Gladiator puts rivals to sword

And the winner is ... the Gladiator 8.0.

The little fish in the big pond of boat building has taken out the Hutchwilco Boat Show top award.

Warren Hay of Warren Hay Marine took out the hotly contested Aluminium Fishing Boat Open section in Auckland recently with his new-to-market aluminium trailer boat Gladiator 8.0 model, first in the Broadbill Boats brand.

Broadbill Boats was officially launched at the show and is one of a very few new entries to have ever won such an award.

The win came as a huge surprise to Mr Hay, who only entered the boat in the awards after being encouraged to do so by others involved in the project.

"The category we were in was very strongly contested, and we were up against what you'd consider to be the top boats on the market, so I felt very proud to get it. It really blew me away," Mr Hay said.

Broadbill Boats has been his passion for six years.

The most notable feature of the Broadbill design is a full walkaround deck with a central hardtop cabin. The layout combines the benefits of maximum fishing space with a dry interior that allows the boat to be used comfortably in almost any weather.

Mr Hay's passion for fishing has also influenced every detail of the boat, from the placement and orientation of rod holders, to the number of live bait wells, to the transom design that makes chasing down big game fish a breeze.

"Our point of difference is that the boat was set up by a fisherman for all the fishing techniques people use these days, and that input from a pure fishing perspective really shone out to everyone. "

Mr Hay worked closely with Steve McLay and his team at McLay Boats to develop and build the Broadbill design, and attributes the boat's success to the entire team of people who made his dream a reality.

" All the staff here at Warren Hay Marine really supported us to make it happen too, so the success is shared with the whole team. It means a lot to them," Mr Hay said.

"It's also been really rewarding to work with local businesses here in Whangarei," Warren said.

The win has already translated into interest from potential buyers following the show.

"I've got people interested from Northland right to down to Otago, and even New Caledonia. We also had a lot of interest from Australian boat dealers, so we've got some really positive leads."

The Gladiator 8.0 is on display at Warren Hay Marine in Whangarei, and will appear at the Auckland on Water Boat Show in September 2016.

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