Osprey RIBs have been a brand responsible for pioneering much of the use of RIBs as leisure and sporting craft in recent times.

Back in the late eighties, the company’s range of high performance RIBs won countless endurance race titles that afforded the Osprey hull with the recognition of being a very capable offshore design. Osprey were also one of the first manufacturers to incorporate a fibreglass bow to many of their designs - an addition that proved most effective in difficult head seas as it had the ability to punch through a sea and provide greater rigidity and strength to the boat’s hull/sponson make up. A deep vee hull design was, and still is, common to all the models in the range. Typically, Osprey hulls feature full-length spray rails which help generate a high degree of lift as well as a dry ride for the boat’s occupants. The deep-vee design employed on the these boats also produces a notably soft ride due in no small measure to the fact these boats run very true and therefore tend not to fall on the flat of their chine even in beam seas. Today, the company primarily market the Viper range and though these craft possess all the essential elements of their forebears, the current versions of these models boast many of the modifications and refinements one would expect from a forward thinking boat builder. These include new seating modules and internal fittings to compliment Osprey’s well-proven, traditional hull designs. The 6.5 metre Viper Max has proved itself as a good ‘pocket’ cruiser, being a craft to have successfully completed many long distance voyages in the hands of the Osprey company personnel, amongst others. Perhaps this is another reason why these RIBs are such good sea boats. The fact that the people building and selling the boats are themselves experienced ribsters, ensures a real understanding of what is required of a sea-going RIB. The results of this enthusiasm and experience are, of course, passed on to prospective owners who quickly appreciate they possess a very sound, capable craft which is able to undertake a wide variety of tasks from diving to sports and even commercial duties. The UK sales team, based in the West Midlands, is well known in the industry for being helpful, knowledgeable and showing an encouraging degree of customer care. The 6.5 metre model featured in our example specification box is one of the best selling models in the range and forms the backbone of much of the company’s activities in the UK market. Many of the larger, more specialist models have found favour with a good proportion of buyers in the Benelux countries.

HMS