Brokerage Sale

10m Ribquest Offshore Rib. Twin Suzuki DF300 Outboards with 240 hours from new. Dry Stacked in Plymouth. Privately owned and recreationally used since new in 2016 by its original owner.

The moment you lay eyes on Endeavour, you know exactly what it’s all about. It uses the same deep-V, multi-chine hull form as the rest of the Ribquest fleet, complete with a high sheer bow, a generous 24-degree deadrise, a modest beam and a broad, virtually taper-free collar, very aptly presented in military-style black. It is also littered with commercial-quality Samson posts, robust tread panels, a foredeck storage hatch that looks like the access point to an underground bank vault, a deep engine well with huge transom braces and a pair of 300hp outboards. And that’s to say nothing of the electronics suite, with two VHFs, two 12″ chartplotters, a RADAR system and an AIS transceiver.

But of course, the most pronounced exponent of Endeavour’s drive for authentic seagoing practicality is the seating and console arrangement. From their base on the Pacific coast of Canada, Shockwave build impact-mitigation equipment for some very serious offshore pursuits – and none more so than their Integrated Control Environment (or ICE) system. The entire console literally floats on a bed of air & provides a huge 16″ range of travel in the vertical axis and around 3 degrees of pitch and roll damping suspension. In fact, with its combination of a strong stainless steel chassis and lightweight aluminium components, it was a unit exactly like this that accompanied Bear Grylls on his 8,000-mile journey through the North-West Passage.

Now you might consider this overkill on a recreational boat, and it probably is – but an all-in-one impact mitigation unit comprising console, helm and seats actually makes a lot of sense. After all, if you’re perched on a damped seat while your hand rests on a wheel and throttle that are smashing their way up and down like schizophrenic jackhammers, your level of control is compromised; and if your dials are doing the same, so is your ability to read and digest data at pace. Plainly, then, the real benefit of the ICE approach (as opposed to the simpler and more affordable seating units) is that your helm controls, your eyes, your bottom and your hands are all damped in unison. The result, once you get used to the fact that you no longer need to brace your feet against the deck, is excellent comfort allied to very clean, accurate and unaffected helming.

Easy Rider

The moment you hit the throttles and get underway, the 10m Ribquest screams out its credentials as a serious offshore RIB. You can stand on the grippy Gatorskin deck at 40 knots, lay a hand on a bar, brace with your thighs and plough happily through some very unpleasant seas without the slightest discomfort or concern.

If the swell-carving softness of this hull in a head sea is much as you would expect, it’s the progressive buoyancy of the bow that comes as a particularly pleasant surprise. To put this attractive trait to the test, just try washing off the speed on the downside of a following swell. Rather than the nose plunging through a thick wedge of green water, the deep forefoot sees it land with graduated softness before lifting high, flinging spare water well wide beneath the big tubes and ploughing on for more.

And at the helm itself, things are even more serene. The wholesale adjustability of the port-side skipper’s station is excellent, with the wheel, the seat, the oblique left-hand chartplotter screen and the angled base for the throttle levers all coming together to put you firmly in control of your environment. And even the visibility is surprisingly good. The windscreen is a flat, single-piece unit with no centre stanchion to get in the way – and a combination of the fat, stabilising tubes and the elevated roof means that, even on the starboard side in a hard turn to the right, the view remains much better than you might expect. Such is its capacity to do its work with unhurried assurance that gives you unconditional and unparalleled protection. Even in a chunky sea or across a lively beam wind, you can pretty much set the throttle and trim, point the nose and sit back while the seascape disappears behind you. A steadfast companion for an extended cruise or even a concerted expedition, it takes some beating.

Verdict

Endeavour really isn’t just a leisure boat in the traditional format. It is essentially a 14-man commercial RIB built to a traditional formula for a man who appears to want the last word in overengineered toughness of fit-out. He got it! Providing one of the most capable offshore cruising Ribs on the planet! Capable of cross channel excursions, in extreme comfort.