The Boat Works announces $100m expansion

Work has started on a $100 million expansion of The Boat Works to add another 50 wet and 200 dry marina berths to the Gold Coast facility.

The marina announced late last week that it would more than double the size of its landholding to 43 acres to accommodate the extension, with the first wet berths, built by Superior Jetties, due to become available in December ahead of an April 2019 completion target.

The Boat Works said the project would create Australia’s first “dry marina” – dry storage for up to 200 boats from 25-100ft – as well as expanded refit facilities, the 50-berth marina and a waterfront village comprising boutiques and restaurants that it plans to become a social hub for the area.

The marina said the expansion would “prove a boon for the Gold Coast’s entire marine precinct, generating employment and attracting more vessels to the Gold Coast”. The Boat Works currently lifts 50 boats a week and employs about 1000 workers, with those numbers forecast to double in the next three to five years.

Once completed, The Boat Works will have more than 40 specialist berths to 30 metres that will include provision for multihulls. A “close deep water” section of the Coomera River, accessed via crane and forklift, will allow for in-water refits, while a shiplift and ramp facility will provide access to the hard stands.

“The entire Coomera Marine Precinct will benefit from the Gold Coast Waterways Authority’s commitment to dredge the Coomera River in early 2019, granting year-round access for vessels that previously may have been reluctant to call in to the Gold Coast for repairs, refits and storage because of shallow waters at low tide,” The Boat Works owner Tony Longhurst said.

“The Gold Coast will become the port of call for every type of boat, from leisure craft to larger commercial vessels, as they travel the east coast between Melbourne and Sydney and the Whitsundays.

“The benefits of this increased visitation will flow on to the south-east economy in the form of jobs and business in all sectors.”

Gold Coast Waterways Authority chief executive Hal Morris said the marina’s expansion was proof positive of the growing strength and value of boating on the Gold Coast’s waterways.

“There are already more than 30,000 vessels registered on our waterways and that is increasing by 1000 every year,” Morris said. “Waterways are at the centre of Gold Coast and Queensland’s lifestyle.”