In the wake of Mandurah

In the wake of this year’s Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show marine dealerships have spent the past fortnight conducting on-water tests for customers following what they say was one of the most successful marine expos in recent years.

Despite rain on the Saturday, 18,000 people attended the show from October 12-14, with many exhibitors reporting strong interest on the first day.

Overall attendance was up more than 2000 on last year with several vessels sold on the Friday as boaters got in early to grab a good deal. Walking around the Mandurah Offshore Fishing and Sailing Club grounds on the Saturday while dodging the rain and gusty westerly winds, there were many boats displaying "sold" stickers.

Many others signed up for boat tests following the show, either on large cruisers or trailer boats.

Challenge Marine’s Adam Duncombe was the first to boast success, selling a boat within the first hour of the show opening, and Chris Boyling from the Jetpower Boat Shop was impressed at selling four jet skis also on the Friday.

Michelle McAllister from Ranger Tugs WA said their display of two Ranger 21 boats had been relocated about 100 metres from their usual stand just inside the entrance. 

"It turned out to be a very good location for us because we were up against the fence line to the entrance where people queued to get in. The Friday was particularly good because there were huge queues waiting for the gates to open at 10.00am so hundreds of people could see our unique craft even before they got into the show. We got a lot of attention with many booking for on-water demonstrations after the show," Mrs. McAllister said.

This year’s event attracted a number of exhibitors who were either new to the show, or who were returning after a few years.

First timer Greg Weige, chief pilot from Jetpack Adventures of Sydney, entertained the crowd flying his water-powered back-pack jet machine up to 10 metres above the water. Mr. Weige is now applying to WA Marine Safety authorities to hire out the device to the public while under supervision.   

Another newcomer, Bluewater Marine of Bunbury, enjoyed great success, with owner Josie Lottie describing the event as unbelievable. "This is our first at the Mandurah Boat Show and we are more than impressed. We’ve had so many enquiries on our Stacer boats and have made many sales. We’ll definitely be back next year."

With her husband Carlo, Bluewater Marine earlier this year won the West Australian Stacer Dealer of the Year Award for the third year in succession.

There was similar success for Sports Marine Boat Centre dealer principal, Greg Collett, also of Bunbury with his range of Sailfish aluminium catamarans among his display. Sailfish builder Darren Foster came over for the show from his factory headquarters at Alstonville in northern New South Wales.

"The new 7.3m vessel is a complete new hull from the earlier models. The volume of the boat has been increased and entry point at the bow has been changed which allowed us to pick up a few more knots both while cruising and at the top end. The most exciting aspect is that being fitted with twin Honda 115hp motors, we were able to reach a speed of 25 knots running on one engine. It proves we’ve reduced a lot of drag out of the hull and this in turn gives you better fuel efficiency," Mr. Foster added.

Sam Catanese from Revival Boats in Melbourne also flew over to join the Midway Marine stand to promote his new 6.4 vessel, a complete new hull. The veteran, who has been  building boats for more than 50 years, flew out on the Sunday night with the knowledge that two 640s sold at the show.

Since the show dust has settled I have the opportunity to head down to Bunbury, 190 kilometres south of Perth, to check out Darren Foster’s claims about his new super-efficient Sailfish 7.3m catamaran. True to his claim, we pulled 26 knots running on one Honda 115hp motor. With the port engine killed and out of the water we had plenty of power to have been able to get us home had we’d been forced to, or just conserve on fuel. With both engines, the 7300 was planing at 2,500 revs without effort and topped 40 knots in no time at all. Stability was outstanding.

Most of the plate aluminium boats in the West are mono hulls so it’s going to be interesting to see how these new Sailfish cats will go. There’s a lot of demand for catamarans especially off the south coast at places like Esperance and Albany where a fishing trip in the Southern Ocean out to the edge of the Continental Shelf to 300 metres is like a run in the park.