Australia's Best Sellers

The most popular Australian-made boats of all time

The best-selling boat in Australia today is, you guessed it, a Quintrex tinnie. Of course, that’s a given. The ubiquitous, utilitarian, outboard-powered boats are dinky-di, true blue and hard to beat as general-purpose inshore fishing and family rigs.

Hire fleets are full of Quinnie tinnies, while hulls older than 40 years are still going strong. As if to prove as much, a 1972-model Quintrex Fishabout runabout with near-new Tohatsu 40hp outboard on trailer was listed for sale for $5500 at Boatsales.com.au as we typed this story.

But the best-selling Quintrex model isn’t a runabout -- it’s an open boat -- and buyers are upgrading. The recent move is to a bigger 420 Dory instead of the previous best-selling 380 model.

Presumably, the shift to a bigger tinnie comes from the hoi polloi’s call for more freeboard and, thus, safety to tackle their local bays, harbours and big rivers. It’s a fact that most boating accidents occur in small open tinnies, but a 420 is actually a pretty seaworthy platform.

FISH AND FAMILY

- Best-selling fishing and family models

In respect of boat usage, Quintrex says its best-selling fishing boat is actually the 440 Hornet. The super stable Hornet hull makes a better casting platform than a traditional vee-hull tinnie. And the increasingly popular pastime of flat-water fishing -- targeting bream, bass and barra -- is driving sales.

As for price brackets, the sub-$15,000 market remains the most popular class of boat, says Quintrex. However, this doesn’t account for regional tastes.

For example, Sydney Powerboat Centre told us the favourite Quintrex boat in Sydney is the 430 Escape runabout (from about $18,500 to $21,500). The 510 Freedom Sport bowrider (from $38,000 to $43,00) runs a close second.

Indeed, one sees a lot of these two family-orientated Quintrex boats towing tykes on tubes and picnicking ashore in places like Pittwater and the Hawkesbury. Head to Queensland or the Top End and the Dory is king.

HAINES HUNTER

- V19R among the hot second-hand buys

Among the clutch of other enduring local marques, Haines Hunter stands out. Like Quintrex, it receives an enormous amount of traffic at Boatsales and BoatPoint. And it, too, is remarkably enduring.

Started by the late industry figure John Haines, whose sons build Signature boats today, Haines Hunters remain hot property on the preloved market. Boats like the smooth-running deep-vee V17 and V19 in their various guises helped anglers dash into the open sea without losing their fillings.

At the time of writing, you could buy a 1977 model V19R with 1977 V6 200hp Johnson outboard on trailer for $13,950 at Boatsales.

CARIBBEAN 35

- The evergreen offshore cruiser

Meanwhile, Caribbean boats built by International Marine in Melbourne have enjoyed such success they haven’t needed to change their winning formula. Started in 1958, and more than 50,000 boats later, the best-selling cruiser over all that time is the Caribbean 35.

The evergreen flybridge cruiser began life as the Bertram 35 made under licence from 1971 to 1986. That boat had a fine entry and a lot of flare in the hull topsides for lift. From 1986 to 2010, the Mk II reigned. The hull had a fuller bow for more buoyancy and it gained a second port-side cabin.

Today, the new Caribbean 35 based on the same hull as the Mk II, but with new flying bridge and cockpit layout has a noticeably improved finish, bigger flybridge and better cockpit.

After various minor facelifts from its inception as a Bertram 35 built under licence, the boat run is around 800, each today costing more than $500,000 new.

A second-hand 1978 model Bertram 35 with twin 210hp Caterpillar diesel engines was selling for just $89,900 at Boatpoint via Regatta Sailing.

John Barbar from International Marine says the overall 35 concept has remained the same but the cosmetics have changed.

“Put a Mk I against a Mk 3 and you know its still a Caribbean, like the grill stays the same on a Mercedes or BMW, but step aboard and the new model is obviously more modern,” Barbar says.

RIVIERA’S BEST

- Forty footer takes some beating

Riviera’s all-time best seller is still in great demand today. The 40 Open Flybridge, launched in 2000 with more rounded curves dubbed Millennium styling, reached 288 launches by the time it was retired in 2007.

With the cruiser market coming back down to earth, the 40 remains keenly sought on the preloved market today. Around $400,000-$450,000 will buy you a very tidy 2001-2003 model at Boatpoint today.

But the best-selling new Riviera is the 4700 Sport Yacht released in 2007 and rebadged the 5000 Sport Yacht in 2009. Collectively, the popular Riviera model is up to 100-odd units. It sells for a tad over $1 million, but second-hand version have held their value relative to the market and fetch $700,00-plus.

MARITIMO’S NUMBER ONE

- 48 Motor Yacht takes top billing

Also cracking a century is boat builder Bill Barry-Cotter’s Maritimo factory. Its best seller is the Maritimo 48, released in 2006, now in Mk 11 guise without the dated wings over the walk-around side decks and with more interior refinements.

The home-away-from home is nothing if not accommodating of a family, which helps at holiday time. But while spacious indoors and out, the beamy 48 remains a manageable boat for a couple to command. Helm conveniences such as bow and (optional) stern thrusters assist with docking.

Snappy off-the-wheel steering come from race-boat technology, while long cruising legs are courtesy of hull efficiencies and the latest fully electronic Cummins QSM11 660hp diesel engines. Range of about 500 nautical miles at 18 knots is a highlight for footloose retirees.

A new Maritimo 48 will cost about $1.3-1.4 million fully loaded and ready to cruise. Second-hand, a 2007 model 48 was selling for $855,000 through Princes Yachts Australia. And there were just 560 hours on the clock.

POPULARITY STAKES

- Best-seller logic

So why do the best sellers garner so much support? Some, like the simply no-fuss tinnie, tap straight into the Australian psyche. Indeed, the enduring Quintrex aluminium dory is an iconic boat whose foundations were laid down way back in 1945.

But it was from 1968 onwards that Quintrex gained fame for its flared bow. Today, no other boat enjoys the same search-engine popularity and power on this website. The best-selling boat of all time, yep, no surprises, a Quintrex tinnie.

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Australia's Best Sellers

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