A look at the future

Andy Mayo, one of HoverAid’s long term volunteers, has been to see the new Griffon 380 craft put through its paces. HoverAid has used its own River Rover hovercraft in the past and they have proved themselves in China, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Nepal, Nicaragua, and Mozambique.

Griffon have developed the 380 with ruggedness and reliability in mind for use by in-shore coastal patrols in the Baltic, and this is just what we would look for in a craft for Madagascar in coming years as the programme rolls out to a number of river systems. Like the River Rover it uses a standard VW diesel engine, and can be towed behind a Landrover. The open well deck makes loading easy, and it can be fitted with a canopy to keep off the worst of the elements. We hope to see one on trial in Africa next year.