New Zealand companies HamiltonJet and EV Maritime have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build advanced composite, battery-powered commuter ferries. Their cooperation was formalised at HamiltonJet’s Christchurch headquarters in May, in the presence of Hon Dr Megan Woods, New Zealand’s Minister of Energy & Resources and Minister of Research Science & Innovation. With the aim of decarbonising the harbour cities of the world, these leading lights of New Zealand maritime innovation are seeking to develop one of the world’s first truly high-speed, full-size, zero emission fast ferries. HamiltonJet will provide a high efficiency, high manoeuvrability drive solution for this all-electric vessel,… Read More

The New Zealand government is, from July 2020, allowing foreign-flagged vessels and yachts with booked-in refits or repairs to enter New Zealand. “New Zealand is respected for its world-class trades people and has many sheltered harbours and ports where clusters of marine industry companies are well-equipped to service local and visiting vessels. The New Zealand Government understands the huge economic value that visiting commercial vessels and yachts bring to the NZ marine industry and we are delighted that they have quickly responded to our industry’s request to allow foreign-flagged vessels, with work to be done, to be allowed into our… Read More

Raymarine’s stylish new LightHouse 3 Dartmouth operating system for its Axiom range of MFDs comes with a handy new Day/Night mode, auto chart re-centering, a range of great new LightHouse Apps and numerous other features sure to appeal to Kiwi boaties. Dartmouth’s handy new Day/Night Mode is sure to prove especially popular with those boating at night. At the touch of the screen, it enables skippers to clearly see all the details on their Axiom display, without impeding their night vision in any way. Dartmouth also introduces a range of new LightHouse apps, providing even greater integration with a vessel’s… Read More

Lusty and Blundell’s updated website, www.lusty-blundell.co.nz, features rich content with detailed product information on L&B’s wide range of both marine and non-marine products and systems. The upgraded website is a valuable, user-centric hub of information; a ‘one-stop-shop’ that contains technical diagrams, product manuals, data sheets and a significant number of downloadable resources and helpful videos. “Everyone from electricians and retailers to boat builders and DIY-ers will find appropriate technical solutions and something useful for their own applications,” says L&B marketing executive Shirner Dyson. During the lockdown, L&B staff spent over 3000 hours collecting information from various suppliers and creating digital… Read More

HamiltonJet has embarked on an exciting project to refit a newly acquired test boat with the company’s innovative new Electro-hybrid Drive (EHX) waterjets. The 15-metre aluminium hydrofoil-assisted catamaran enjoyed a former life as a recreational vessel, cruising the waters of New Zealand’s beautiful Marlborough Sounds. Now, with a significant refit well underway, she is bound for a relaunch as the showcase for HamiltonJet’s newest technology to be used for development, testing and demonstration of the EHX system. The test boat was designed initially by Teknicraft and built by Q-West boat builders. Q-West will also complete the refit. “We chose Q-West… Read More

Auckland, New Zealand – Built Boats has created the new Tuff 540 for fishing enthusiasts. The boat is available for purchase from the Built Boat website from 19 May 2020. The Tuff 540 is a 5.4-metre-long hardtop powerboat designed and built in Auckland, New Zealand from 15mm-thick Tuff-plate™ specifically engineered to withstand the harsh marine environment. Unlike their aluminium counterparts, boats built from Tuff-plate™ will not corrode. An excellent boat-building material, Tuff-plate™ floats, resists harsh chemicals and marine growth, and has a carbon footprint approximately five times smaller than aluminium plate. The body of the Tuff 540 is filled with… Read More

A much anticipated aspect of the 36th America’s Cup, set to be held in Auckland, New Zealand in 2021, is the Youth America’s Cup which already has more than 15 teams from around the world confirmed to take part. The event will be raced on a new carbon foiling mono-hull – the AC9F – designed by the Yachting Developments design team led by Bob Graham. A fleet of AC9F models is set to be built at the Yachting Developments yard, which will allow for simultaneous match racing between participating teams. This first AC9F model was completed by Yachting Developments in… Read More

After a very successful 2017 pop-up shop in Tauranga, Surtees is coming back full force with a more extended “pop up” option on Tauranga’s busiest strip – Hewletts Road. The manufacturer wants to create an even better client experience for new and existing customers, inviting them into their new showroom at the Mount Maunganui site to check out what one of the biggest New Zealand trailerboat manufacturers has to offer. Open seven-days-a-week, clients can come and browse the boats on offer as well as book in demos out of Sulphur Point and compare all the different Surtees models. The doors will… Read More

After several months of close collaboration between the NZ Marine Export Group and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise we are excited to now share the new Marine Story, Edge Ahead – a marketing initiative designed to build awareness and preference for New Zealand’s boating and marine products, technology and services in key offshore markets. This video is a compelling way of promoting the New Zealand Marine sector internationally and is intended for use by New Zealand businesses who are currently exporting or looking to export, as well as organisations such as NZ Embassies/international NZTE offices involved in promoting and building… Read More

Fosters Ship Chandlery are proud to announce that they are the exclusive distributors for the Cyclops Marine Smart range.  Bringing America’s Cup technology to ordinary sailors, the smarttune® and smartlink® wireless load sensors allow sailors to accurately measure stay tension and line loads in real time, transmitting data either to your mobile device via a dedicated app or to your existing boat electronics. Remember your best race? Everything clicked. You were in a different gear than everyone else. You pointed higher off the start line. You were going faster than the competition. The following day you go to repeat it… Read More