Lyttelton Port of Christchurch (LPC) took delivery of their new utility boat for Te Ana Marina. a 5.6m Invincible RIB manufactured by Fi-Glass Boats, and powered by a 90hp Mercury SeaPro Outboard. Lyttelton Port Company recently completed construction and opened Te Ana marina at Lyttelton which has substantially improved the standard of marina facilities for Cantabrians, and other visiting boaties.

The next step was to purchase an all-purpose boat for various marina duties. In selecting their boat, LPC wanted something versatile, and wanted to be involved in the design and layout. Te Ana Marina Business Manager Matt Blythe says "We first approached FiGlass because of their reputation for building quality boats over many years. We didn't realise at the time that they had been building for 60 years! We quickly saw that Griff and his production team understood what we needed, and it was great to be involved in the specific design elements and end up with something semi-bespoke".

While more well known for their range of popular family cabin boats, Fi-Glass were happy to adapt one of their Invincible RIB'S for this commercial application. Fi-Glass Boats Managing Director Griff Simpson says…”When Matt from LPC approached us and outlined the type of boat they were looking for, I knew that our Invincible RIB would be a perfect fit. It is robust enough to be a decent work horse, but still quick and nimble when it needs to be”. This is the first one we have made for a commercial application and we do intend to build them more regularly as they have a wide variety of uses and appeal to both private and commercial users”.

The Invincible RIB uses the popular FiGlass Dominator hull, and with over 3000 Dominator's built, the hull has a proven track record. Matt says that the 5.6m RIB (named 'Te Ana' after the Marina it serves) will be used for a wide variety of applications. From rescue missions, welcoming new arrivals to the marina, on-water inspections, moving large boats and general marina maintenance, overall it will allow us to provide a more complete service to customers. Matt commented "With 5 guys on board we were very impressed with the ride, and the quietness of both the hull and he outboard - perhaps we need another one!”

Pacific Powerboat January/February 2019

Fi Glass 5.6 RIB Versatile Performer