Motor Boat & Yachting – August 2019

options for lines and fenders while those STAB tubes double
up as fenders when coming alongside the mothership – the
inclusion of a reinforced towing eye on the extras list suggests
some Hawks will end up as superyacht chase boats.
There’s no getting away from the fact that its slender
dimensions make everything a bit of a squeeze. There’s no cabin
for overnighting nor galley facilities, but they have made the
most of the space there is. The optional sound system, with
backlit speakers on the bathing platform and in the cockpit
sounds amazing, while coloured LED strips under the hull, seats
and in the recess between the exterior hull and deck mouldings
can be adjusted to any colour via the twin Simrad touch screen
MFDs. There’s even a small LED indicator on the transom to
show swimmers whether the engines are in gear.
There were one or two small areas of this first production boat
that still needed a bit of tidying up, such as the detailing in the
heads and too much flex in the longer grab rails (it was rushed to
meet the launch date) but they are all on Supermarine’s snagging
list along with a weight-saving programme that should make it
even quicker still.

verdict
A boat like this is always going to be an easy
target. It’s not as pretty as a Riva Aquariva, not
as practical as a Boston Whaler Outrage 380, not
as comfortable as a Chris Craft Launch 38 and
not as clever as a Princess R35. But boy is it

effective. It has the kind of presence that

makes every set of eyes swivel to see what’s

pulled into the bay and the detailing to back it

up once you get closer. It also feels safer, more

practical and considerably more luxurious

than the majority of genuinely high

performance RIBs. But above all it has the

performance to deliver on its promise, the

robustness to cope with it and the seakeeping

to ensure that performance is accessible to the type of people

who will buy it. Sunseeker purists may sneer at its outboard

engines and Italian roots but these are the very things that make

it so robust, refined and easy to live with. Sunseeker’s founder

Robert Braithwaite may have passed away just before the Hawk

38 touched the water but he was involved in its development and

the first 10 bear a limited edition plaque in his honour. I can’t

think of a more fitting tribute to his remarkable legacy.

CONTACT Sunseeker London Tel +44 (0)20 7355 0980;

http://www.sunseeker.com

SIDESCREENS

Curved lips on the

trailing edge channel air

around the cockpit seats

ThROTTlES

Tall red levers

control power, short

silver ones select

ahead or astern

SMART WhEEl

hub and buttons

are fixed while the

wheel spins freely

around them

The supercharged howl of the engines

is accompanied by the ratta-tat-tat

of hull chines kissing water