Yacht For The Family Man

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31083, 11 June 1966, Page 12

Yacht For The Family Man

Canterbury * Industry

(Specially written for “The Press” by DON GRADY)

JN the belief that the x family man was entitled to relax on the sea, a Christchurch manufacturing company decided three years ago to build boats with the emphasis on safety.

The firm, Mackay Marine Ltd., need a boat to fill the gap between sailing dinghies and deep keelers. To interest the large numbers of prospective yachtsmen the price had to be right and as well “pay-as-you-build” schemes with kitsets had to be available. From this in three years, Mackay Marine with a staff of 10 all yachtsmen or powerboat men—has built up a lively pleasure-boat manufacturing business with

clients in nearly every harbour in the country. Most of the cabin cruisers built are bilge keelers in the £350 to £lOB5 range, with two to four berths. Their lengths range from the 14ft (2-berth) to the 21ft (4-berth) but a larger 25ft model is now being produced to sell at £2500. Objective By limited mass-production methods, Mackay Marine is able to turn out cabin cruisers in batches of six. Altogether they produce 30 boats a year at their Durham street premises.

Discussing the firm’s objective, the managingdirector, Mr W. B. Reed said: “The first thing we had to consider was the safety of the family man. The second biggest factor was ease of handling. A boat needed to be able to be sailed singlehanded. Then came the

important consideration of ‘trailer-ability’. We required a class of safe cruising boat, that could be taken to the water where the average New Zealand family man wanted to sail. It needed to be a boat that did not require mooring at one particular spot.” The firm has the Australasian building rights for the

proven designs of the English naval architects Robert Tucker and D. A. Rayner. Easiest To Sail The firm concentrates on building the 17ft 3in Silhouette bilge-keeler which Mr Reed claims a complete novice can learn to sail.

Mackay’s shop manager is the former Outward Bound seamanship instructor Mr A. Norfolk who is building himself a 35ft boat in his spare time.

The picture shows part of Mackay Marine’s workshop.