Buzzi declares the Bohinc RIB ready for Cowes | Cowes-Torquay

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Buzzi declares the Bohinc RIB ready for Cowes

Cowes-Torquay - 22 August 2009 -- Fabio Buzzi, the Italian boat builder whose latest creation, the FB RIB 39’, will be officially presented at the 2009 Festival International de la Plaisance in Cannes, has confirmed that its racing counterpart will be a front runner in next weekends powerboat classic, the Cowes Torquay Cowes.

“It is an astonishing RIB, manoeuvrable, fast and ready for what ever conditions the English Channel decides to stir up, “ confirms Buzzi, one of the most respected boat designers in the world and a four-time winner of the Cowes Torquay.

Built for the Austrian powerboat world champion and multiple record holder, Hannes Bohinc, the ‘Hannes Bohinc’ Racing Rib 39’- named Wettpunkt.com- is a lighter version, built in Kevlar and powered by twin FPT N67 560hp diesel engines, cranked up to 600 HP. It will race at Cowes in a stunning yellow – blue airbrushed snake design.

“We have been testing the boat on Lake Como,” confirms Buzzi. “and its performance is impressive. When I started to take the throttles back at 86 kmh, I knew it was time to get my helmet! “

The power plant is based on one of the most celebrated drive systems in powerboating, the ZF Trimax Surface Drives.

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Coupled to the drive is a ZF 280-1 gearbox and the latest state-of-the art FPT engines. The boat has been reduced in weight by around 500 kg and the canopy has been lowered by 200 mm. A race-dedicated version of the TecnoG10 seat has also been fitted which permits the whole seat to softly move up and down to compensate wave shocks. Solidity is given by the well tested and military proven Multipoint Structural Foam Injection Systemâ, which gives extra high buoyancy, resistance and makes the boat, in the words of Fabio Buzzi, “completely unsinkable.”Wettpunkt.com will leave the FB Design shipyard early next week and head by road to the Isle of Wight where team owner and throttleman, Hannes Bohinc, fellow Austrian Max Holzfeind and the veteran British navigator, Ed Williams-Hawkes will compete alongside 21 other boats for this coveted 160 nautical mile endurance challenge.

The Cowes Torquay Cowes will start at 10am off Cowes on Saturday 29th August.

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