Stacer celebrates its 50th anniversary

Stacer Alloy Craft was established in Victoria in 1971 as a partnership between Ernie Stadler and Horst Cerncic – the Stacer name is derived from the first three letters of the founders’ surnames.

Early boats built in the 1970s included the Stacer 414 runabout, 4.57 Seamaster and the 420 Seahawk.

Other significant models rolled out in the 1980s include a centre console, the Kingray runabout, the 3.7 Riverra tinnie, Bluefish punt, Gurnard and Seahorse dinghies, and more – some of which carry on today across more than 90 separate models produced under the Stacer brand.

Pat and Dennis McKeegan, owners of the former Moolap Marine, one of the first and longest trading Stacer dealerships that operated from 1977 until their retirement in 2019, have seen the brand flourish into the force it is today.

“Stacer has come a long way from being a basic tinnie to a fully integrated boat-motor-trailer package”, Pat McKeegan said. 

“The success of the brand is the quality control and pride of workmanship of factory personnel.”

Stacer became part of the Telwater boat-building group in 1999 after the brand joined Quintrex at the newly formed group’s Coomera-based production facility.

Telwater general manager Sam Heyes said the Stacer brand had boomed since joining the Telwater stable, which now includes recognised brands Savage and Yellowfin Plate.

“With a rich history already established in the market, we took the brand to another level by introducing specialty craftsmanship techniques into the designs including technical aluminium moulding to strengthen and form the hull into shapes similar to that of fibreglass to deliver an industry-best ride experience,” Heyes said.

Stacer boats are now sold across more than 50 dealers Australia-wide.