The makers of Humber RIBs cut out the middle man and sell their boats directly to customers, who have always consisted largely of divers. Their latest line of no-nonsense craft is the Destroyer (left), which Paul Fenner tested on Humberside, and found to be honest good value
The Destroyer range of RIBs is the latest in a longstanding series of boats built by Humber, the Hull-based inflatables manufacturer. Humber first built 'rubber' boats 30 years ago, and, since they produced their first rigid-hulled model in 1977, classic seagoing models have included the 5.3m Attaque and its slightly beamier sibling, the 5.5m Atlantis. Down the years these and other Humbers have proved popular with divers, both for their dynamic qualities and for Humber's competitive pricing policy in cutting out dealers and selling direct from the yard. Divers have always made up the majority of Humber RIB buyers.
The Destroyer range has, then, something to live up to. Designed by Humber boss Frank Roffe, who has penned nearly all his own boats, the Destroyer line-up consists of seven boats, ranging from 5m to 7m. Like previous Humbers, they are marketed as competitively priced, no-nonsense RIBs of sufficiently strong build. The design ethos of the Destroyer is of a comfortable seagoing boat, with a respectable load-carrying ability. As such, the Destroyer is a development of the small, 4.8m Alpha, which Humber viewed as a particularly successful design in these areas.
Diver visited Humber, on the Hull town shore of the Humber estuary, to see the boats in build and to try out a mid-sized model, the Destroyer 5.8m. First impressions were of a good-looking boat, with a gently rising sheer and generous but not excessive beam. The hull, meanwhile, has been given a very deeply V-ed bow and sections which, like the legendarily handling Attaque, do not flatten out as they run aft from a position just forward of amidships.
The aim is to provide a very well cushioned motion, the slicing bow being complemented by a stern which, if it does go 'light' off a wave, will come back down with a tickle rather than a slap. The constant V-section carried aft also encourages good steering reponses, by allowing the hull to lean keenly into turns.
To overcome the potentially poor planing performance of a well V-ed stern, the boat has a flat keelson which tapers out to give a broad central planing surface in the aft sections. The result, say Humber, is a boat capable of planing comfortably while carrying six kitted divers.
The hull carries a single spray rail each side. These thin into the bow area which carries no extra knuckles so, on occasion, water may bear more heavily up under the tubes. Humber say they are happy with an essentially buoyant bow which, aided by its 48cm (19in) wide tubing, lifts well if buried.
The GRP hulls, of resin and chopped strand matt, are laid up in a temperature-controlled environment. The 5.8's quoted weight of 400kg puts it among heavy RIBs of comparable size and, while we could not drill holes to gauge the boat's substance, pressing and tapping the hull suggested a firm build.
The transom is a substantial slab of 38mm (1.5in) marine ply, encapsulated in glass, while the deck is of 19mm (0.75in) marine ply, again glass-encased with a moulded-in non-slip finish. Non-slip paint is usually grippier once wetted.
A drainage well is fitted aft, complete with a plugged drainhole for any water that finds its way into the cavity between hull and deck.
Within this cavity are two wooden longitudinal stringers bonded in, which support the deck and help stiffen the hull. Humber eschew sectional floor support pieces on the grounds that a substantial hull lay-up and strong deck make them unnecessary for hull rigidity or deck support. The tubes, which looked fair, are fabricated by Humber from well proven neoprene/Hypalon material. A thickness of 1100 dernier is applied to all Humber boats, from the smallest to the largest. Humber claim to shape the tubes accurately to fit the shape (including sheer) of the hull. They explained, too, how they use the tubing material, whose weave is more stretch-resistant in one direction than the other, to ensure that minimum stretching occurs in the finished article.
The tubes are taped inside and out, and bonded to a substantial, flat-sectioned hull flange of about 10cm in width. Hypalon taping is bonded over all joins between tubes, hull, deck and transom. The external package is completed by a 10cm-wide rubbing strake, two rubber grab handles-cum-cleats each side, and looped lifelines of rope and tubing.
The single-seat steering console features front-accessed cuddy stowage space including battery shelf, and a protective windscreen, behind which lies a flat, sloping surface of generous acreage for instruments. Optional fuel tanks fit under the seat.
Steering lines and electrics lead aft, fastened up under the tubing. This is acceptable, as long as they stay put, but they do need the GRP conduit, listed as an extra, which protects them from errant boots where they run across the deck to the base of the console.
As a demonstration craft intended to look its best, our test boat was fitted with many extras, including non-standard yellow tubing topped by black anti-chafe padding, a black interior, Treadmaster non-slip, A-frame with navigation lights, internal lifelines and deck toestraps, bottle rack, and an anchor locker plus rubber fairlead-cum-jamcleat bonded on over the bow.
Out on the water, the boat certainly looked a treat. Unfortunately, calm conditions in the Humber estuary stymied any chance to see how the boat would go in a seaway. Similarly, its ability to plane flat and fast, laden two up and driven by an outrageously powerful 150hp Yamaha outboard, was never in doubt.
Our blast did, though, highlight two features with implications for seagoing behaviour. The first was the boat's steering response, which was clearly good. At sea this will have obvious advantages for a cox'n easing the boat over, and sometimes along, awkward waves using throttle and steering in unison.
Second was the hull's ability to grip the water like a limpet without 'hopping' uncomfortably sideways. Muscled gut-wrenchingly into a turn at 40 knots-plus, the boat, without a hint of 'skid-grip-hop-skid', leaned on its inside tube and generated a steady G-force such that your reviewer, riding pillion at this point, mused over hanging on long enough to avoid being catapulted out.
Clearly a cox'n taxiing divers out to a wreck is not going to be driving in curves, let alone in the manner of Damon Hill. Dependable hull grip does, though, indicate that, running before an awkward following sea, the boat is more likely to obey the cox'n's commands than slew about like a wild horse, alternately sliding and digging in.
Close-to manoeuvring was completed in a fashion similar to that displayed by RIBs generally, with three-point turning and mooring alongside completed easily by coordinated use of steering and engine.
While our opportunity for testing was limited, our overall impression was of a boat that should display no obvious vices and which may, on the contrary, prove a notable seagoing vessel. Humber claim it is the best-handling RIB they've ever built.
Humber are the first to admit that, in early years, their boats could be fragile and suffered failures. But they also maintain that, through trial and error, they have developed in more recent times a capacity for building strong, durable boats. The Destroyer 5.8m appears an honest craft. In standard spec it is a simple boat, keenly priced, but appears strongly built of dependable materials in the important areas of hull and tube construction. The 5.8m and other Destroyers should find their way at least on to the short lists of diving clubs looking for an effective, no-nonsense boat representing good value for money. But then divers are - and always have been - Humber's most valued customers.
Standard specification includes: Orange hull, tubes and interior; single-seat console with heavy-duty steering linkage; moulded-in non-slip; rubber grips-cum-cleats fore and aft; external lopped lifelines; bow U-bolt; pump and maintenance/repair kit.
Options include: Package deals with Yamaha outboards and Indespension trailers; bottle racks; A-frames; nav/search lights; chain locker; rubber bow fairlead; deck toe-straps; internal lifelines; front/side console grabrails; steering linkage/electrics deck conduit; metal or plastic fuel tanks; assorted engine/fuel system and navigation products.
Humber Fabrications (Hull) Ltd, 246 Wincolmlee, Hull HU2 OPZ (tel. 01482 226100; fax 215884).
A simple, keenly priced, dependable RIB .