Bigger and better boats

The locally built Oyster LD 43 powerboat makes its debut up against the best of the imports.

New Zealand's top boatbuilders have been pitching their biggest and best against yachts and launches from around the world at the 2006 Auckland International Boat Show at the Viaduct Harbour which ends tomorrow.

Two of the locals that attracted a lot of the attention were the superyacht Vesper, built by Yachting Developments Limited, and the Oyster LD 43 powerboat from McDell Marine.

At 28.8m (95ft) Vesper is a high-tech composite yacht with a number of innovative features including a huge stateroom and easy access to and from the water, using a big boarding platform and ascending stairway.

Vesper has a carbon mast and in-boom furling from Southern Spars. Below the upper saloon is engine and machinery space with full headroom and easy access to all the machinery and equipment that services the yacht. The big superyacht was completed in 14 months.

A different type of craft, but one completed to the same standard, is the Oyster LD 43. McDell Marine has been building Oyster sailboats under contract to the British company that is one of the world's most successful yacht builders for several years. The 27th McDell Oyster 53 is now being completed at the company's Glendene yard in Auckland.

Managing director Kim McDell says the LD 43 brings the Oyster standard of quality and performance to the international powerboat market. The critics are calling it the yachtsman's powerboat and it has made a huge impression at boat shows around the world. It was introduced at the Southampton Boat Show in September last year, and since then has been shown at Annapolis, London and Miami. Now it is Auckland's turn.

Oyster describes the LD 43 as combining retro-chic styling, state-of-the-art design blended with leading edge composite construction, top quality joinery and innovative Hamilton jet propulsion that provides spirited performance.

The boat is a tri-nation collaboration. Tank-testing was at the Woolfson Unit at Southampton University, plug machining by Brisbane-based Mouldcam, composite engineering by High Modulus in Auckland and build by McDell Marine. That the collaboration has been successful is borne out by the fact that McDell is now building one LD 43 a month for Oyster's international market.

Two of the other local exhibits at the show emphasised the role that can be played by using outboards to power big cruisers. The 10m Roger Hill catamaran has two 60hp Yamahas on the back that its designer says gives performance plus economy. Seabandit, a 12m sportfisher, takes the outboard option to a new level. Two Mercury Verado 275s give it a top speed of 38 knots (35mph).

At the official opening show on Wednesday, chairman Warwick Browne emphasised that apart from the millions of dollars worth of boats in the water, the Auckland exhibition displays more motors, electronics, communications and safety equipment than any other marine exhibition in the South Pacific.

He also thanked Aucklander Pete Bethune for bringing Earthrace to the show for its first public appearance. The futuristic-looking trimaran will be aiming to set a round-the-world record later this year powered by bio-diesel.

The show is open to the public from 10am to 6pm today and tomorrow. Entrance is from either the Viaduct Harbour (just past the Maritime Museum) or from Halsey St.