lifting the nose and kept the boat drier.

The boat is lively, very responsive and rides high in the water. Even with 2 adults and 2 kids aboard, the boat planed easily with the extra weight settling the motion in the choppy conditions. 

A 15hp engine would have provided good extra top speed and the extra power would be useful for recreational activities like towing kids on tubes etc. We also had the opportunity to trial the boat for a day out fishing. We had 2 adults and two kids aboard and found that this size was extremely user-friendly with plenty of space for this number of people. The stability at rest was impressive even with all passengers on one side.

Ergonomically the internal space worked well and was comfortable. The bridgedeck proved useful for cutting bait or preparing lunch (opposite ends!) or stretching out for a snooze. As with larger catamarans we found that drinks stayed put even with some chop about. As reported from Brian in Tassie, the front locker remained dry and kept a surprising amount of gear out of the way. The boat also rowed well considering it is not a displacement hull in this configuration. The 2 rowing positions gave the flexibility to move the crew around to keep the boat trimmed. 

This boat weighed in at 67kg's which is quite respectable and can be lifted by two adults. 

This project is for a client who is awaiting the delivery of his brand new catamaran in La Rochelle France. After much research he decided that the 3.2m Ripple was the best tender for his new boat. He considered buying just the kit and having it built in Europe however the cost was more economical getting the boat factory built from us and shipping the completed boat.

It is testiment to the Ripple design that this client has ordered his tender from half way across the globe. Another benifit to having this boat built rather than buying a production tender was catering to his custom requirements. These included specific positioning of his lifting fittings, rubber fendering, in-built fuel tank and beaching wheels. The client had the wheels sent specially from Germany because he had had previous experience with this particular brand. The boat was built from the Duflex foam kit and weighs only 47kg's, another selling point to this design.

The simple and precise assembly of these kits keeps the build hours down to remain competetively priced in the market place if compared to production boats. This boat will be packed inside a custom-made crate to be shipped over to Europe. 

For more information on our tender range, click here.