Seafarer Relaunch 2012

Established by Doug Fry in 1957, and run by his son Lindsay for many years, Seafarer is one of Australia’s iconic boat brands. Literally thousands of Seafarers have provided years of faithful service to the pleasure-boating masses.

Now, after being acquired in 2007 by the Haines Group, Seafarer has been relaunched. The exciting new 2012 fleet boasts 15 models including many of our all-time favourites.

Among Seafarer’s distinguishing features is the fact that all models are prefixed by the letter “V”. Many readers will know the classics like the unsinkable V-Sea (your editor owned one for many years, pictured hereabouts), mid-sized Viking, and wildly popular Victory.

These boats are among the 2012 fleet, but the intention was to offer something for everyone in the 4.85-6.80 metre trailerable arena. Greg Haines, MD of the eponymous boat builder, told Boatsales that to achieve this they incorporated their existing Traveller and inherited Seafarer boat ranges.

"We picked the best boats out of the Traveller and Seafarer ranges and combined them. The latest model built from the ground-up is the Vanquish 6.2, which we released about 12 months ago as the Traveller TF200," Greg said.

Seafarer now offers offshore fishing platforms in centre-console, cuddy-cabin and walk-around guises, as well as comfortable and stylish family runabouts, cabin cruisers and even a bowrider.

While coveted for their smart styling and superlative fit and finish, performance was always a priority of previous owner Lindsay Fry. That has been inherited in the Seafarers and buyers can count on a great ride and trusty handling at high speed.

All-important resale value should count for plenty, too. Search Boatpoint and Boatsales and you will find that Seafarers retain excellent resale value thanks to their sound, handlaid, GRP construction that continues today.

The Haines Group says the new 2012 Seafarer range is backed by a strengthened dealer network, with eight outlets in key locations around Australia. At the time of writing, a further four dealers were in the process of being appointed.

Seafarer has launched a new website, brochure and marketing campaign for 2012. More developments, new launches and refinements are on the agenda for the R&D department. The Haines Group is based in Wacol, Queensland, coincidentally, on Viking Drive.

See www.seafarerboats.com.au. Watch this space for our upcoming tests.

2012 Seafarer Product Range:
-Vantage 4.85
-V-Sea 5.0
-Venture 5.1
-Vapour 5.3
-Volante 5.3
-Vedette 5.3
-Viking 5.5
-Verve 5.8
-Victory 6.0
-Vanquish 6.2
-Vigour 6.2
-Venom 6.2
-Vagabond 6.2
-Viper 6.8
-Voyager 6.8