On December 20th, a 73-year-old will retire from a company and brand he’s been associated with since 1981. The man is Hugh Stewart, and the brand is one of New Zealand’s favourite outboards – Yamaha. For over 40 years, Stewart has been Yamaha’s National Service Manager, and this is his story.
Born in 1951, Hugh was the second son of a Waikato farming couple, Eric and Gladys Stewart. Aged 14, Stewart had to leave school to manage the family farm when his father became ill. However, he started a motor mechanic’s apprenticeship with Holmes and Ryan Garage in Te Rapa 18 months later.
“I was always interested in pulling things apart and putting them back together. They serviced everything: cars, trucks, tractors, farm equipment, and even vintage cars.”
After completing his apprenticeship in 1972, Stewart joined Gillard’s Water Pumps to manage its vehicle fleet. After a couple of similar jobs in Hamilton and a stint operating his own garage in the late 1970s, Stewart joined Moller Motors Retail in Hamilton. Then, Moller was the importer and distributor of Volvo, Citroen, Jaguar, and Alfa Romeo cars, Triumph motorcycles, Volvo Penta inboard marine engines, and Mariner outboards.
As Moller’s Technical Service Manager, Stewart was responsible for eight staff and the service requirements of all its brands, which could mean working on anything from a luxury car to an outboard engine. Moller’s was one of the first companies in New Zealand to set up a computer system, which Stewart recalls being the size of a small bedroom.
In 1982, Yamaha and Brunswick Marine’s (Mercury/Mariner) joint venture contract expired (see sidebar), prompting Moller’s to take over the Yamaha import distributorship. Greg Fenwick was appointed manager of the Yamaha outboard division and started building a nationwide dealership network.
The following year Ebbett Holden bought Moller’s Hamilton vehicle retail operation and became the local Volvo, Citroen, Jaguar, and Alfa Romeo dealer. Stewart became their service manager. Some months later, Stewart left Moller’s to become workshop manager for Waikato Marine and Dive, a Yamaha outboard dealer.
“I loved the Yamaha brand. I remember when Yamaha released their V4 and V6 outboards. They were amazing engines for their day; the V6 was the first computer-controlled outboard engine.”
Meanwhile, Moller rebranded the marine side of their business Moller Yamaha and worked hard to improve Yamaha’s sales. Stewart’s passion for Yamaha outboards was noticed. In 1984, Fenwick and Alex Copeland appointed him National Service Manager for Yamaha and Volvo Penta.
By now, there were 30 Yamaha dealers in the country. In addition to servicing requirements, Stewart was involved in the technical side of fitting and setting up engines for production boats, including Fi Glass, Rayglass, Buccaneer, Sea Nymph, and Genesis. Besides helping production boatbuilders with fitting Yamaha products, thanks to the depth of his knowledge, Stewart was often asked to provide technical assistance for special projects such as luxury one-offs and race boats.
Stewart also became a specialist in supplying and setting up Yamaha engines on race boats, working with the likes of Ron Archer, Peter Boylen and Joe Stanton.
Another of Stewart’s significant responsibilities was training service staff nationwide on Yamaha and Volvo Penta products. He has long been a passionate believer in the quality of training for any apprentice and has expended considerable energy lifting the standard of training. From experience, he found that passion is the key to success in the industry.
“People aren’t born into the marine world; you must have a real passion to join and stay in it.”
By 1985, Yamaha’s attention to quality and innovation was paying off. Combined with Fenwick’s canny marketing, innovative boat show stands, and an enthusiastic, passionate and comprehensive dealer network, Yamaha had become the leading outboard brand in New Zealand.
Around 1987, Moller Yamaha moved its warehouse from New Plymouth to Auckland, initially to Mt Wellington and later East Tamaki, which helped centralise supply and distribution. Around this time, Stewart’s role became too much for one person, and he was asked to choose between Yamaha and Volvo Penta. “Naturally, I chose Yamaha,” he chuckled. By now, Yamaha had added Personal Watercraft (PWC) to its marine products; over time, this became an important source of business. Some of the first Yamaha PWCs were sold in the Cook Islands, where Yamaha outboards enjoyed a solid reputation. Stewart regularly travelled to the Cook Islands to train the local service staff.
“We sent the first two [Yamaha] Waverunners to the Cooks, and Greg and I went up there to show the locals how they worked.”
In 2001, Yamaha Motor Company in Japan bought the distribution rights to its products back from Moller Yamaha and renamed the division Yamaha Motor New Zealand Ltd (YMNZ).
Moller’s sold its Volvo Penta agency to Holyoake Industries as part of the deal, allowing YMNZ to sell its range of inboard engines, including petrol and diesel engines in V6 and V8 configurations and their own sterndrives. Stewart was especially fond of the Yamaha 4.2-litre diesel, based on a Toyota Landcruiser engine with many improvements. The bigger inboard diesels, 500hp and up, were based on marinised Hino engines.
Whether Toyota or Hino, Yamaha did an outstanding job with their cooling systems, which, as many people have learned to their cost, is often a weak point with marinised car and truck engines.
In addition to outboard and inboard engines, YMNZ also distributed motorcycles, scooters, ROVs, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, unmanned helicopters, golf cars, go-kart engines, power generators, water and sludge pumps, and industrial engines.
However, Stewart’s role remained solely focused on the marine engine side, especially vocational training. He has visited Japan numerous times, Sweden, and Australia to help develop training material, and his work has been highly-regarded. He has worked closely with New Zealand marine training organisations such as the Boating Industry Training Organisation (BITO), the New Zealand Marine and Composites Industry Training Organisation (NZMAC ITO) and more recently, the MAST Academy.
Around 2014, Yamaha quietly dropped inboard engine and sterndrives from its lineup, primarily because of a lack of market share in the USA, which continued to be dominated by Volvo Penta.
YMNZ has long supported yachting, providing outboards and towing vehicles for local clubs, Yachting New Zealand’s High-Performance programme and America’s Cup (AC) campaigns, which they have supported since the 1987 challenge. Stewart played a significant hands-on role with outboards in various AC campaigns, including those of Team New Zealand. Another niche market for many years was supplying Yamaha outboards for Surf Lifesaving organisations nationwide. With Stewart assisting with setups, YMNZ has provided engines for many New Zealand government departments, such as the Maritime Police, airport rescue, MAF, and NIWA.
As mentioned in the opening paragraph, Stewart is retiring on December 20th. While he won’t be cranking the spanners any longer, he intends to continue training work for the MAST Academy New Zealand.
Looking back on his career, the massive technological changes, especially in outboards, have been his primary motivation.
“I’ve had an amazing journey with Yamaha. I’ve seen outboards go from little 2hp two-strokes, the introduction of HPDI, to a computer-controlled, direct fuel-injected V8 four-stroke.”
Fenwick, who retired a decade ago, has nothing but praise for Stewart’s work ethic and commitment to his role.
“So often, there’s a disconnect between sales and service, but Hugh carried out his role so well that I was free to concentrate on the sales, marketing and building up the dealer network. This was a huge factor in Yamaha’s success in this country.”
Hugh Stewart, who started swinging spanners, has grown to become a trainer of trainers through dedication, hard work, a thirst for knowledge, and a passion for all things engines and boats. He’s retiring from a company and an industry, leaving both in far better shape than when he arrived.
On behalf of outboard engine owners throughout the country, Hugh Stewart, we salute you. May you long enjoy your retirement.
