Hard Times
When is a RIB not a RIB? When it has hard sponsons of course. Simon Everett reports on the Menai 540RTB.
Menai
Marine is based on the pretty stretch of water know as the Menai
Strait in Caernarfon. It’s in this enviable position within the
sheltered harbour that they put together a range of useful,
practical little boats in their waterside workshop. One of these is
the Menai 540RTB, a RIB built entirely from GRP - and that includes
the sponsons.
The 540’s hull carries the beam well forward into a wide, heavily flared bow that is almost cathedral-like in appearance. This provides enormous wave protection and makes the foredeck area that much greater. It is immediately noticeable how much more room there is forward of the console, and it’s a great feature because in a small boat, every inch counts.
In South Africa they recover these things by charging back through the surf and running up the beach at 25 knots - they need to be tough
The flare of the bow also gives enviable wave riding lift and spray deflection for a dry ride. The bow wave and spray is either deflected down or thrown well wide of the boat. Unlike many small RIBs the Menai has a solid foredeck too, with a pulpit rail, stemhead roller and Samson post. A proper chain locker (as on conventional hard boats) provides dedicated stowage for your anchor, ground tackle and plenty of warp.
But what makes this compact boat so different is obviously the use of rigid sponsons. The tubes are moulded with the hull and deck like a huge, curved gunwale rail. The two halves are then sealed, giving a greater bonded area than on a conventional boat as the joint is on both inner and outer mating surfaces.
With these rigid tubes coupled to a really substantial stringer system, you increase the strength and rigidity of a small boat by a very noticeable margin. The Menai is a rock solid craft with no signs of flex at all. But when you see what these boats are designed to cope with you can understand the reasoning behind build principles of this kind.
The Menai 540HR has its origins on the surf beaches of Natal in South Africa. Here, they launch their boats through the surf and to cope with that the rigid sponsons are designed to provide big flotation and rigidity while negating the possibility of having a tube torn off in the pounding waves.
These boats are used for fishing outside the surf zone and to recover them they charge back through the surf and run right up the beach at about 25 knots, cutting the motor at the very last moment. That means a really tough life for any boat and only a well-built craft could possibly stand up to it. Will you put yours through the same mill?
To make best use of the available space on board the sponsons are used for locker space. Hinged lids sitting on rubber seals reveal useful, gelcoated boxes that can be used for bait wells, fish holds, picnic boxes or stowing ropes. The air void below acts as a useful insulator too so if you stick some ice in there they will do a good job of keeping fish fresh or wine cool. The lids are held down by buckle fasteners and can be secured with small padlocks.
The console is fairly basic, as most are on boats of this size. There is a jump seat on the windy side with a padded backrest, but no handrail. The forward hinged squab provides entry to the interior of the console with further access to the lifting, single jockey helm seat.
This is where the fuel tanks are carried and the electrics are housed. The wiring loom is carried in a conduit, but the end is not sealed and could do with some kind of protection from water or damp ingress. There is also room inside the console to put a small bag if you needed to take a change of clothes or swimming towels and loads of room for extra wiring.
But the facia of the console really is very small. The wheel takes up most of the space and the throttle control is mounted on the side. Within the confines of the low, tinted, flush-mounted screen there would be little room for extras once the engine gauges are fitted. And while the flat shelf could be used for mounting new kit, a chartplotter or GPS unit would obscure the facia and gauges. It is an area that requires some thought, as flush mounting the electronics would make them unreadable.
With these rigid tubes coupled to a really substantial stringer system, you increase the strength and rigidity of a small boat by a very noticeable margin
The aft box seat is also used as a locker box and is fully moulded to be waterproof. The swinging backrest allows you to sit and face either end but the seat is only wide enough to allow one adult to sit in comfort.
The battery is housed in the aft box seat, where it is safe from saltwater. The wiring runs across the aft deck in a conduit but it could all do with a bit of tidying up. I have been assured that this boat was not fully finished and that on a customer’s boat, the wiring would be properly tidied up.
The stainless steel A-frame is substantial and provides a high mounting for the riding light, giving good visibility of the boat to other vessels. On the end of the sponsons there are steps moulded in as swimming or water access steps, and that’s a neat trick as it overcomes the problem of protruding tube tails. The steps have an effective non-slip covering and the A-frame provides good handholds when negotiating the transom.
On the test boat a Mercury 90 was fitted, and set up like this she sits with her tubes just touching the water. Her poise is good and the power even on the 90 has her nipping along at 39.4mph with two adults aboard. Given the 130hp that the boat could handle she would be a real flyer.
For a small boat the ride is surprisingly soft. The rigid tubes provide support in turns, just like their soft counterparts, but there is none of the flapping or vibrating associated with inflatable sponsons. The rigid nature of the buoyancy chambers also makes the whole boat stiffer without making the ride harsh. The soft bow pushes her up gently and keeps everything dry and in order, just as the designers intended.
In her South African homeland the surf they launch through often breaks over the bow so the free-draining deck sheds water very quickly, the sponsons providing the stability required until the boat is dry.
Soft tubes are vulnerable to the big hooks used for big game fishing and also to being damaged by the power of the waves. Having solid tubes integrated into the hull and deck makes for a strong, safe, puncture-proof boat. It makes sense.
This boat is a break from the UK norm and in my book at least, it’s a welcome one. For a practical boat that will stand up to hard knocks, give a stable and exhilarating ride with a bigger engine, and go gentle on the pocket, the Menai 540HR is rather unique.
| For |
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| Against |
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| Specification | |
| LOA | 5.4m |
| Beam external | 2.2m |
| Beam internal | 1.26m |
| Weight | 505kg |
| Max power | 135hp |
| CE category | C |
| People capacity | Five |
| Package price (for 90hp Suzuki on braked roller trailer): £14,906 (including VAT) | |
Contact Menai Marine, Victoria Dock Slipway, Balaclava Road, Caernarfon Gwynedd LL55 1SR Tel/Fax: 01286 677445 www.menaimarine.biz |
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15 January 2007