60 AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
Markets & Regions
EQUIPMENT & SERVICES | SOUTH AFRICA
retailers are Central Boating and Manex
& Power Marine. Together they account
for probably 85% of the South African
market and both for several years now
have been owned by the same parent,
Cullinan Marine, part of the large and
heavily diversified Cullinan Holdings
group. Indeed, for a while Central Boating
founder David Barnes served as managing
director of both companies.
What differentiates them? Central
Boating is probably a bit
more sailing oriented.
Manex is generally more
motorboat, fishing and
scuba-diving focussed.
Together they employ
20 or so people. Central
Boating occupies a large
three-storey building
on Bree Steet in the
middle of the city, the
first two floors of which
are retail premises with
offices on the top floor. Manex employs a
similar number at its two-storey premises,
which includes shop and offices in
Paarden Eiland, plus it has a sales office in
Johannesburg.
Both companies have shared a
distribution hub/central warehouse on
the Maitland Business Park, but we hear
are in the process of dividing things as
next-door neighbours.
The big problem with the South
African market is its volatility, says
Central Boating’s OEM sales manager Ian
Coward, and administrative director Gary
Lyttle. “We’re always at the mercy of theforeign exchange markets,” says Lyttle.
“For instance, a client can decide to spend
R100,000 one month, but next that same
order could weigh in at R120,000 or more,
so decisions get put back. Confidence is
not good... The local economy has been
very tough for the past few years. At least
officially we have been out of recession for
most of this year.”
Ian Coward also points out that
ultimately the success of their business and
their clients’ is linked
to what happens in
the USA, because,
given 80% of Central
Boating’s turnover
is OEM related, 70%
or so is indirectly
exported. “And the
biggest single export
destination for South
African-built boats
at the moment is the
USA, he says. “If the
USA goes into recession, we will really start
hurting here.”EAST INSTITUTE
A relatively new player in the superyacht
crew training arena is the EAST Institute- the acronym comes from Expedition,
Adventure, Safety and Training. This
Cape Town-based business specialises
in teaching yacht crews how to manage
adventure sports on and off their boats,
everything from kite-surfing to fly-fishing,
mountaineering to free-diving, not to
mention advanced life-saving, sea-rescue
and remote medicine. Yacht captains
and managers can opt from off-the-shelf
programmes or request custom packages.
“Superyacht owner demographics are
changing and the ways they want to use
their boats are changing also,” says Andrew
Bance, who honed his own skills working
with a couple of high-profile superyacht
fleets. “Owners are getting younger and
healthier... What goes with increased
demand for explorer-type yachts is more
ambitious cruising schedules and more
exciting activities... But what is clear is that
crew training, especially as regards to safety
and risk management, needs to be elevated.
We need to surpass what is acceptable
currently. Running courses here in Cape
Town is ideal. We have perfect natural
resources – oceans, wind and mountains –
and so much local expertise.”
For instance, the EAST Institute
recently hosted a course of 50 people
from one private yacht fleet over the
course of a month, but equally Bance
and team will travel to clients’ boatswhen required. (^)
Draco is a newcomer to marine hardware Ian Coward, OEM sales manager at Central Boating, and administrative director Gary Lyttle
The local
economy has
been very tough for the
past few years. At least
officially we have been out
of recession for
most of this year
PHIL DRAPER SERVED as IBI’s special reports editor
for two decades and edited various IBI sister titles.
Today he is widely acknowledged to be a world
authority as regards boat/yachtbuilding activity and
many of the industry’s best known builders, OEMs
and designers, as well as financial analysts and
investors, subscribe to his ‘New-Build Estimates’
and big-boat ‘Developing Fleet’ databases. These
market-modelling files deliver a quite unique view
of our industry’s structure and health and remain
the most efficient means of in-depth marketshare
analysis from the 30ft production boats to the biggest
superyachts, power and sail. Subscription enquiries
to Phil Draper: [email protected]
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