Taking The XP80 For a Test Drive

One of the most satisfying things as a designer is the moment in which a project you’ve spent months working on finally materialises and you get to experience all that hard work, in person, for the first time. Well, we were treated to something particularly special back in July when we had the fantastic opportunity to take the XP80, (a first-of-its-kind, multi-functional adventure RIB that we helped design in collaboration with Ballistic RIBs) for a spin on the UK’s southern coast.

Check out the XP80 project page here for more background.

Patrick and I drove down to the small village of Little Itchenor, home to Ballistic RIB’s new headquarters: the historical shipyard Northshore – a picturesque, multi-faceted site that offers a wide-range of nautical based services, from yacht building and repairs to brokerage sales and even a bespoke metal manufacturer.

We were given a brief tour around the site and then taken down the jetty to see the XP80 in person for the very first time. We were particularly fortunate with the weather that day and were even able to rock shorts and t-shirts to take her out on the water!

Jumping on board for the first time, we both were struck with how similar she was to our final set of rendered visuals and technical drawings. All the onboard elements seemed to share a unified and streamlined design language, with all the sharp angular lines mirroring that which we had sketched out at the very start of the project.

We were also impressed with the quality of the craftmanship and sheer number of small – but not insignificant – manufacturing details that the yacht builders had seamlessly blended into the design. From the stitching of the seats to the recessed cup holders & integrated speaker system – the fine attention to detail and craftmanship really shone through.

Although we weren’t allowed to pilot her, (as neither of us have a valid boating license!) we got to take it in turns up front as the designated co-pilot and even got to sit up front in the “suicide seat” – an exhilarating and hair-raising experience when riding at a higher rate of knots!

The ride remained incredibly smooth and consistent however, considering how “top-heavy” she might look at first glance. Jonny, the founder of JBT Marine Ltd, explained to us that this was largely down to a combination of the aerodynamic properties of the T-Top (the angled roof), the extended transom (the rear vertical portion of the boat), and JBT’s trademark hull. This all results in a RIB that rides even better than an identical length boat – without all the extra additions!

After a short excursion on the water, we pulled into the nearby Chichester Marina to grab a bite to eat at the fabulous Boat House restaurant before returning up the estuary to Northshore.

All in all it was a fantastic experience and we would like to thank Ricky of Pickled Egg Media and Jonny of Ballistic RIBS for their time and hospitality!