MasterCraft teases ‘Aviara’ luxury day cruiser brand
US tow and wake, pontoon, leisure and fishing specialist adds another make as it realises it’s going to need a bigger boatMasterCraft has teased it plans to reveal an all-new brand at the 2019 Miami International Boat Show – called Aviara – and we already have confirmation it will come to Australia.
The announcement of the new brand also marks MasterCraft’s move into larger recreational day cruisers ranging in length from 32 to 40 feet – larger than anything in the boat-maker’s current showroom.
The first, the 32-foot targa-roofed Aviara AV32 (pictured below as it was shown on the Aviara Boats website, and above with the detail pushed out), will go on sale in the US from July 2019. However, boatsales.com.au has been told by one industry insider that anyone interested in when the new day boats will land here will have to wait until 2020.
“Yes, we will launch [Aviara] here in Australia in 2020,” the source said. “It seems a long time away, but it comes fast.”
The new brand is a big diversion for MasterCraft, which also counts Crest pontoon boats and NauticStar outboard-engined fibreglass fishing and leisure boats among its growing portfolio of recently acquired makes.
The Aviara-branded boats will be built in the same factory as the MasterCraft range.
Luxury ambitions
“To be very clear, Aviara is not a performance sport boat, nor is it an offshore fishing boat,” MasterCraft chief executive Terry McNew said in an industry briefing announcing the move.
“Aviara will be positioned as the pre-eminent brand serving the large recreational day boat segment, combining European styling with American layout and engineering.
“This combination of modern luxury with progressive styling will establish Aviara as the new standard for quality, precision and design in the large recreational boat day category.”
To help it do that, MasterCraft is believed to have tapped engineering resources globally to shape the new looks. This is believed to include a distinctive variable deadrise hull shape that will make the Aviara brand stand out from others on the water.
Technology push
One of the technologies is potentially a hull featuring up to three rudders – one behind the propellor, and up to two more forward of it. Where an extra two rudders are fitted, they turn at different rates, helping the inboard-engined craft to turn in reverse – traditionally a weak point for designs where the props sit forward of the transom.
Because Aviara will stand on its own two feet, it also means it will sell through a different dealer network to MasterCraft. Buyers are likely to be existing MasterCraft customers whose tastes have moved on from tow and wake boats, ands new owners whose “boating preferences evolve over time”.
The new brand will have its first global showing at the 2019 Miami International Boat Show, which starts in the US on February 14 – Valentine’s Day.
Tags
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
