New boat - Highfield Patrol 660

[Navman]

Hello all, I thought I'd announce a long awaited new boat and do a bit of a review while I'm at it. After 3 years of thinking about it I sold my Brig Eagle 6 and am the happy owner of a new Highfield Patrol 660.

I'd made a few posts during that time and got some really good advice and offers of support so thank you for that. I'd mainly considered Ribcraft, Ribquest and Humber, I won't bore you with why I didn't pursue any of those but I ended up with a Highfield. It was a bit of a leap of faith moving away from the traditional Fibreglass but the older ones I've seen seem to be holding up well.

Handling wise I'm more than happy. It can probably tackle twice as bad conditions as the Eagle. I don't want to dish them though as they have their strong points, it's just that waves isn't one of them... well at least not anything resembling a short steep one. The ride of the Patrol is so smooth by comparison I can finally ride over the top of short waves like a RIB is supposed to.

I got the Honda 150 which seems to be on 90% of these boats and it seems to be a great match. I get about 38/39kts WOT lightly loaded so cruises 26/27kts very comfortable and reasonably economically. Best economy is around 20kts where I'm getting 1.3Nm/L (again, lightly loaded) which I think is good for a boat that size with a very deep hull. I've been surprised by how well she planes at lower speeds though as she rides up onto the plane pretty flat without ploughing a big wave.

Storage is very good, the fit and finish is excellent, the wiring is of a very high standard and access to the back of the console for fuses etc is superb with the wide new console. As a nice surprise I found it had been rigged with dual batteries with a fancy voltage sensor/relay or some such device to automatically switch charging from one to the other as needed.

One slight glitch I need to try and get sorted is that the engine occasionally cuts out from idle, usually after a run. It's one of those sporadic things though that no doubt won't do it on test at the dealer.

Other than that it's all good and I'm enjoying being able to get out if there's a little bit of wind in the forecast... which is nearly all the time in Scotland.

Hope somebody enjoyed reading that.

See you on the water

[willk]

Thanks for taking the time to do that review. She's a fine boat and I like the mix of seating - useful but looks Purposeful. Like you, the engine cutting out would bother me, just because. Over a few more runs out you may be able to pinpoint what is happening - the dealer should be sorting that. Plenty of gopro mounts there for Evidence Gathering

My only critical observation is the VHF antenna. If you're cruising somewhere you might actually NEED the VHF, then I'd lose that RIBfader and go big.

Best of Luck with her and Health to enjoy.

w.

[Token74]

Congrats, looks great. What is it about the design that makes it handle the waves better than the Brig?

[Navman]

Originally Posted by Token74

Congrats, looks great. What is it about the design that makes it handle the waves better than the Brig?

The hull shape. Much deeper vee from bow to stern, but a little bit of fullness in the bow too. Also the tubes sit a bit higher which probably helps.

[treerat]

Welcome to the family - I'm 400 hours in on my Patrol 600 - and as you say, a great ride in all conditions.