Features
Article
2025 Christmas Gift Ideas
Ahoy there! 🎁 Christmas is just around the corner, so we’ve pulled together top presents for all the boaties in your life, from casual cruisers to ser...
Article
The Russ Bowler story pt1: By Design
Russ Bowler was Bruce Farr’s partner for over 40 years.
A skilled designer/sailor in his own right Bowler brought an enquiring mind and innovative ...
Feature
On Track: Featherston Jet Sprint track
In early December, local and overseas jet sprint boats will converge on the Wairarapa’s Kiwispan Jet Sprint Track for round one of the six-round New Z...
Tech Review
Rebel with a cause
Boaties who want a serious towing rig with a dose of luxury will want to check out the 2025 RAM 1500 Rebel Hurricane.
The big news is under the bonne...
Article
Getting Saucy
Saucy Jane is the name of Bill Hamilton’s first successful jetboat, now lost to history, and of Jim Lapsley’s homebuilt working replica, which is very...
Advertorial
Fidelis, the classic 61′ racer cruiser
There are many stories about trans-Tasman rivalry in all fields of sport. From netball to rugby, from yachting to cricket. The history of the sailing ...
Article
Terence Disdale: My Art of Yacht Design
Text by Marilyn M. Mower, Roger Lean-Vercoe
“One of the most sought-after designers of the past 50 years, Disdale doesn’t follow trends—he sets them....
Article
New and improved: Mercury Marine introduces two new V10 Verado outboard engines
Mercury Marine introduced two new V10 Verado outboard engines in late July with the gala unveiling of its all-new Verado 425hp and enhanced Verado 350...
Feature
Rhône Rhapsody
One of Europe’s major waterways, the 814km Rhône rises in the Swiss Alps. It’s boosted by multiple tributaries along the way and drops 2,208m over its...
Tech Article
Why wait?
Every year I attend major boat industry trade events like METSTRADE and technology showcases like CES to learn about emerging technologies to make boa...
Article
Lake day memories: A family on the water
I’m Bevan Ratcliffe, and my wife Keri and I live in Wānaka with our two boys, aged three and six. Over the past couple of summers, our boat has become...
Article
The second yacht named Tawera
In my last article I wrote about the strong relationship between the menfolk of the Wilson and the Horton families, the proprietors of the successful ...
Article
A damn good fry-up!
As a keen fisherman and cook, I am always looking for interesting and exciting ways to cook my catch. Yet, to be honest, the oldest and simplest, trie...
Article
The two yachts named Tawera
A very high proportion of commercial vessels, yachts and launches built in
New Zealand from colonisation in the 19th century were given Māori names....
Article
Raglan, Waikato: Long Pursuit; New Home
A long, intriguing, many-fingered harbour. A serious bar.
A world-class surf break nearby. Raglan is a place par excellence for water-borne exploits....
Article
Attitude is everything: The John Morrison story
Sailor and entrepreneur John Morrison’s story is a real rags-to-riches one. Growing up in Lyttelton in the 1960s, he built a keeler and, aged 22, set ...
Article
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Offshore powerboating: from timber testbeds to carbon speed machines
The story of how a six-metre wooden boat called Rems sparked a marine revolution that still echoes in every offshore powerboat.
Article
A fresh start for Curlew
It was in the early part of the 19th century that the quay punts of Falmouth, Cornwall, began to provide essential services – transportation of suppli...
Article
The perfect fit: A refit at Clevedon’s Scott Lane Boatbuilders
Boating lore is riddled with repower/refit projects that didn’t end as envisaged – usually because hidden issues scuppered the cost-benefit equation. ...
Article
Formula 4000 restoration: Total reform
The immaculate Formula 4000 slid slowly past me down the fairway, stopped, spun neatly on the spot and backed into its Gulf Harbour berth. “That’s a m...
Article
Sea Cat’s excellent adventure
Cruising is about more than island-hopping and snorkel spots. Sometimes the most memorable part is the characters you meet.
Article
Helping hands and scraping Chairs: A volunteer’s tale from a Dominica school
Soon after we became involved with Newtown Primary School, we befriended the French teacher, Mrs. Solange Payne, and the Principal, Jerry Coipel. Then...
Feature
BOI swim: A personal journey
It was early spring in 2024 when the idea first came to me. I was feeling restless and needed a good outdoor project for the coming summer. I’ve alway...
Article
Firing up reluctant kingfish
One of the great things about kingfish is that they can be targetted in so many ways – but no matter how you fish for them, they can be frustratingly ...
Article
Women in sport: Kelsey Muir helms the 104th Lipton Cup winner
Sailing is often perceived as an elitist sport dominated by men, and while it is much more accessible here in New Zealand, the achievements of women c...
Feature
A free-spirited talent: The Graeme Woodroffe story
The late Graeme Woodroffe was one of New Zealand’s best-performing helmsmen/skippers, competing in OK dinghies, IOR ton keelers, and New Zealand’s fir...
Feature
PETREL, Raters again
From its beginnings in the 1860s the sport of yachting in New Zealand had two major streams.
Exclusive
Simply the best: the Jo Aleh, MNZM, story
In a sailing career that’s
been short on financial assistance and long in determination and mental fortitude, Jo Aleh has clocked up an impressive s...
Matakana’s little ships
Matakana’s Allan Harkin has been crafting model ships for decades – a hobby that’s grown into something much larger than he ever envisaged. It’s inadv...
Article
Across the Strait: crossing Cook Strait in Zephyrs
About six months ago, my dad, Mike, asked if I’d be interested in crossing Cook Strait in Zephyr sailing dinghies. He said he’d been thinking about it...
Feature
How did we get here? Kiwis’ Atlantic crossing
Kiwi sailors can be found all over the globe, cruising the world’s oceans and enjoying adventures in exotic locations. Cruising sailor Theresa Nichols...
Feature
Hard or soft for snapper
It’s a common dilemma for many of us:
when should I use a softbait and when is it better to use a metal jig lure of some sort?
Feature
No ramp? No problem!
Many of New Zealand’s best boating and fishing locations are miles away from sheltered launching ramps. That doesn’t put them out of reach for trailer...
Feature
Kerikeri inlet: Flocking to history
Our Up the Creek adventure took us into history, to a place most photographed though not always as well known.
Feature
Kokoru: A Phoenix from the ashes
Some boats are just born lucky.
Kokoru is one of those boats.
Designed and built in 1960 by legendary Picton boatbuilder Jack Morgan, she spent mo...
Article
A very brief history of: Marine foils
It’s tempting to think hydrofoils (like the ones in the America’s Cup and Sail GP competitions) are a relatively new phenomenon. However, the concept ...
Feature
The Robert Brooke story
Role model
From the ashes of a cut-off boatbuilding career, Robert Brooke reinvented himself as an educator and, over a 40-year career, has positivel...
The Yates family of the Far North and their Bailey & Lowe launches Part II: Tui Silver Bell
Joseph William (Joe) Conrad, who bought the bigger Tui (now Silver Bell) from Gus Yates in 1914, often used his Māori names,
Hohepa Kanara or Hohepa...
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