Cat market purrs along

Catamaran hulled fishing boats are not every boater’s cup of tea but a niche market of dedicated fishermen and women reckon nothing purrs quite like a stable and fast cat.

Sydney power catamaran specialist Webbe Marine says the easing of the worldwide economic gloom has seen the local market grow in strength in recent months. "The past April has been the best month in business for two years," says Webbe Marine's Gavan Daly.

"There is no question the market has rebounded very strongly. Our sales of Sailfish and Websters Twinfisher boats are very impressive," added Daly.

Webbe teamed with Sailfish Catamarans for a summer promotion that produced exceptional results. Daly says there was so much interest from customers that the promotion was extended by another month.

Having had a great result at the recent Sanctuary Cove boat show, Webbe Marine now plans to exhibit boats at the Melbourne, Sydney, Cairns, Brisbane and Darwin shows.

Appointed as the sole NSW agent for the complete range of Websters Twinfisher aluminium catamarans just over 12 months ago, Webbe Marine has been amazed by the growing interest.

The first boat they received from Websters for evaluation sold immediately after a customer strolled through their yard, liked the boat and bought it on the spot.

"Boaters and fishermen are a passionate breed," Daly says, "We certainly saw a drop in the market with the arrival of the economic downturn but when regular people saw that life continued, its is almost as though they thought 'bugger it, lets buy a new boat and go fishing'."

Websters Twinfisher have ramped up production to meet the demand and are also working on two new models for the winter boat show season.