Collection Gift Guide: It’s Swellegant
December 2, 2003
Ribcraft Mitigator
In February 2002, Ribcraft, a small boatbuilding company
based in Marblehead, Mass., decided to do a little product research. President
Brian Gray and marketing director Matthew Velluto loaded up a competitor’s
22-foot rigid inflatable boat (RIB) with sandwiches, Snickers bars, and safety
gear, and set out from Fort Lauderdale for the lower Exumas. For almost three
full days the pair blasted the rubber-collared boat 321 miles through constant
chop and heavy seas. It was not a pleasant experience. “By the end of the trip,
we were exhausted and bruised,” Gray recalls. “We knew there had to be a better
way.”
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The Mitigator’s console, inset, serves as a panel for controls and gauges, but
is also designed to shield passengers from the ocean’s spray. (Click image to enlarge)The boat itself wasn’t to blame. All RIBs are ideally suited for rough conditions, with air-filled sponsons designed like giant shock absorbers to cushion the boat’s hull as it crashes down onto the water’s surface. No, it was the RIB’s ergonomics—or lack thereof—that caused the sailors’ suffering. “Picture the scene,” says Velluto. “I’m trying to control the throttle with one hand and the helm with the other while being tossed in every direction. The wind is fierce and constant. The only way I can communicate with Brian is to put my face about eight inches away and scream at the top of my lungs.”
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At rest in the harbor, the Mitigator appears almost innocuous. When slicing
through the chop of the ocean, though, it lives up to its name. (Click image to enlarge)Back at homebase, Gray assembled a dream team of boatbuilders, a naval architect, and a Swedish doctor who specializes in performance boat–related back and neck injuries. Together, they addressed every one of their competitor’s shortcomings. Five months later, the Mitigator was born.
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