P
rofile Boats’ recent successes
at the Hutchwilco New
Zealand Boat Show have
cemented the brand as
a serious player in the
aluminium pontoon market and a
worthy rival of larger manufacturers in
the pontoon class.
Purchased outright in 2008 by
Napier-based Firmans Marine, Profile
Boats has experienced rapid growth
in production on the back of serious
investment, including a purpose-built
factory employing 13 fabricators across
eight production bays. It is a slick
operation and it is about to get better
with a 200m^2 factory expansion to
provide dedicated fit-out bays.
This will facilitate end-to-end
production from a single site and
deliver efficiencies that will enable
Profile Boats to increase its build
numbers while slashing build times.
Profile Boats owner and managing
director Brian Firman says that while
the mid-term strategy is to push into
the Australian export market, for the
time being the company’s immediate
priority is to get on top of the demand
curve in New Zealand.
“The bottom line is we can’t build
boats fast enough and that’s costing us
business,” Firman said. “We’ve rarely
got stock models on our showroom
floor. Everything we sell is pre-ordered
and the lead time on our mid-range
models needs to come back.”VERSATILITY
At the upper end of Profile Boats
semi-production range, the 780HW
is a versatile boat that lends itself
equally to recreational and commercial
applications. It is a big rig, engineered
and designed to provide a robust
platform capable of operating safely
and comfortably well offshore.
The 780HW is available in a broad
range of configurations and on top of
that they tend to be highly customisedto suit each owner’s particular
requirements.
One big choice is between an
enclosed lock-up hardtop or the open
hardtop seen here. Both options
have their advantages but it is the
open model that provides the most
advantageous use of space, broader
seating configurations and an easy flow
from cockpit to helm station and cabin.
Set up for family fishing and cruising
on Auckland’s Manukau Harbour,
this latest example is equipped to
a very high standard, reflecting the
owner’s brief for a boat that will meet
the requirements for overnight and
weekend forays.
As such, comfort is important and
this has been delivered in spades.
From the hot freshwater shower to the
electric head, gas cooker and wetbar,
sumptuous double seating and full-
length berths, roughing it has no place
in this owner’s vernacular.
But for all of this, the boat’s primary
purpose as a no-nonsense fishing
platform has not been overshadowed.
Everything you’d expect on a high-end
trailerboat is just where you’d expect to
find it, and includes a custom crayfish
winch and boom, an enormous bait
station and large glass-fronted livebait
tank set into the transom.SOLID AND BUOYANT
The 780HW’s construction is well
engineered and executed, and centres
on the boat’s four very substantial box-
section alloy bearers and fully welded
transverse frames and gussets. This
creates three fully independent sealed
underfloor sections capped by the
4mm chequerplate floor.
The 780 hull uses a mix of 6mm
plate for the hull and transom, 4mm
topsides and 3mm pontoons. The
pontoons are fabricated in three
sealed sections, providing reserve
buoyancy approaching 1000kg. Built
to New Zealand survey requirements,The boat you want is easier to find tradeboats.com.au^39