Fantastic Plastic

Everyone knows tinnies are tough. But the new polyethylene boats are tougher still and are selling fast - at the expense of the aluminium boat manufacturers.

Aluminium Boats Right On The Money

Simple, affordable and no-fuss, open tinnies provide a way onto the water without breaking the bank. Now manufacturers are teaming up with dealers to offer pay-by-the-month packages as a way of getting more bums on boat seats.

Support The Patrol Boats

OTHER events the Iraq war, the NSW election have recently overshadowed an imminent Federal Government decision that will have a big impact on employment and income in the Hunter Region. If Newcastle finalist ADI Ltd wins a contract for 12 patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy, shipbuilding will continue to be a significant industry in the city. If, however, the contract goes to one of the other two finalists, both based in Western Australia, an industry in which the region has excelled since the early

Down To Sea In A Tinnie

DELIVERING fun without fuss, the tinnie celebrates the Australian way of life. We take to the waterways in these basic boats as a matter of tradition. With an outboard on the tail, an Esky bouncing about the floor, bait and tackle, and a crew daubed in zinc cream, the tinnie paints an enduring national image.

Tinnies Debugged

FORGET the doomsayers and their predictions: the coming of this Millennium is cause for celebration. Quintrex has created a new hull that irons away many of the bugs that have long plagued aluminium boats. It used to be said you needed to befriend a chiropractor before going boating in a tinnie

None But The Brave

The annual Boat of the Year awards have resulted in no fewer than 11 Australian-made winners. IT'S been a year of who dares wins. The Boats of the Year - all 11 of them - are the craft that have dared to be different and broken with tradition. And these craft are really, well, going places. St

Thieving Water Rats Hit Lake Boats In $100,000 Spate Of Robberies

LAKE Macquarie is being invaded by a new breed of thieves ? water rats. Using a boat as its getaway vessel, a suspected gang has stolen more than $100,000 worth of property from the Morisset peninsula, Dora Creek, Toronto and Coal Point areas. Sgt Bill Nicholson of Newcastle Water Police said

As Boats Go, This Is A Sportscar

Good things come in small packages. Regal's bowrider has a brave new face - and bottom, writes DAVID LOCKWOOD. I'VE seen the future for small boats, and it works. It's an American bowrider from Regal. With five patents pending, it's called the 2100LSR. Available now, it has just won the 1996 Int

Quintrex Boats To Be Made In New Zealand

THE Australian aluminium boat maker, Quintrex, has made an agreement to have its boats made under licence in New Zealand by Brown's Marine of Hamilton. The boats will be shipped partly built as kits in a container to New Zealand from Quintrex's Gold Coast boat-building factory. Brown's Marine

Recreational Fishers Will Be The Losers

Recently, I and a number of my friends were picnicking at Mackeral Beach when a group of professional fishermen arrived in aluminium boats and began laying out nets across the sandbank on the northern end of the beach. For us and our group who had been swimming over the sandbar frequently during

Fibreglass Alternative

BERMUDA Sportsboats is part of the Marine Power group which is probably better known for its Mercury and Mariner outboard engine ranges and its range of Quicksilver products. These include inflatable boats and the new Bermuda Sportboat range will sit on top of the Quicksilver range. The first

Performance A Must In Ski Towing Boats

With a driver and an observer as required for safety, and the added weight of a two-person television camera crew an board, boats towing skiers in the Moomba Masters needed plenty of performance. It was not that speed was high, but there was a need to accelerate quickly and have enough torque to

Explosion Hull On Show

One of the stars of the Sydney Boat Show which opens to the public today is the new Gelignite 35 aluminium cruiser-racer yacht designed by the late Ben Lexcen. Lexcen's name is always a crowd-puller, but what is attracting most attention is the yacht's aluminium hull, which was literally

Tough Little Workhorse

At a recent party, a fisherman friend told me he was looking for a good aluminium offshore open boat and asked if I knew one. I was unable to reply before we were driven apart by the party throng. The boat below may be his answer. The trouble is, of course, that no boat is all things to a

Ducks Were The Losers In Battle Of The Swamp

They came to Griffith, about 500 all-told, in four-wheel-drives and with aluminium boats. Some were "Mexicans" from across the border in Victoria, others were shooters from gun dog clubs. There were the Rambos in army camouflage. On Saturday morning, the official opening of

A 'tinnie' Strictly For The Playboy

Three weeks ago, we reported a new offering in aluminium runabouts. Today, we look at another "tinnie", this time a much larger vessel, a 52ft(15.8-metre) aluminium-hulled Circa luxury sports cruiser, built in New Zealand. This vessel is not for everyone, particularly as it is pr

Revamp For The Tin Boat

It's hard to imagine a genuine breakthrough these days in that long-established workhorse, the aluminium dinghy, but Queensland boatbuilder Alf Stessl says he has one. Up until now, most "tin boat" makers have strengthened the bottoms of their dinghy runabouts with strakes, U-sh

Messing About In Boats - A Guide To Summer Afloat

ABON BON SCHOONER CRUISES, CLONTARF: 946254 Business and social groups or clubs can join this 20-metre yacht at Lavender Bay to cruise Sydney Harbour. Up to 30 people can enjoy lunchtime, afternoon or romantic evening cruises. A four-hour trip costs $450 and meals are $15 a head. There i