Top of the class and growing

By GEORGINA BOND


Watching the dramatic gold medal showdown between the American and British men's 470 class sailing teams at the Athens Olympics was an exciting moment for boat-building brothers David and Owen MacKay.

It didn't matter which team took the top medal (it was the Americans), the MacKays were winners, as both teams were sailing the brothers' boats.

They also took the bronze, as third-placed Japan was also among the six of of the top 10 crews racing MacKay boats from Silverdale.

David MacKay described seeing his boats win as like watching Hamish Carter and Bevan Docherty take gold and silver in the men's triathlon, "although it would have been better if they were New Zealand crews".

MacKay Boats specialise in building Olympic 470 and 49er class sailing boats.

The 470 is a 4.7m two-person boat carrying a mainsail, jib and spinnaker.

The 49er is a 16-foot (4.9m) double trapeze skiff.

MacKay says the boats are built as light and as strong as possible to provide the competitive edge for racing, and push tolerance limits to the extreme. .

He said being small meant the company was able to balance customising with production.

The brothers took over the business in 1994 from Martin Marine Industries and have been gradually expanding it.

MacKay said it took about four years to reach the stage where it was one of two boat builders that attracted the most competitive sailors.

The other was a German company.

The brothers lead a team of six, most of whom sail, to produce two boats on average a week.

Ninety-five per cent of production is exported and they send a container overseas fortnightly - one this week is bound for Dubai.

The Olympics generated about 10 orders and another 15 are in the pipeline.

MacKay said the number of inquiries since the Olympics had been incredible.

That level of interest at the end of the European summer indicated sailors were planning ahead and also reinforced the importance of getting good results.

The international Olympic sailing market was difficult to break into, and the endorsement of boats by top sailors was crucial.

The company has had several wins since 1996, including the New Zealand men's 470 class team at the 2002 world championships.

"With good sailors winning in your boat, your market share rises dramatically," MacKay said.

"People need to see they are buying a boat capable of winning."

Europe is the company's biggest market. Although New Zealand is a keen sailing nation, its market is too small to sustain the business.

The main challenge over the years had been fostering confidence in European customers to buy from the other side of the world.

MacKay said he had tried to overcome that by attending all major Northern Hemisphere competitions and world championship events to "show face" and build relationships with sailors. The company had used a personal approach to its marketing, which had worked well in the niche market.

Asia is a growing market for the company and MacKay is hoping for strong interest from there before the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The MacKay brothers' father was also a boatmaker and the pair have a long history with the sea.

Owen sailed P-class boats in his youth and was a boat builder with the New Zealand Olympic team in 1984. He has since managed several surfboat teams in international competition.

David has also sailed competitively. His career highlights include a third placing in the 470s at the 1977 world championships and competing in the Flying Dutchman class at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

He said that strong sailing background had given them the benefit of knowing how boats needed to be engineered for a competitive edge.

MacKay Boats also makes surf boats for the local market and has completed design work for a European dinghy class.

MacKay sees plenty of room for expansion. "We're only building two out of nine Olympic classes so far, so there's heaps of room to expand."

Mackay Boats