Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab RIB
The Sea Legs Semi Cab has been developed on a recently designed new hull that fits between two very successful sizes. The Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab is an advancement on the centre console Utility cockpit layout, which has resulted in a more robust day boat design.
HAMMER DOWN
Text & Images by Richard Milner
At first glance, the cockpit has been widened across both the port and starboard tubes. It cuts off the access forward, which for some users might be somewhat restrictive. The Semi Cab design is entirely enclosed, and it has an extra-large windscreen that is relatively short. It looks very substantial and has a certain ruggedness about it.
At this point, I must confess I am tired of taking boats out that are designed to perform at their best in moderate to rough water only to find our test day conditions present calm, pristine waters. Some might say we plan it, but it was simply the day we could all find an excuse to take this new design out and put it through its paces. We decided to test the Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab in the same waters off Takapuna as the centre console version we trialled in September 2020.
EASY ENTRY
It is always a pleasure, and I can’t stress enough how nice it is for everyone to get on the boat dry. Takapuna ramp is one of the better ramps in Auckland, but we all know it’s nigh on impossible unless it’s a slack full tide with no other boats and no wind to get onboard without someone getting wet. Those three conditions don’t even register with Sea Legs. You don’t even have to climb up the ladder – the wheels are lowered, and you can easily slide into the boat. Marvellous.
Upon the wheels and easily without effort, we were on our way down the ramp. It’s a little embarrassing, I must admit, as all the wet, cold and miserable onlookers watch the boat enter the water with ease and grace. The Yamaha 225 fires up, and without any fuss, we are off the bottom and pottering out to sea.Â
The Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab has been rigged with a slightly larger Yamaha 225hp outboard to combat the marginally heavier overall weight of the Semi Cab. It is, straight away, noticeably a great combination.
The hull easily slides through the water and planes comfortably a little nose up. While I have spent a fair amount of time in cabin RIBs over the years, as this is almost a centre console, lacking the wrap-around feeling, it feels oddly exposed. A neat feature of the windscreen is it can be raised to remove the wind from your face. It’s about this time I realise just how protected we are. At 1.9m tall, my head is below the screen. The 2×1 seating offers a great experience.
DRY DRY DRY
It gets me wondering about the Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab – we are dry, warm in t-shirt and shorts, and having found some chop, we are still dry and warm. I now think this is precisely what the designers at Sea Legs were thinking about. How do we combine ease of entry – wheels with comfortable riding – tubes, and now we have the semi cab for dry, comfortable boating? It’s a winner.
We had a quiet and comfortable ride in a side sea surfing the small half metre swell, and the boat sat beautifully. Using a little trim to keep the nose down, the boat cut through the chop nicely. The tubes cushioned the ride and the design of the hull spreading the water.
Down to 12knots, and the boat demonstrated that it just wanted to go – we had to calm it down constantly, so we didn’t go too fast. This is encouraging, as at no time did I find myself having to feed power in to keep going continually. With three onboard and all my junk, we weren’t the lightest either, so this was impressive.
Technically it is the same as the other 750 hulls with the Briggs and Stratton 35hp petrol engine neatly housed in the console. In the same stroke of brilliance, both the wheels and the outboard use the same fuel source, so no mistakes at the end of the day running out of gas before you come out of the water. There is an electric Electrosol option powered by a 7kwh battery and a 1.5hr runtime, which should be enough for weekend use.
The Sea Legs 750 Semi Cab is a first for amphibious RIB style boats, and it’s a winner. It’s dry, warm, spacious and very practical. www.sealegs.com
FOR A FULL REVIEW GO TO – www.powerboatmagazine.co.nzÂ
