Nov 22

Nov 22 Airship RIBS Combine Utility and Performance as Single Outboards

Airship RIBs of Vermillion Ohio is making some of the coolest performance single engine center consoles on the market. They make a twin engine models too, but the 288 and 310 models perform with big singles and really define what the company is all about. With a racing pedigree, the 3 owners, Jim Dyke, Steve Neeley, and Dominic Visconsi, Jr, sought out to make performance RIBS that were cutting edge in design and materials, but also offered incredible value to the customer. Let’s look at a couple recent builds and see why they are the coolest RIBs on the market.

With the optional T top, the 310 is a great day boat and family hauler, ready for the ocean or big water lake. The single makes it economical and easy to operate.

RIBs in America are not as popular as in Europe for some reason but nevertheless, Airship saw an opportunity using an offshore hull design, narrow beam, light materials and building a sleek modern RIB. In my opinion, the details really set Airship apart. For one, most CC boats have a very poor helm design, where you have a leaning post or seats that make accessing the controls and steering a bad experience with poor ergonomics. Airship boats have dual bolster seats that are comfortable and secure for rough water, placed with the driver in mind. Manual or power dropouts are optional, with a full integrated rear bench.

You get mechanical bolsters, power or you can get 2+2 race style seats.

For the hull, the 288 and 310 share a 24 degree twin step design with a 8’6” beam at the boats widest. You have a 12” tube diameter, tapered towards the bow and a weight of approximately 2,500 lbs without power, and about 300 lbs more for the 310, which is a stretched 288. Constructed with Divinycell foam core, hulls are vinyl ester resin infused E glass. Meticulous details, beautifully put together, Airships are stunning in person.

With 15” built in setback, Airship has been using a 6” jack plate with single 450Rs.

You can get white, black, gray and blue as standard colors. Of course, custom color gel and tubes are optional. Add a rear arch with a ski tow, a T top, samson post, wrap around front seating and tons of storage. I love closed deck sport boats but if you have a family and still crave performance, the Airships are incredibly practical.

This black 310 is finished with red interior and lots of options. This will do about 78 MPH.

Airships are designed with rough water in mind, you can tell by the 24 degree deadrise, and although they aren’t as concerned with a big top speed number in how they set them up, a 310 with a 450R can run about 78 MPH, setup conservatively. And a 288 with a 300 Verado can just about get to 70 MPH. A 288 has yet to be equipped with a 300R but I think you could crack 70 MPH with one setup right. Some customers are using these as tenders, which is a nice tax bracket to be in. You can get the 310 with twins up to 200 HP. I personally like the big single option. I’d probably do a 288 with a 300R and a torque master case. If I was taking the 310, I’d go with a 400R.

Even though sport boats are my favorite, I admit that a RIB CC design like the Airship is really compelling for many people. They are almost like a sport utility on the water, but one that doesn’t compromise on performance.

Airshipribs.com can be contacted directly.