Yes I know, everyone's ears prick up when a good deal is on offer, but the crucial factor in deciding if such a package represents "a deal" worthy of relieving you of your cash, is whether or not the basic price has necessitated a compromise in the overall quality of build.

With such thoughts uppermost in mind, I found myself amidst the flurry of a fresh mid-summer's afternoon upon the River Hamble armed with camera, dictaphone, and a hunch that this outing would not lead to disappointment. For here, albeit only temporarily perhaps, I was relieved of the trappings of the RIB International offices, and was free to enjoy my surround­ings as well as review of course, the new BWM Wide Body DeepSea 21. I say new, because although the DeepSea range has been around for some time, this latest addition to the stable possesses several fundamental modifications to those of it's predecessors but more of that in a moment.

First impressions: Well, the Deep Sea 21 possesses a chunky look about her, perhaps spiced with a hint of European influence being reflected in her rounded sponson ends. Her bright orange and black livery coupled with the full width console and jockey seating, give the impression that her design has a strong commercial influence. This type of concept is now proving most popular with the new wave of RIB cruisers, who have adopted the style as their optimum means for long. distance travel.

Upon stepping aboard, her stability at rest gave a secure feeling. Sponsons raised high above the waterline are all well and good at speed, but are of little use, if any at all, when the craft is off the plane or at rest. Therefore, I liked the feel of walking about this boat, it possessed that characteristic lack of movement under foot, which says RIB and nothing else. Initially there wasn’t much time to get a close look at things, for as soon as I had found my sea legs, we were very much under way and beating up the Solent at a stiff 30 knots with the tide producing a short, steep and uncomfortable sea. Nevertheless, she handled the conditions in capable fashion and no matter how ugly the wave, or deep the trough, her movements even at this speed, held no surprises.

This is an important factor in assessing a craft which is clearly designed with off-shore applications in mind. There is nothing worse than driving a boat which is unpredictable in her movements, for the sea is a fickle environment even at the best of times. Therefore, predictability as to how your RIB will handle under different circumstances is an invaluable aid to successful passage making.

The 23 gallon fuel tank situated in the forward locker of the console, undoubtedly contributes to the RIB's well balanced performance. Hence, with a level trim, she maintained an excellent angle of attack to the oncoming sea, and again, the four seating pods situated just aft of the central point of balance, contributed to the level ride.

Its worth mentioning at this point, that although the last two years have seen a growing number of manufacturers designing RIBS with their main seating arrangement well aft, though this may look very stylish, it can often lead to a wet ride and a stern heavy boat that performs badly in difficult head seas. Moderation then, and an avoidance of extremes, probably bodes well for successful boat design.

Alas, a blocked fuel line drew a temporary halt to the proceedings, but despite this unfortunate occurrence, I was most impressed by the way the Johnson 150 sounded a loud alarm to alert us to fuel starva­tion. As most breakdowns at sea are fuel related, I thought this to be a most practical and helpful facility in alerting one to this approach to matters afloat this day, we were soon underway again, but this time with myself at the helm.

The hydraulic steering assembly made light work of handling the large V6 engine, and in all the usual twists and turns, the hull continued to give no unsavoury surprises, with plenty of grip on the water when required. Running down wind, I was able to get a feel of the performance produced by the new high-lift "anti-stuff' bow. This particular aspect of the hull features a unique reverse chine that lifts the bow in a following sea. Coupled with a steady sheer, the thinking behind this innovative design is to make stuffing the boat virtually impossible.

Based upon her perform­ance this particular day, I would say that the boat's designers have got their calculations right, indeed, the deep-V variable dead rise to the hull not only gave a comfortable ride, but a dry one also. Presumably also, the slightly flatter aft sections to the hull, quite noticeable when the boat is up on the trailer, will encourage lift and stability, and also assist in maintaining a good service speed when the boat is heavily laden; an important factor to consider when carrying heavy diving gear etc.

The pay load of this particular craft is 3,080 pounds, or 1,400 kg, which basically equates to twelve divers plus equipment and helmsman. Being a nice beamy boat of 2.6 metres overall, there's plenty of internal deck space, even with the four side by side seating pods. Plus although ideally suited to the rigours of diving or offshore cruising, she is not just a work horse either. Swinging a 22 inch prop, the 150 hp V6 with two people up clocked a good fifty miles an hour, and once again even with the throttle hard down, she didn't become flighty.

All manufacturers like to think their craft give a soft ride, and indeed the BWM range in general are known for this. However, despite the Wide Body being less of a deep-V than other BWM models, I would describe this particular boat as providing a comfortably level ride with excellent stability, both at speed and off the plane.

We asked the question, "has quality been sacrificed for market price?" Well, although this boat possessed no frills as such, the straightforward no ­nonsense design suggested basic strength and gave a well found appearance. The GRP hull is genuinely hand-built, with two full length stringers running fore and aft, plus two central plywood GRP encapsulated keel sections run the entire length of the boat offering further strength and rigidity. A mixture of woven rovings and chopped strand matt with heavy re-enforcing around all structural points is used to produce what the builders claim to be virtually an indestructible hull. Indeed, above all else, strength in this most fundamen­tal area is vital for a well found RIB for it's astonishing what these craft are expected to take in the way of punishment.

On our return to the Hamble, we lessened the pace and allowed the boat to drop off the plane. By now I had a feel for things, and had a good opportunity to take a closer look at the various aspects of the craft. Several things appealed, for instance, the double A-frame, finished in black paint, balanced the overall appearance of the boat. This was sturdily made and perfectly capable of supporting all the usual equipment. It was good to see that all cabling from the helm position right out to the engine had been routed under deck - a very sensible idea, as long as the trunking is of a good size to allow for any extra to be run if required at a later date.

Although the A-frame was finished in black, the remaining metal work, i.e. to the back rests, and the grab rail above the curved windscreen, was all stainless steel. My only comment here was that some of the stainless fixing points were a little unsightly. The rounding of these small sections would perhaps improve the overall internal feel, and though it's only a minor matter, little touches add a great deal.

The seating pods were set at a comfortable height with wide swabs providing good cushioning and support for one's rear end. In fact, it was nice to see the boat had not solely been designed with long legged burly divers in view, for even the positioning of the wheel and throttle showed clearly that you didn't require the arms of an orangutan to reach them. Such aspects may seem unimportant at first, but if it is to be a family boat, it's important that all can sit and drive comfortably without arm strain or difficulties caused through bad posture.

Although the full width steering console provides substantial locker and storage facility, the seating pods themselves have their usefulness optimized by the fact that the seat tops were hinged and allowed access to internal storage compartments. Whilst this was a useful feature, I felt these lacked a means to secure them. The hinges were reasonably lightweight, and without being able to stop the seat top from jumping open, undue strain could be placed on the hinges themselves, not to mention the obvious nuisance of exposing a dry locker to the elements.

Heavy-D fendering around the entire boat provides good protection to the hypalon sponsons and it was good to see a sensible fairlead had been incorporated to the top point of the bow. Without this facility, anchor warps and mooring lines will always slip to one side of the bow or the other, which in turn causes problems if you wish to lie dead on to wind or sea.

So there you are, for a good honest boat with an impressive hull that would lend itself to any manner of applica­tions, complete with this 150hp power pack, the BWM Deep Sea 21 represents tremendous value for money. Well worth investi­gating if you are in the business of endeavouring to acquire six and a half metres of Rigid Inflatable Boat at an affordable price.

HMS