Five sailing yachts built between 1990 and 1999 are listed on the New Zealand market, spanning aluminium, GRP, steel and timber construction.
Five sailing yachts built between 1990 and 1999 are listed on the New Zealand market at the same time, and together they offer an unusually clean snapshot of what cruising yacht construction looked like in that decade. All are under 20 metres. All are monohull or catamaran cruisers rather than racers. And the spread between them, from a steel cutter asking $32,500 to a 16.6 metre aluminium expedition yacht at USD $279,000, says as much about construction philosophy as it does about price.
Ocean Flyer 55, “Big Sky” (1996)
Make: Ocean · Model: 55 (Ocean Flyer 55) · Year: 1996
Brokerage: 36 Degrees Brokers
Listing: https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/ocean-55-1085185
At 16.6m with a 4.19m beam and 1.83m working draft, Big Sky is the largest and most expensive of the five, listed at USD $279,000. She’s an aluminium expedition sailing yacht, designed by Don Brooke of Auckland naval architecture firm Ewbank, Brooke and Associates, conceived for long passages, small crews and high latitude sailing. The two-cabin interior is built for extended liveaboard use rather than short coastal hops, and the boat is currently based in Tahiti, already positioned for further Pacific passage-making. Inspections are by appointment, through 36 Degrees Brokers.
Beneteau Oceanis 400, “Kokah” (1994)
Make: Beneteau · Model: Oceanis 400 · Year: 1994
Brokerage: Parker Marine Group
Listing: https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/beneteau-1994-beneteau-oceanis-400-1070033
At 12.2m and NZD $129,000, Kokah is the French production entry in the group. The Oceanis 400 was designed by Jean-Marie Finot of Groupe Finot, a well-documented design house responsible for much of Beneteau’s cruising range through the 1990s. Three double cabins and two heads give her more interior volume than her length suggests, and a low-hour 48hp Yanmar 4JH2E keeps her cruising comfortably at 7.5 knots. She is currently berthed in Lyttelton, listed through Parker Marine Group.
Mel Jones sailing catamaran (1995)
Make: Jones · Model: Mel Jones Sailing Cat · Year: 1995
Brokerage: Parker Marine Group
Listing: https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/jones-1995-mel-jones-sailing-cat-1070070
Also handled through Parker Marine Group, this 10.4m multihull was designed by Ron Given, one of New Zealand’s most significant multihull designers, and built by Mel Jones. Given’s work spans the Paper Tiger catamaran through to ocean-cruising multihulls over three decades. At $98,000, this cat’s drawcard is a 0.7m draft on a 5m beam, giving access to anchorages a monohull of similar length simply cannot reach. Power comes from a twin setup, a 20hp Yanmar 2GM inboard alongside a 15hp Mercury outboard, and a Bay of Plenty swing mooring is available separately.
Ganley Pine Island Clipper (1995)
Make: Ganley · Model: Pine Island Clipper (Cutter Rig) · Year: 1995
Brokerage: Privately advertised, no agent
Listing: https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/ganley-pine-island-clipper-661121
The cheapest of the five at $32,500 and the only one of the group sold privately without a broker, this 10.5m steel cutter was designed by Denis Ganley. Ganley’s stock steel and timber plans, tailored for both amateur and professional builders, have produced more than 1,000 boats worldwide, and his Pacemaker 40 won the 1986 Steel Award for Best Consumer Product, the first yacht design to receive that honour. He died in 1997, making this a late example of his output. The listing describes sheer legs built into the design for sitting upright on the beach at low tide, consistent with the 1.5m working draft given in the text, a shoal-draft feature at odds with the deeper figure shown elsewhere in the same listing. Power is a 35hp Isuzu 3AB1 diesel with 350 hours logged.
NZ-built custom offshore sloop (1998)
Make: Custom · Model: NZ Built Custom Offshore Sloop · Year: 1998
Brokerage: Tauranga Boat Sales
Listing: https://www.tradeaboat.co.nz/detail/custom-nz-built-custom-offshore-sloop-(1998)-1069801
At 15.9m and $149,000, this timber-built cutter carries the deepest draft of the group at 2.5m. Cold-moulded in three skins of spruce, she was designed by L Boielle and is rigged as a masthead cutter with a Volvo diesel on shaft. Marketed as the NZ Built Custom Offshore Sloop, she is described in the listing as masthead cutter rigged, and her three-cabin layout sleeps five in singles and two in doubles. The listing attributes a passage-making capability of more than 200 nautical miles a day to her owner’s own account, a figure worth treating as a vendor claim rather than a verified benchmark. She is berthed in Tauranga, listed through Tauranga Boat Sales, and the vendor may consider a part trade.
At a glance
| Boat | Year | Length | Draft | Hull | Price | Brokerage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ocean Flyer 55 “Big Sky” | 1996 | 16.6m | 1.83m | Aluminium | USD $279,000 | 36 Degrees Brokers |
| Beneteau Oceanis 400 “Kokah” | 1994 | 12.2m | 1.65m | Fibreglass | NZD $129,000 | Parker Marine Group |
| Mel Jones sailing cat | 1995 | 10.4m | 0.7m | Fibreglass | $98,000 | Parker Marine Group |
| Ganley Pine Island Clipper | 1995 | 10.5m | 1.5m | Steel | $32,500 | Private sale |
| NZ custom offshore sloop | 1998 | 15.9m | 2.5m | Timber | $149,000 | Tauranga Boat Sales |
Between them, the five cover four construction methods, aluminium, GRP, steel and cold moulded timber, a draft range from 0.7m to 2.5m, and asking prices from $32,500 to USD $279,000.
Full listing details and inspection arrangements for each are available through the respective brokerage above.
