ibinews.com International Boat Industry | JUNE–JULY 2019 75
were reported by diesel engine distributors in New
Zealand for 2018. More than half of those were over
150kW, and the longer-term trend reveals a growing
preference for larger engines.
Wayne Patten, managing director of Volvo Penta
in NZ commented that the past 12 months had seen
firm forward orders from local OEMs and what
seems to be a growing repower market.
“With the forthcoming America’s Cup in
Auckland in 2021 many people are focusing on
upgrading their vessels to bring them into survey for
charter work.
“While the larger production boatbuilders in
NZ dropped away after the 2008 crash and haven’t
recovered to the same level, there are still plenty of
one-off custom larger boats being built with a variety
of propulsion options,” says Patten.
While virtually every major diesel engine brand
is represented in New Zealand, it is estimated that
around 60% of the sales are shared by Volvo Penta,
Yanmar and Mercury Marine. Scania, Cummins,
Caterpillar and MTU also have a strong presence.
IMPORTS DOMINATED BIG BOAT SALES
While New Zealand has a strong trailer boat
industry, the same cannot be said for production
motor and sailing yachts. In fact, there is no local
production sailing yacht builder, with sales mostly
from imported brands such as Jeanneau, Beneteau
and Bavaria. There are, however, some custom
builders still catering to the Kiwi purist sailor.
Although New Zealand had an enviable
reputation a few years ago for sailing superyachts,
that market has also almost disappeared. Apart
from some large sailing yachts from Yachting
Developments, there is little happening anymore.
The motoryacht market is also very scant, and
when it comes to boats over 25m, there has been
low activity in the past few years. In early 2018 YDL
commenced building a 33m (109ft) Warwick Yacht
Design all-carbon fast sportsfisher design, which is
due for completion later this year.
Yachting Developments specialises in building
a wide range of custom projects, having delivered
a variety of yacht styles including sailing yachts,
motor yachts and catamarans, and in recent years
the yard has become known for its expertise in large
sportsfisher projects. These include the world’s
largest all-carbon sportsfisher 39.5m Hull 1015,
launched in November 2017, and the 27.4m Satu,
launched in 2012.
Profab Engineering, a Palmerston North based
builder, recently launched an all alloy 39.5m offshore
explorer catamaran, The Beast, for a Kiwi client and
have a 34m monohull under construction.
While the international brands like Riviera,
Maritimo, Azimut and Princess are selling well in
New Zealand, there is also a robust custom building
scene. Roger Hill (RHYD) and Bill Upfold (Elite
Repower makes up a
large percentage of new
diesel engine sales in New
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