Making a splash by design

By ROBIN BAILYE

Speed plays an important part in the professional as well as the recreational life of Aucklander Nic deMay. As principal of Composite Technology Ltd, the 33-year-old builds high-performance yachts and powerboats. His sport is water-ski racing, which means hanging on behind a twin-engine rig at speeds approaching 100mph.

Both aspects of his life came together in completing the company's latest project, the design and construction of Teivovo, an 8m, multi-purpose craft for the Castaway Island resort in Fiji.

The brief was to build a fast, high-performance craft that would be both a workboat and a good-looking day boat for entertaining guests at the resort. It also had to fit into a container, which restricted the beam to 2.3m. An added challenge was delivering a boat that was not over-engineered and with a minimum of the sophisticated electronic devices that would be difficult to maintain in the harsh and isolated island environment.

The project came to deMay via classic-boat enthusiast Chad Thompson. Castaway Island owner Geoff Shaw heard about Thompson's restoration of the launch Lady Gay and asked him to look at doing a similar job on Erin, the resort's ageing flagship. Erin was shipped to New Zealand, where it was discovered restoration was not a viable option, so a replacement was ordered from Composite Technology.

The result is a sleek bow-rider that can comfortably accommodate 10 people for day cruises with appropriate entertaining facilities. The open transom means easy access for swimming and diving and the twin four-stroke Yamaha outboards mean 30-minute transfers from the mainland to the resort are possible as well as quick island trips for resort guests.

Launched this week, Teivovo more than meets the owner's specifications. After a commissioning run on a choppy Hauraki Gulf on Tuesday, Shaw described the boat as sensational.

"Nic has done a remarkable job," he said. "The boat's performance amazed me, particularly the stability in a chop, which is remarkable considering that the beam was restricted to meet our requirement to have it shipped by container. I'm thrilled with the result."

The designer plans to attack the Australian market with a slightly beamier version of Teivovo, with a cabin version instead of a bow-rider to accommodate overnighters.

DeMay set up Composite Technology in 1996 after completing his apprenticeship at Marten Marine, building America's Cup and Whitbread yachts. The company has a staff of six and concentrates on high-end construction techniques including foam, Kevlar and vacuum bagging. It produces the Sonic range of production ski boats.

Once a dedicated yachtie, deMay got into ski racing in 1994 after a friend did the Bridge to Bridge event in Hamilton.

"Having competed in a few too many yacht races that developed into drifters, it was time for a change when he reported back that he'd found a sport that involved fast boats and heaps of good-looking women," says deMay.

By 1996 he was in Australia competing against teams from the United States as well as the Aussies and next year made the New Zealand team for the world championships in Sydney. A fractured neck and spine and a broken leg meant a year off the race circuit and a spell in the driving side of the sport.

This year he is back racing, competing behind a Sonic1900ss as well as his own Sonic 2100ss twin rig. "Ski racing is where I test a lot of my theories on boat design, either sitting in the driver's seat at 90mph or behind the boat, watching how the boat towing me is behaving in certain conditions," says deMay.

"I also manage to keep an eye on the boat beside me which I am hoping is not going to spin out and run me over."

Specifications for the Teivovo

* Designer: Nic deMay

* Length: 8m

* Beam: 2.8m

* Displacement: 2200kg with passengers and fuel

* Engines: twin 200hp four-stroke Yamahas

* Top speed: 72mph

* Construction: Kevlar/foam