Quick Take: Mercury Racing 500R Outboards Stick To A RIB
Please pardon the pun in the headline—I’m a sucker for a good dad-joke, if such a thing exists. But the Prince 38CC from Nuova Jolly is a Rigid Inflatable Boat worth taking seriously, especially with a pair of Mercury Racing 500R outboards on its transom. Yesterday, TNT Custom Marine co-owner John Tomlinson and I caught a shot ride on just such a 38-footer with Teo Aiello, the general manager Milan, Italy-based company.
The Nuova Jolly Prince 38CC is a versatile RIB with plenty of punch. Photos by Pete Boden copyright Shoot 2 Thrill Pix.
Aiello piloted the boat in the waters off Grove Harbour Marina in Coconut Grove, Fla., where Mercury Racing and several builders held a three-day by-appointment demo session during the first three days of the ongoing Miami International Boat Show. (The demo session ends this afternoon.) Tomlinson stood alongside Aiello at the helm station as he ran the boat to 60-plus mph and put it through a series slalom and full-circle turns.
And the 12-foot wide RIB had no trouble executing them. It didn’t slide or bobble. It carved. As we expected with 1,000 hp worth of outboard engines providing the punch, the boat accelerated hard.
The boat’s clean helm station had all the essentials.
“You can drive it like a racecar,” Aiello told Tomlinson. “But we don’t build it for speed. We build it for rough-water.”
Unfortunately, there was no rough-water in sight during our ride, which was smooth and solid in the 1- to 2-foot chop we did encounter. But given that Aiello recently crossed the Atlantic Ocean from Italy to Africa in a Nuova Jolly Prince 38CC carrying 2,000-plus gallons worth of fuel, we took his word for it.
Details, details.
While we’d likely pass on a six-day Atlantic crossing in any 38-footer, the Prince 38CC would be a fine choice for island-hops in, say, the Bahamas. (Worth noting: Nuova Jolly builds RIB models up to 50 feet long.) Its well-equipped cabin boasted an expansive berth and above-deck the boat was loaded with stowage lockers. For outdoor dining in the open bow and stern areas, the builder installed power-actuated tables in the sole.
And of course beaching it is, per the RIB breed, no problem.
Tomlinson, who once carried RIBs at TNT Custom Marine but struggled to sell them, noted that they are finally starting to stick—ouch again—in South Florida. Given its creature comforts and performance, the Nuova Jolly Prince 38CC should be right at home.
A pair of Mercury Racing 500R outboards were a sweet match for the 38-footer.
Related stories
Quick Take: 500R-Powered Avalon A Thrill-And-Joy Machine
Countdown To The 2024 Miami International Boat Show
.
