Osprey Ribs still in business?

[ISLANDRIBBER]

Anyone know if Osprey are still in business? Made a few calls and sent emails but no response.......

[willk]

The company was voluntarily dissolved a year ago.

[ISLANDRIBBER]

Shame, good boats.

[beamishken]

The Osprey name has a chequered past originally northern diver built them, then late 90's they sold off the moulds which were scattered far & wide some were bough by my pal & are sat in his now closed workshop in County Durham some ended up in norway or holland & a few were & maybe still are being built & then there was the south coast company building them. I also noticed at least 1 new boat sat for sale at DDZ marine in largs with a northern diver badge on it as if they have recently restarted production. Its a real twisted web is the osprey brand.

[69cmw]

Osprey were also built by Mike Whitman up until maybe 7 ish years ago.
Brugge Marine in Belgium also had something to do with them.

[Fr@nky]

Brugge marine center still has the rights of osprey ribs as i believe. Except for the hardnose models. Ron Stolp from RSO composite bought the hardnose moulds from Mike witham. RSO composiet is the dutch name of the company wich is located in south of netherlands. By now 2 new custom seaharriers are build since the moulds arrived in the netherlands

[beamishken]

Got the opportunity to take a picture of this new "osprey" which along with a few others was supplied by northern diver, the original builder of the full osprey range. It looks like a generic Chinese ally hull rib, very highfield ish but clearly has the ospreys decals & web address which takes you to Northern Divers web site. So the company is still going but in what form is anyone's guess, certainly not what I expect of an osprey

[Orwell boy]

While on the subject of english quality ribs ,does anybody know whether Ribquest made it through the lockdown ,i had some discussions pre lockdown when i was told smallest boat would be 7m ,however i later heard ther was maybe a highfield badgeing plan ,and did see a ribquest (maybe) badged (maybe) ally hulled boat for sale ex demo in wales i think.
They were good boats IMHO and would be a shame as per osprey ?

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Orwell boy

While on the subject of english quality ribs ,does anybody know whether Ribquest made it through the lockdown ,i had some discussions pre lockdown when i was told smallest boat would be 7m ,however i later heard ther was maybe a highfield badgeing plan ,and did see a ribquest (maybe) badged (maybe) ally hulled boat for sale ex demo in wales i think.
They were good boats IMHO and would be a shame as per osprey ?

It seems like the uk builders are slipping off the radar slowly in favour of the cheap mass produced mainly Chinese crop that's now on the market. It seems us brits no longer want to go to the small manufacturers where you can walk in & smell the resin & actually see your boat being built. It seems folk want the ready to go package sat on a trailer outside the dealers after the boat has been transported halfway around the world. UK bespoke builders are going to be very much a thing of the past in not too many years. It's sad to see so many good builders falling by the wayside especially when the latest crop of mass produced boats are largely built to a budget not a standard.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by beamishken

It seems like the uk builders are slipping off the radar slowly in favour of the cheap mass produced mainly Chinese crop that's now on the market. It seems us brits no longer want to go to the small manufacturers where you can walk in & smell the resin & actually see your boat being built. It seems folk want the ready to go package sat on a trailer outside the dealers after the boat has been transported halfway around the world. UK bespoke builders are going to be very much a thing of the past in not too many years. It's sad to see so many good builders falling by the wayside especially when the latest crop of mass produced boats are largely built to a budget not a standard.

Sadly a sign of the times Ken. Your average punter can’t see past the price & cheap bling. Probably why Ribcraft moved away from the retail market & concentrated on the commercial market. No point selling & dealing with 10 muppets wanting a £50k boat, when you can deal with a government department who wants 1 x £500k patrol RIB.

[Nos4r2]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

Sadly a sign of the times Ken. Your average punter can’t see past the price & cheap bling.

Yeah, lots of Brigs about now... :/

[Chris]

Hi All, just thought I would confirm what the status of Osprey is.

Back in 2018 Mike Whitham was looking to retire so we engaged with Phil Byrom at Warrior boats in Leyland to take over the two Vipermax Moulds. Phil produced about half a dozen fantastic hulls before Covid struck.

Following Covid supply chain issues meant we were struggling to get materials and prices sky rocketed. Outboard engines became like gold dust and almost doubled in price. It basically became a massive challenge to build boats and we were only a small player.

Kris Deraedt took the decision to move the two moulds to Poland and that was the end of my time with Osprey. I was happy to have played a part in keeping such a great rib brand going and still have the last 8m Vipermax that is currently on a mooring in Rock, Cornwall. Kris and Brugge marine are still selling Osprey and Ron is still doing the hard nosed models.

Anything from Northern Diver is nothing to do with the original Osprey range other than using the name.

Hope this clears it up. :-)

[Kristoff]

I always fancied a Vipermax, never managed to acquire one though. (Budget issues)

As the owner of a Highfield, I guess I'm part of the problem. The thing is though, the Highfield is just so good at what it does, its made very well indeed, the welds on the aluminium are fantastic and it feels rock solid in the water. Its deep v and has no issues at all in a proper sea (the sort of sea you get caught in you don't plan to go out in). Its also super light, so I can get a way with a smaller engine and use less fuel, and its so easy to launch and recover its almost comical, seems to float in about 18 inches of water.

I feel like really, the games moved on from the heavy layup ultra tough commercial fiberglass ribs that were reupholstered for leisure use. If its leisure use, then why not buy a rib designed from the ground up for leisure use, which is I think what most people are now doing. It is a shame about the loss of the UK builders though.

[Matt]

Originally Posted by Kristoff

It is a shame about the loss of the UK builders though.

On the one hand, I agree. But on the other, some rib builders properly took the piss with their hull prices. Granted engines are an expensive element - but builders don't pay retail, they get "boat builder discount" which often used to be a massive discount. And toobs are 10K. (1K per metre)

So let's take this : https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/...m-rib-9309266/

250K!! Used price.

60K of engines on it. 10K of tubes. 10K of upholstery. Let's say 20K of other stuff, plus the cost of moulding the hull. So cost to make, maybe 120K. You could easily see it being a 150-180K boat. But 250K used? FRO.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by Matt

On the one hand, I agree. But on the other, some rib builders properly took the piss with their hull prices. Granted engines are an expensive element - but builders don't pay retail, they get "boat builder discount" which often used to be a massive discount. And toobs are 10K. (1K per metre)

So let's take this : https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/...m-rib-9309266/

250K!! Used price.

60K of engines on it. 10K of tubes. 10K of upholstery. Let's say 20K of other stuff, plus the cost of moulding the hull. So cost to make, maybe 120K. You could easily see it being a 150-180K boat. But 250K used? FRO.

Yeah, but TBF, it does have underwater LED lights AND fake teak decking…..

[beamishken]

Large leisure ribs have never made economic sense imho. Ribs in general have always been expensive for what you get. Folk think it's just a bag of wind round the edges but forget that bag of wind actually cost substantially more in materials and even more in labour than it would to mould the same thing in grp. 1k per mtr for tubes was pre covid prices currently probably 25-30% more now. UK builders suffer because of a small market so cant gear up for mass production & benefit from quantities of scale which means they just cant compete with the cheap imports. Folk dont appreciate the bespoke nature of uk builds, it seems they'd rather walk into a showroom & chose the boat package around a desk rather like buying a car rather than the experience of being able to look around the factory & smell the resin & glue. What we are seeing is the demise of another British industry taken over by cheaper imports where labour rates are low & elf&safety a dirty word. I don't think the builders are actually trying to take the pi$$ but struggle with building to a lower budget if they were making fortunes by taking the proverbial there wouldnt be as many company failures.
As for Osprey imho the brand as a range ended when northern diver sold the moulds in the late 90's which were scattered far & wide, the pedigree was lost then A few companies have built a few boats but once the range was fragmented the end was almost inevitable. Pheonix boat building companies regularly fail as the new owners either don't have the funds to continue & or dont know the brand/range as well as the original owners nor have the passion for nurturing their baby.

[69cmw]

Originally Posted by Matt

On the one hand, I agree. But on the other, some rib builders properly took the piss with their hull prices. Granted engines are an expensive element - but builders don't pay retail, they get "boat builder discount" which often used to be a massive discount. And toobs are 10K. (1K per metre)

So let's take this : https://www.boatsandoutboards.co.uk/...m-rib-9309266/

250K!! Used price.

60K of engines on it. 10K of tubes. 10K of upholstery. Let's say 20K of other stuff, plus the cost of moulding the hull. So cost to make, maybe 120K. You could easily see it being a 150-180K boat. But 250K used? FRO.

If I’m reading the price correct, it says £250k excludes VAT 😳

[Neanderthaler]

Originally Posted by Chris

Hi All, just thought I would confirm what the status of Osprey is.

Back in 2018 Mike Whitham was looking to retire so we engaged with Phil Byrom at Warrior boats in Leyland to take over the two Vipermax Moulds. Phil produced about half a dozen fantastic hulls before Covid struck.

Following Covid supply chain issues meant we were struggling to get materials and prices sky rocketed. Outboard engines became like gold dust and almost doubled in price. It basically became a massive challenge to build boats and we were only a small player.

Kris Deraedt took the decision to move the two moulds to Poland and that was the end of my time with Osprey. I was happy to have played a part in keeping such a great rib brand going and still have the last 8m Vipermax that is currently on a mooring in Rock, Cornwall. Kris and Brugge marine are still selling Osprey and Ron is still doing the hard nosed models.

Anything from Northern Diver is nothing to do with the original Osprey range other than using the name.

Hope this clears it up. :-)

Chris, thanks lot of strange story's going around, but indeed nothing changed, i build the hardnose models, what you can order by BMC,
There is a new lamination plan without any plywood, and only the best materials in handlayup, Due this proces we are building one third less in weight than the original Osprey Build by Mike Witham, with the same amount of glass weight due to better materials.
See pictures, first two Ospreys Seaharrier, now working at Seaharrier max and Osprey eagle six mtr.

[beamishken]

Originally Posted by Neanderthaler

the original Osprey Build by Mike Witham,

Was Mike Witham building the entire range for northern diver? Surely the osprey brand was fragmented when northern diver liquidated the assets in the late 90's it seems a few folk built various models but as a range the Osprey brand was never going to be the same?
It would also appear that northern diver never sold the rights to the osprey name hence them now selling Chinese highfieldesque aluminium hulled ribs branded Osprey.
There seems to have been many twists & turns in the Osprey story & lots has changed since the brand had one home & all were built under the same banner.

[Neanderthaler]

Originally Posted by beamishken

Was Mike Witham building the entire range for northern diver? Surely the osprey brand was fragmented when northern diver liquidated the assets in the late 90's it seems a few folk built various models but as a range the Osprey brand was never going to be the same?
It would also appear that northern diver never sold the rights to the osprey name hence them now selling Chinese highfieldesque aluminium hulled ribs branded Osprey.
There seems to have been many twists & turns in the Osprey story & lots has changed since the brand had one home & all were built under the same banner.

Mike had all the moulds, vipermax was his design, his dad started the build and in 1984 mike joint the company, in 98 BMC belgium took over the name and all the moulds including the rights from northern diver and made the brand big, due to brexit and covid, the export from UK to europe became far to expensive and to much fush.
like chris said, a few vipermax are build by warrior boats and then everything went to poland, cheaper and the knowledge is there.
i took over the Eagle, sparrowhawk, seaharrier, seaharriermax, lynx 24 26 and 28, the 5.15 softnose and the 3,80. all the console and pods etc etc etc.

I took over the moulds and start building them for the people who really like the osprey boats, I own the original midnight express also, rebuild that one and have that one for 19 year. still going strong.

Had a lot of talks to mike and still have, building the boats to his laminate design, wel in grams glass, updated the materials to newer and finer glass, working everything below deck with glass and glassed foam, ( mike laminated this on air alone) deck and transom are coosabaord now.
if there are any questions please let me know.