Highfield built around 10,000 boats a year and lay claim to being the world’s biggest manufacturer of alloy RIBs, so chances are they know what they’re doing. When it comes to market prowess, in the RIB tender and sport boat market, Highfield is right up there with the world’s best
Highfield offers 38 models built on five platforms, from the 2m Roll-Ups to the 8.6m Patrol console RIBs. I got to check out one of their most popular models in the Sport range on a midwinter’s day on Gold Coast’s Broadwater. The SP330 is one of the smallest in the Sport range, comprising 12 sizes from 3.0m to 9.0m.

Interestingly, while retaining roughly the same beam, the trio of entry-level Sports models, SP300, SP330 and SP 360, are near identical boats apart from their overall length. The SP330 is 36cm longer than the SP300, and the SP360 is just 26cm longer than the SP330. You might wonder why they have almost identical models with minimal length differences. This is quite simple, and Highfield has been very smart in offering these boats. It’s about space in a tender garage when a few centimetres can make all the difference. Size is not so critical if you are parking your RIB on the deck or a swim platform, but size matters when it comes to tender garages.