A RIB boat powered by Volvo Penta’s new diesel engines has broken the speed record between Australia and New Zealand. It took the boat slightly more than 40 hours to cover the 1,275 nautical miles.
The team behind the speed record is the Swashbucklers Flying Pirate crew from New Zealand led by the legendary Ginger Gibbs, who in his long seafaring career has crossed the Tasman Sea more than 200 times.
The record was set on the stretch of water between the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge and Auckland Harbour Bridge – a total of 1,275 nautical miles.
The new record - 40 hours, 31 minutes and 26 seconds - was set in a newly built 12.5 meter Rayglass RIB boat with a top speed of 52 knots. The boat is equipped with a twin installation of Volvo Penta D6-350 diesel engines.
The 350-hp diesel engines, featuring the new high-speed DPR drive, were launched in 2004 and boosted marine diesel engines to a totally new level in terms of performance, comfort and environmental features.
The D6-350 has rapidly become a major sales success worldwide to leisure boats and to boats in commercial traffic, for example, high-speed patrol boats.
