Stepping up to the plate

By ROBIN BAILEY

Invercargill boat manufacturer Stabi-Craft Marine is adding to a New Zealand safety initiative to help to boost its reputation on the Australian market.

From July next year all boats sold across the ditch must carry the Australian Builders' Plate, stating a list of requirements designed to make boating safer.

Stabi-Craft managing director Paul Adams says not only will his boats comply, they will offer to retrospectively plate boats sold before the introduction of the new standard.

"We were among one of the first companies to adopt the New Zealand CPC standard when it was introduced in 1997 and have been strong supporters of this initiative as it has been developed over the years," says Adams. "The industry in Australia has been a long time following our lead, so meeting their June 2005 deadline is no problem.

"As a company we have always emphasised the safety aspects of recreational as well as professional boating. What we are doing in the South Pacific is an initiative the rest of the world could follow. A lot of manufacturers pay more attention to showroom presentation than on-the-water performance."

The Australian plate must state the maximum number of people the boat can carry, the maximum loading weight, recommended outboard size and a buoyancy flotation rating that states how the boat behaves when swamped.

The New Zealand CPC programme goes a bit further. Griff Simpson, chairman of the CPC manufacturers group, a division of the Marine Industry Association: "Boats built under our rigorous standard are certified to have positive bouyancy even if completely swamped, to be built safe and strong in all conditions and to be built to a detailed set of Coastguard-approved criteria that ensures they are suitable for our challenging marine environment."

Simpson says the standard is one of the best trailer boat build standards in the world and the only one that is run and continually revised by the boatbuilders themselves.

Recent additions to the CPC criteria include making navigation lights and bilge pumps mandatory and ensuring boats feature positive buoyancy so they remain afloat even when totally swamped.

Stabi-Craft used an innovative segment of their stand at this month's Sydney Boat Show to emphasise this aspect of the performance of their boats. They floated a swamped boat in a container to prove the point.

Adams: "Unpredictable weather is universal and it is the unsinkable characteristics of the Stabi-Craft and its ability to float even in heavy weather, that has gained us market acceptance worldwide. The United Nations has Stabi-Craft doing migrant and refugee work; in the Northern Territory they are being used for the capture and relocation of problem crocodiles and they are the preferred option for a range of specialist tourism operators on both sides of the Tasman."

MIA executive director Peter Busfield says more than 10,000 boats from 3.5m to 8m have been built to the CPC standard since it was launched at the 1997 New Zealand Boat Show and another 2000 are expected to have been built before the end of this year.

He emphasises that the programme is the most successful example so far of competing manufacturers co-operating on a project to benefit the whole industry. "It has led to economies of scale, transfer of technology, better specifications, more apprentices and, of course, safer boats.

"The safety criteria have enabled us to achieve the endorsement of the Royal New Zealand Coastguard Federation, which we hope will be appreciated, particularly by new boaters. Our CPC promotional campaign explains in clear and simple language what the programme delivers in terms of safety on the water."

The 17 New Zealand CPC manufacturers are: Fi-Glass, Bonito, Buccaneer, Challenger, CBS Huntsman, Fibre Forces, Kiwi, Marco, Ramco, Rayglass, Reflex, Seacraft, Stabi-Craft, Steadecraft, Street Marine, Tristram and Sportscraft.