Tornado SAR 10 RIB

Tornado SAR 10 — Heavy-Duty Rescue Platform

The SAR 10 is the rescue build of the Tornado 10 metre hull. It is specified for crews who launch on a call rather than on a forecast, and it differs from the standard 10 metre where that work makes a difference: in the laminate, in the rating and in the livery.

Epoxy vinylester laminate

The hull of the SAR 10 is laminated in epoxy vinylester. Rescue craft are worked hard and recovered hard: repeated launches, contact alongside other vessels and casualties brought in over the tube, often followed by weeks afloat between calls. The laminate is chosen for impact resistance and for resistance to water ingress over a service life measured in launches rather than in seasons.

Rated for crew and equipment, not for passengers

The SAR 10 is rated for 12 people and a maximum total load of 3400 kg. Fewer seats and a higher load allowance than a passenger-carrying build of the same hull, because a rescue boat carries equipment and recovers people rather than seating them. The working deck is left open for that reason.

Orange, hull and tubes

The SAR 10 is finished in orange on both the hull and the tubes. It is not a styling choice: a rescue craft has to be found from the air, picked out from a bridge wing at distance, and seen against a broken sea by the person it has come for.

Tube construction

Tubes are thermowelded polyurethane in seven independent chambers, 50 cm in diameter. Thermowelding puts the strength in the seam itself rather than in an adhesive line, which matters on a boat that spends its life coming alongside. Anti-slip polyurethane boarding panels run along the top of the tube where crew board, stand and recover, and rubbing strakes and reinforcement are bonded over the tube where contact actually happens.

Dimensions and power

• Overall length 10.0 m, overall beam 3.2 m
• Maximum engine power 600 HP
• Single and twin engine installations, 760 mm and 635 mm shafts
• Maximum tube pressure 22 kPa

Built to the operation

Every SAR 10 is built to order in Peniche, Portugal. Console, seating, deck layout, towing and lifting arrangements and equipment are specified for the operation rather than chosen from a fixed list — the Patrol Console Expedition is one of the configurations available on this hull. Talk to us about what the boat has to do, and the specification follows from that.