Napier aluminium boat-builders Dickey Boats took out the top award at the Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show for the second year in a row.
The Dickey Custom 950 took out the Boat of the Show: Overall Winner Award, along with the Boat of the Show: Aluminium Fishing Boat Open and the Boat of the Show: Best New Model awards. The company’s Dickey Custom 750XS also won the Boat of the Show: All Purpose Open Award.
Auckland GRP boat manufacturer Rayglass Boats added two more awards to its collection from previous years, including Boat of the Show: GRP Fishing Boat 6-7m for their Legend 2350 and GRP Fishing Boat Open for their Legend 2500.
At $2.65m, Lloyd Stevenson’s Elite 16-Metre Mid Pilothouse launch was both the largest and most expensive of the boats on display. It won the Launch Open category.
Meanwhile, Whakatane boat-builders Extreme Boats’ 570 Centre Console won the award for aluminium fishing boat under 6m, and Napier’s Profile Boats topped the category for aluminium fishing boats 6-7m with its Profile 635H.
Henderson company Smuggler Boats’ Smuggler Sport 620 won the award for all-purpose boat under 6m and Sports Marine of Christchurch took out all-purpose award for boats 6-7m.
The award for most innovative local product went to the Balex Automatic Boat Loader and Furuno’s DRS4W Wireless Radar won the title of most innovative international product.
Yamaha Motor NZ Ltd was again the winner of Trade-a-Boat’s most innovative stand award. Garmin secured the Trade-a-Boat award for having the best small stand and Electronic Navigation Ltd was named the best commercial stand.
Long-time marine industry wholesaler and administrator Bob Tait was inducted into the New Zealand Boat Show Hall of Fame, and show stalwart Johnny Weller received a special presentation for his 50 years of service to the New Zealand Boat Show.
More than 34,500 Kiwis attended this year’s Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show. Plans are already underway for the 2015 event, which will return to Auckland’s ASB Showgrounds on 14-17 May 2015.
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Photography: Simon Petersen