THE HEAT IS ON

The Heat Is On - Luxury Travel Magazine

The Heat Is On

By: David Lockwood, Issue 16 – Spring 2003

(boating, luxury, vessels, Sunseeker, Sportscruiser)

THIS SUMMER’S BOATING SEASON IS SET TO BE A SCORCHER, WITH A FLEET OF STYLISH NEW LUXURY VESSELS TAKING TO OUR WATERWAYS.

The star of this year’s national boat show circuit was the 82-foot Sunseeker from the UK, costing $7-8 million with designer interior. It was the first boat for its owner, a high-profile businessman who was already contemplating a 100-footer. Four other Sunseeker 82s are heading to Perth, the Gold Coast and Sydney this year. Yet even bigger news broke of an Italian-made Azimut 100ft motor yacht selling for a cool $11.5 million, including jacuzzi with views. The luxury liner, one of the most popular charter vessels in the Mediterranean, will gad about Europe before setting sail for a private berth on Sydney Harbour. Not that Australian manufacturers have missed the boat, mind you. Our largest luxury boat builder, Riviera, was delirious after selling $28 million worth of flybridge cruisers at the Sydney Boat Show, held each year in August, $15 million worth of luxury vessels on the opening day of the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show in May, and five-star craft with pricetags of more than a million into Melbourne. Just what is going on? Like the coastal real estate market, boating is enjoying boom times. According to the latest figures, boat ownership in NSW alone is growing at five per cent a year, which exceeds the state’s population growth, and everywhere you look there are more luxury boats coasting the waterways.

So who’s jumping aboard? Developers’ dollars have replaced the dot-commers, busy professionals looking for lifestyle are taking the helm, and retirees not afraid to spend have moved into the big league. There is new and old money and lots of borrowers spurred on by low-interest rates, new leasing deals, equity share arrangements and delayed payment options. New boating facilities have had a pronounced effect on boat ownership, too, but not just any old boats. An apartment by the harbour, a Hope Island home or Dockland development commands something as smart as the car parked in the basement. The sportscruiser with hardtop, electric sunroof and reverse-cycle air conditioning is all the rage this season, offering comfort in fair weather and foul and single-level entertaining space for guests on long lounges behind picture windows.

Local sportscruiser boat-builders Sunrunner unveiled a hardtop version of its award-winning 37-footer ($460,000) and a new 48-foot open-decked sportscruiser ($925,000 with three flat-screen TVs, dishwasher, bow and stern thrusters and more). A hardtop will be available on the 48 in time for summer. Gold Coast boat builder Mustang is taking more orders for its flash 4600 Mirage sportscruiser ($799,000 drive-away) with hardtop than without. The company’s 42-footer will get a hardtop soon, but all eyes are on a radical new 35-footer penned by an industrial design house. Think sportscar afloat. Mariner, the sportscruiser arm of the local Riviera Group, will release two new sportscruisers in the 10m-plus range this year. Aside from its hugely popular flybridge cruisers, Riviera also has a new class of express cruiser called sportyachts in the pipeline.

American giants Sea Ray and Bayliner have worked hard to improve the finish of their sportscruisers. While none sports a hardtop, they come with extended targa arches that almost do the same job. And Kiwi boats such as the Genesis are making inroads here with their 40-footer sportscruisers with hardtops and outdoor barbecue facilities. Yet none can hold a candle to the Imported Boat of the Year, judged by this correspondent and the Australian Marine Industry Federation. Priced at more than $3.5 million, Sunseeker’s Predator 68 has the ‘wow factor’ – a hardtop, electric sunroof and side windows, barbecue and ice-maker, submersible swim platform, wine fridge, giant flat-screen TV and more. The Predator was one of the first boats with a convertible hardtop. It’s been such a hit that a 108-foot Predator will be released at next year’s Southampton Boat Show. Sunseeker’s stately motoryacht range has also been expanded to a 120- and 135-footer this year.

UK Princess has released a sexy new V58 for about $2 million in Sydney with a retractable top. It has a V70 on the drawing board for the express-cruiser set. Average price of the Princess boats sold here is about $2 million and more than 50 have been imported in the last six years alone. Another British marque, Fairline has a new express-style Targa 62 with hardtop and optional curved-glass sliding rear door to create a kind of sunroom at sea. One of the biggest players in Italy, the Ferretti Group, has announced it is bringing in five-star big boats soon. Aside from the aforementioned 100-footer, Italian Azimut has a new range of open boats called Coupes coming our way. A different group altogether swooned over the latest retro boats. Pitched at retirees and romantics, they are deigned for commuting in style and dressy Sunday brunches. Halvorsen returned after a 25-year absence with its new 38 Gourmet Cabin Cruiser ($495,000), Hunter Mainship had a 30-footer ($260,000) and the local Palm Beach released a quaint 32 for $350,000. Still on the home front, Riviera’s first new boat since the management buy-out earlier this year takes some beating. Priced at $1.13 million, the new 51 has a high-gloss cherry wood finish and the fly-bridge is a princely penthouse with lifestyle facilities to rival the new hardtop sportscruisers. This summer’s boating season is shaping up to be one of the best.

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