It’s easy to handle, and the performance levels are thrilling. But above all, it stays dry even in a wind strong enough to dowse the deck. Comfort is ready and waiting for you
by Niccolò Volpati – photo by Andrea Muscatello
With the tools available nowadays, creating a hull that works well on the water is not difficult. Designers have been lent a hand by software, fluid-dynamic research and artificial intelligence – even though that is in its infancy. The outcome is practically assured if we add the yard’s considerable experience. And when you are talking about an inflatable boat, then stability, manoeuvrability, and performance are the first things you look for – and these are all ingredients that come together to make the recipe for the Cayman 33.0 Executive, the latest dish served up by chef Ranieri.
The layout is rational and without excess. The cockpit is dedicated to the living area, while the sundeck is in the bow. The bollards are concealed, and the anchor comes out of the hawsehole. The design is also meticulous in every detail.
I had the chance to savour it in Soverato. The waves didn’t cause much trouble, but there was quite a strong wind. The hull is 10.20 metres long overall, officially certified at nine metres, and we had a pair of Mercury Verado V8s, each developing 300 horsepower on the transom, which meant I could get to fifty knots. The two Verados don’t use much fuel because even at top speed, we stayed under the 200 litres-per-hour level.
The T-Top is just the right size, protecting the pilot and copilot in the console and the cockpit’s central part without oversizing.
Getting the Ranieri-designed hull out of the water takes 13 knots and 38.5 litres/hour. That means that you have a span of around 37 knots from which to choose a cruising speed. You can’t fail to find the speed you want, which varies according to conditions and the number of people on board. The figures all line up, but it also feels good in every department. The trim is perfect at all speeds, as are the sightlines from the helm station. The T-Top and windscreen are the right size and protect without blocking the view so that you can keep everything under control. It’s powerfully built, and the T-Top is held up by two stainless steel supports that sit on the fibreglass sides, and even when you are doing over forty knots, you don’t feel any vibration.
Full marks also go to the manoeuvrability. The Cayman 33.0 is easy to handle, with credit divided between the helm system, engines and waterlines. You can turn tightly, even at high speed. At full lock and forty knots, the hull stays glued to the surface and doesn’t give the slightest sign of budging. You turn without losing control. It’s so easy that you nearly start wanting to zig zag. You don’t always get that on an RIB that’s just over ten metres long overall, and it shouldn’t be taken for granted. I was particularly struck by how dry the deck stays when underway.
Simrad NSX Ultrawide
It’s a genuine case of two in one. The Cayman 33.0 is equipped with the new NSX Ultrawide from Simrad, a double screen in a single display, which is 63% larger than the NSX. Incorporating a single screen makes it even easier to fit into the dashboard and delivers all of the functions you get with two plotters. It is available in 12 and 15-inch versions and lets you use mapping, radar, echo sounding and any other electronic navigational systems. Navico has worked excellently with Ranieri International to customise and integrate all these. A case in point is the Cayman 45, the flagship of the inflatable range, where you could even check on the Simrad plotter, the generator the yard had installed.
Quite a wind blew during our test, and when you turn on a wave and expose the side to the wind, you would typically get some spray into the cockpit. By contrast, the Cayman 33.0 was as dry as the Sahara. Not a drop, not even when I was trying to get it wet. So clearly, it is not just the hull that has been well designed, but also the sizing of the tubes and the rubbing strake, which help to stop the spray when moving.
Four people can sleep below deck. One double berth is in the bow, and one is under the cockpit floor.
The deck has been laid without an aft sun pad, which is a good decision. The area has a sofa with a variable back position, which means you can face forward when underway or aft when at anchor. A further two-foldaway seat is on the sides; that way, you can have a living area that takes many people without flooding the cockpit with too much furniture. The aft sofa isn’t full beam, thus leaving room for two access points to the small beach platforms on either side of the outboards. So basically, you can get around quickly, not least because of the generous side decks.
Performance, fuel economy and comfort are enhanced by the double amidships redan.
The Cayman 33.0 Executive isn’t an RIB just for day trips. It boasts two double cabins and a separate bathroom. The bedroom in the bow has excellent headroom, but the aft one is somewhat less as it is below the cockpit. So essentially, the Cayman 33.0 Executive delivers everything you could want from a ten-metre dinghy: it’s perfect for a lovely day on the water, it’s exciting for people who like to go fast, forgiving for people who want something easy to handle, and even capable of providing comfortable short or medium range cruises for a family of four.
Engine data
Two Mercury Verado 300 V8 outboards at the stern produce 223 kW each, giving a top speed of 50 knots.
Motonautica F.lli Ranieri SRL
Loc. Caldarello
I-88068 Soverato (CZ)
T. +39 0967 25839
[email protected]
www.ranieri-international.com
PROJECT
Shipyard technical department
HULL
LOA 10.20m • Length 9.00m • Maximum beam 3.55m • Tube’s diameter 0.65m • 6 compartments • Displacement 3,500 kg • Fuel tank volume 540 l • Water tank volume 130 l • Maximum power rated 800 hp • 4 berths
MAIN PROPULSION
2x Mercury Verado 300 V8 • Outlet mechanical power 223 kW (300 hp) • 8 cylinders • Swept volume 4.6 l • Compression ratio 1.75:1 • Maximal rotational speed 5200-6000/min • Dry weight 239 kg
EC CERTIFICATION
CAT B
PRICE*
155,000€ Excl. VAT As standard – Bare boat – 2 Mercury Verado 300 V8 57,100€ Excl. VAT
*The price refers to February 2025
(Cayman 33.0 Executive – Fast & dry – Barchemagazine.com – Excerpted from Barche, February 2025)
