Plenty to see at Auckland On Water Boat Show 2016 - Opens Thursday

by John Eichelsheim on 27 Sep 2016 At 10am, this Thursday - September 29, 2016 - the four-day Auckland On Water Boat Show opens its doors at Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour Convention Centre.

With over 180 exhibitors, the show encompasses a huge range of yachts, launches, powerboats, dinghies, tenders, jet-skis, paddle boards, kayaks and other watercraft, as well as offering marine services, marina sales, marine engines and electronics, and diverse chandlery and fishing products.

AOWBS has traditionally been the event where boat builders and importers launch new products and announce new agencies.

Here’s a taste of what show visitors can look forward to.

Power and sail

There will be plenty of new and used yachts on show, along with heaps of motor launches and smaller powerboats.

Yachts include examples from DuFour and Grand Soleil, Beneteau, Bavaria and Jeanneau, many of them new models for NZ.

36° will have the completely new Beneteau Oceanus 41.1, the first in New Zealand, alongside a Beneteau Sense 46; Flagship Marine will show the Grand Soleil 46-LC and the GS-43, plus two models from DuFour, the 460GL and 412GL. Busfield Marine will show the Bavaria Cruiser 37 and the new model Bavaria Vision 42.

Launches include the 58-foot Navetta, the revamped Caribbean C35 sport fisher and Smuggler Marine’s new 11m RIB, a Fast Rescue Tender designed and built for Whangaroa Coastguard. Ownaship, the shared boat ownership company, will present the very first 12m Rayglass 3500, an exciting new model for Rayglass Boats.

There are New Zealand built boats from Kiwi designers Bill Upfold and Roger Hill, the latest Salthouse Corsair 44 Euro and American-built Meridians, Boston Whalers, Sea Rays and Chris Crafts, plus a 17m Ocean Super Sport.

Take in new motor yachts from Sealine and Axopar, Jeanneau, Riviera and Maritimo.
Riviera will introduce a new 52 Flybridge model and Maritime its new M621.

Smaller powerboats include new models from Stabicraft, Sealegs, Scorpion and Bluefin, Extreme Boats, Takakat, Beneteau, Ultimate Boats, FC Boats and Whittley. Tristram Marine is bringing its entire 12-model range to the show and there will be yacht tenders from Takacat, Motayak and OC Tenders.

Power solutions

Marine engine and power generation options for new boats or re-power projects include marine diesels from FPT Iveco, Doosan and FNM (Lees Marine); Volvo-Penta marine engines, including new V6-200-280hp petrol sterndrives (Volpower); Cummins new QSB 6.7-litre marine diesel (Cummins South Pacific) and a new generation 1200hp Scania marine diesel (South Pacific Diesel Ltd).

TransDiesel Ltd will offer power generation solutions from Kohler, as well as Kohler, Lombardini and VN Motori marine diesel engines from 13hp to 350hp; Power Equipment Ltd has Yanmar marine and industrial diesel engines, Northern Lights generators, MAN marine engines, JCB Power Systems and Torqeedo electric outboards. The WhisperPower Pacific team will be on hand to educate show-goers on compact, efficient power generation.

Yamaha Motor NZ and Mercury Marine will have outboard and sterndrive power solutions available on their stands and fitted to boats throughout the show.

Marine electronics

Visitors can see the latest marine electronics from Simrad and Lowrance, including the new Simrad Halo Radar, Lowrance Elite Ti and Simrad Go 7 products; Garmin; Raymarine; WASSP and Furuno.

Developed and manufactured in New Zealand, WASSP’s newly released F3 Widescan Sounder with CHIRP technology is aimed squarely at the coastal fishing market. Raymarine will introduce its latest Sea Surface Temperature overlay, now available with a free upgrade to Raymarine’s Lighthouse II software.

Something for everyone

With nearly 200 exhibitors there’s a huge range of equipment, chandlery and fishing tackle available at the show, along with services, marina berth sales, demonstrations and advice.

Try out IPS and joystick functions on Volpower’s Volvo Penta simulator or experience Humphree trim interceptors on another simulator.

Take the opportunity to try your hand at sailing, driving a powerboat or piloting a jet-ski. There’s fun fishing for the kids and daily Treasure Hunts with heaps of prizes.

Go aboard Steinlager II, Peter Blake’s ex-Whitbread round the world racing yacht or take a tour of the naval ship HMNZS Hawera.

Join a fishing seminar on Level Three of the Viaduct Events Centre, take part in ‘ask the experts’ sessions with leading anglers or try landing the big one using the De Coro game fishing simulator.

Buy a ticket and win prizes

Buy show tickets online and you enter the draw to win a heap of prizes, or one big one – you choose. Fill out the visitor survey and you could find yourself winging your way to Tonga for a week long sailing holiday or a stay at a luxury resort.

Tickets: $18 online, $20 at the gate. Children under 15, free.

Auckland On Water Boat Show
Dates: Thursday 29 to Sunday 2 October 2016
Times: Open from 10am every day. Closes at 6pm Thursday through to Saturday and 5pm on Sunday.
For more information and tickets visit: www.auckland-boatshow.com