The Miss GEICO Team thought outside the box when it came to building its unique rescue boat.

Scott Begovich and Marc Granet, the throttleman and driver for the turbine-powered offshore racing catamaran Miss GEICO, dearly hope their rescue boat never has to do its job. But in addition to being racers, they are realists. They know that things can go bad-as in really bad-instantly in a cat that can top 180 mph in racing conditions.

When it came time to build a rescue boat, they chose something that wasn’t just durable and reliable, but could be extensively customized for the job.

Enter fellow offshore racer Steve Curtis, for whom winning world titles has become almost routine. The Curtis family started Cougar catamarans in England, and although the cat line has faded out of the racing picture, the company builds rigid inflatable boats, commonly known as RIBs. Cougar even built the hull molds for adaptive Composites, which builds RIBs of its own in Ohio.

As the name implies, RIBs have rigid hulls with inflatable air-filled chambers around their perimeters. Because they are, in essence, soft-sided, they make great yacht tenders and harbor shuttles-and rescue boats.

RIBs are also fast and efficient. They do well in rough water as well, and for these reasons they’re raced extensively in Europe in production-type classes.

“Steve Curtis races with us so we’ve become very friendly with him, and we learned about these boats from him because his company makes them,” Begovich said. “We decided that we wanted a rescue boat that, if something happened, would allow us to reach the scene quickly, and would be big and comfortable enough to get everyone to shore quickly, too.”

From left: A 1,000-gallon-per-hour pump was one of a few rescue-specific safety features on the 32-foot Cougar. At the center-console, the rigid inflatable boat included a handful of electronics to assist the on-board rescue crew. A custom-built tower was set up with lights and antennas to allow the crew to communicate with the rescue helicopters and race boat.

With financial backing from GEICO Insurance and AMF Offshore Racing, the team ordered a 32-footer from Cougar. It was shipped directly to TNT Custom Marine in North Miami, where it was rigged with a pair of Mercury Racing OptiMax 300XS 3.2 Stroker outboard engines, which were actually donated by Mercury Racing.

But the rigging job didn’t start and stop with the installing the outboards. The Miss GEICO rescue boat was set up with a custom-built tower that has lights and antennas, as well as a rescue-specific equipment including a 1,000-gallon-per=hour pump to help remove water from a sinking race boat.  Set in reverse mode, the pump could also deliver the same 1,000 gallons an hour to help extinguish a burning race boat.

Naturally, the Miss GEICO rescue RIB is equipped with air cylinders in holders for rescue divers, as well as a complete trauma kit for the physician who will be onboard the boat during every race in 2008. It’s VHF and UHF communication system enables the onboard rescue crew to communicate with rescue helicopters, as well as race control and the Miss GEICO catamaran.

If no ramp is available, the rescue boat can be craned into the water-that’s how strong its lifting rings are.

With its twin Mercury Racing OpiMax 300XS outboards, the Miss GEICO rescue boat reportedly has reached 72 mph.

Two steps were built into the rescue boat’s hull. The inner set of the boat’s four strakes terminated at the first step, while the outer pair ran full length. Also incorporated into the bottom was a variable deadrise keel.

With its fuel tanks full, the Miss GEICO rescue craft reportedly has reached 72 mph.

The 32-footer, which is dressed in the same graphics as the Miss GEICO catamaran, didn’t come cheap. Even with the donated outboard engines, the price tag for it-with al the previously noted extras as well as a GPS system – came to more than $200,000. The boat was delivered to the Miss GEICO team at the 2007 Key West World Championships.

“You’ll see it all over the place this season,” said Begovich, who brought the boat to POWERBOAT’S 2008 Performance Trials in Ft. Myers, FL and served as its driver. “But hopefully, you’ll never see it used for what it’s intended for.”