Vital signs

I’ve just given the entire magazine a final once-over before releasing it to the printer, checking for typos, grammatical gremlins and embarrassing gaffes. We never seem to be able to eliminate them entirely – no matter how many times we proof the pages. But the exercise did – for me anyway – offer an interesting snapshot of the New Zealand marine industry. Based on the ‘local’ content reflected in the articles, I’d say things are in a pretty good space. The vital signs are good.

Let’s see – we have reviews on three local boats: the Dan Leech L825 power cat, the Dickey Semifly 32 and Dean Salthouse’s Corsair Euro 44. Okay, the latter is the first that Dean’s had built in Taiwan rather than here, but it’s a local design.

There’s the fascinating vaku motu built by Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders – the third – and two more are in production. For the boatbuilding team, the vessels demand a challenging blend of modern and traditional techniques/technology.

Allan Tongs has just embarked on a new production boatbuilding initiative with a Bill Upfold design – the Elite AT43. The industry hasn’t had a facility geared to production launches for quite a while.

And then we get into the restoration skills. As anyone who’s been involved with restoring classics will tell you, the projects always demand infinite patience, precision and perspective.

Laughing Lady – once a derelict launch with a broken back – is a glowing showcase for those skills. A remarkable job by the Whangateau Traditional Boat Yard. As are Rawhiti and Innismara, two icons of New Zealand’s classic yacht fleet. Both are superb examples of the industry’s restoration expertise. Consider that Innismara was a fire-damaged hulk – miraculously raised from the dead by Henderson’s Yachting Developments.

And finally – we have lift-off with the America’s Cup. Consensus has been reached and we have a plan for a base in Auckland’s Viaduct. Let the building begin.

Within these pages Christian Stimson has provided a relatively user-friendly guide to the new AC75 design rule. I get most of what he is saying about the finesse and foibles of foiling.

I just hope the damn thing works.

Happy boating.