Boating NZ

Boating NZ inspires boating enthusiasts with reviews of new boats, coverage of technical innovations, maintenance advice, columns and cruising stories.

PUBLISHER'S EDITORIAL

Boat World News

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

GO PRO!

Common Marine Sayings • WELCOME TO 'A VERY BRIEF HISTORY OF...' RESEARCHING THE HISTORY OF EVERYDAY MARINE TECHNOLOGY, INNOVATION AND EVENTS KIWI BOATIES LOVE (OR LOATHE).

EXPERIENCE BEHIND EVERY CONVERSATION

DECKED IN ARMOUR • EVA decking can transform your boating, but with most products currently available fixing it to a chequerplate aluminium deck is problematic. Enter Deck Armour!

THINK BIG BOATS • A stable, spacious and remarkably practical 4.5m catamaran, the FatCat 4500 takes a different approach to small-boat design – and its tough polyethylene construction is a big part of the story.

Boat Business News • THE NAUTICAL GROUP has been appointed the official Azimut Yachts dealer in New Zealand, representing the Italian yacht builder nationwide and supporting clients throughout the ownership journey.

A mooring for Rapa Iti • A dramatic landscape, hospitable locals, a perfectly protected bay – Rapa Iti, the southernmost and remotest island of French Polynesia is also one of the prettiest and most interesting. If it wasn’t for the notoriously difficult anchoring in its main bay, the island would be a cruiser’s delight. During our two visits we worked together with the locals and installed a mooring, to prevent fouled chains and anchors and to save the coral from further damage.

GETTING WHAT YOU WANT • It was a typical early spring day on the Waitematā: sun and cloud battling for dominance, making it unclear whether we were in for a glimpse of summer or another grey day that never quite gets going. As it turned out, we got a bit of both.

Boat Bling

Vining Gulf Group • Two trusted brands. One team. Coast to coast coverage, now with international reach.

Fact or Fiction • A new fun series answering the questions about marine biosecurities.

Flying high • New Zealand windfoiler Aimee Bright has capped a breakthrough international season in spectacular fashion, coming from behind to win the iQFOiL Under-23 World Championship in a dramatic Grand Final in Puck, Poland.

Takacat Backpack • Inflatable dinghies are great for providing beach access from a launch or larger trailer boat, and most owners of larger boats have some sort of tender. However, conventional designs can be difficult to pull aboard or stow.

Do fish feel pain? • Research indicates that, while fish register and react to injury and other nervous system stimuli, they don't experience pain like humans do.

MISSION READY • Cruising up Queen Charlotte Sound alongside a pod of dolphins is a pretty good way to start an afternoon testing and reviewing a brand-new boat. Judging by their curiosity, the Sound’s resident dolphins seemed equally impressed by the newest member of the pod, albeit an aluminium one.

A MAJOR REPOWER FAR FROM HOME • WHEN THE VACIRCAS, ITALIAN ADVENTURERS AND YACHT OWNERS, SET OFF AROUND THE WORLD ABOARD THEIR FRENCH-BUILT AMEL 50, THEY DIDN'T EXPECT NEW ZEALAND TO BECOME THE SETTING FOR A MAJOR ENGINE REPOWER.

18-footers and launches • In the last article I left Auckland lawyer Charles Webster in early October 1938 accompanying George Dennes to Sydney. They had a meeting with the NSW 18 Footers' Sailing League to complete the arrangements for a return visit to Auckland by the Sydney skiffs to take on the best of New Zealand's 18-footers. Because the Oz boats had eclipsed the small NZ team in January 1938 in Sydney, the Australians expected that the contest would be a second demonstration of the superiority of their machines over the under-canvassed Kiwis, and...