The world's our Oyster

By ROBIN BAILEY

Of the many crises faced by the New Zealand boatbuilding industry in its long history, one from recent times is encountered in the survival stories of many companies: the Muldoon boat tax of 1979.

The tax killed many companies, even those that had been industry leaders. Others restructured and managed to keep afloat. Some changed tack and prospered.

One of the survivors was the Glendene, Auckland-based McDell Marine, which has just opened a new chapter in its history. Last month the company shipped the 53ft (16.03m) Kiwi Oyster to Britain. Completion of the big sloop was the first step in a multimillion-dollar contract to build luxury blue-water cruising yachts for Oyster Marine, the biggest yacht-builder in the United Kingdom.

The Oyster deal means McDell Marine will build 14 Oyster 53s and an additional seven of a new design, Oyster 49. These initial Oyster contracts will be worth more than $20 million and keep the company busy until the end of 2003.

Back to 1979. McDell Marine was then well-established and had been building the hugely successful Sea Nymph range of runabouts since the early 70s, turning out up to 20 a week and exporting to Australia.

Managing director Kim McDell and then partner Peter Gribble were hosting a group of Outboard Boating Club members for an after-work session at the factory when Kim's wife phoned with news of the Muldoon bombshell.

General manger Bill Howlett recalls: "The result of that call was that between 7.30 pm and midnight 40 boats were on their way from the factory to instant owners all over Auckland. It gave us some breathing space, but it was obvious swift remedial action would be needed if we were to stay in business.

"The powerboat scene soon took another blow with the oil shock, so as we were all keen yachties, we decided to look to sail, and in particular a Bruce Farr-designed trailer-sailer."

It proved to be a watershed decision for the company.

Howlett again: "Kim and Bruce were well known to one another in the competitive sailing arena, and the Farr designs were becoming noticed. We decided to test the market with the Farr 6000. This proved hugely successful and got us into the export market.

"Previously we had been selling Sea Nymphs offshore, but the Farr 6000 proved so popular in Australia we were soon selling two boats a week over the Tasman."

The Farr association developed with the introduction of three new trailer-yacht models, the Farr 5000, 7500 and the 740 Sport.

These in turn led to the incredibly successful production of performance Farr 10.20 keelers, of which 150 were sold.

Howlett puts the success of this yacht down to the company's insistence on making the class a tightly controlled one design.

Even for the 10.20s sold as kitsets, the hull and deck were joined and the keel and rudder designs were specified, with everything being supervised by an active owners' association which the company set up and managed.

The equally successful Farr 12.20 followed, finding many of its buyers among competitive yachties moving up from the 10.20. Interest in the bigger Farr was so high the company had 25 deposits before production of the first boat began and eventually 50 were built.

As the demand for production yachts in Australia and New Zealand dried up the company tested new areas, including building naval patrol boats, one-off commissions and now the Oyster contract.

Like the Kim McDell-Bruce Farr association, the success of this contract has direct links back to competitive yachting.

Oyster chairman Richard Matthews came to New Zealand for the America's Cup racing and to try to find a shipyard here capable of building performance blue-water cruising yachts that met his company's quality criteria. He called first on McMullen & Wing and Alloy Yachts. Both yards felt the project was not right for them and recommended McDell.

Not only did he renew an early race-circuit association with Kim McDell, the Oyster boss found a company to produce the standard of yacht he needed at a realistic price. That McDell Marine was able to meet the British company's specifications was confirmed at the launch of Kiwi Oyster when Matthews announced the extension of the contract to both build the moulds and the new Oyster 49s at Glendene.