Andrew Short Marine - must visit Marine Dealership

by Bob Wonders on 6 Apr 2008 It’s been 26-years since Andrew Short established the company that carries his name, and in that time the man has become not only a well-known, but a dominant figure in the marine industry.

Mercury and Mariner outboards, MerCruiser, Sea Ray, Boston Whaler, Baja and Stacer are among the renowned franchises the company carries as it operates from its Taren Point headquarters and from two marinas it has acquired, Yowie Bay, south of Sydney in the Sutherland Shire and Ferguson’s Boatshed at The Spit, Mosman, on the city’s lower North Shore.

The company has been an absolute winner for Sea Ray and last year was named International Dealer of the Year, making it the most productive Sea Ray dealer in the world outside the United States.

Prior to that, the company was honoured as Sea Ray Dealer of the Year, Asia Pacific Region, in 2004 and again in 2006.
'Sea Ray has been very good for us, no doubt about that,' Andrew says, in something of an understatement.

'We’ve had considerable success marketing the marque via Sea Ray Rendezvous, which owners have really taken to.

'It allows them to meet with like minded people, see other models and often trade up to larger craft; the rendezvous are difficult to organise, but they have been an excellent marketing tool for us.'

Andrew is pleased that trading up to larger Searays have now become easier, as innovation continues for this top selling line with bigger SeaRay supplied Cummins diesel engines optioned with Zeus joystick controls for easier docking and the 28-38 footers which have Mercruiser sterndrives now with options of having Axius joystock controls systems.

The current Taren Point headquarters is actually the sixth 'home' for Andrew Short Marine, all within the Sutherland Shire.

For several years the company occupied a prime corner site on the main road before moving several blocks away from it to a much larger facility with everything under cover, about four-years ago.

'Perhaps we’ll be moving back to a main road site in the next 12 months or so,' Andrew said.

'I’m not suggesting business has suffered through not being on the main road, but certainly high visibility is a plus,' he added.

The company entered the marina business in 2000 with the acquisition of the Yowie Bay Marina in 2000 and followed that move up by acquiring the well-known facility, Ferguson’s Boat Shed at The Spit in June last year.

Ferguson’s boasts a travel lift and the marina does a variety of work for other marine dealers in the area.

'I never considered changing the names of the two marinas, they’ve both been around a lot longer than Andrew Short Marine and are well known by their current names,' Andrew explained.

Needless to say, in 26-years Andrew Short has noticed a lot of changes in the industry.

'I remember when we used to put our display together for the Sydney International Boat Show together about two weeks prior to it opening,' he recalled.

'Now, here it is early April and we’re already well advanced in preparing for a show that’s still nearly four months away.
'The industry today is so much more professional than it once was.'

There’s no shortage of marine expertise within the Short family; one brother, Ian, is a respected sail maker, the other, Mathew, a well-known freight forwarding agent handling the export requirements of many marine companies, including The Riviera Group.

All three are situated within walking distance of each other.

While powerboats dominate Andrew Short’s business, sailing is his passion.

He has contested 16 Sydney-Hobart classics and last year bought the famous maxi ‘Brindabella’ from George Snow.

Anyone looking for Andrew Short come Boxing Day knows where to go – Sydney Harbour and the start line for Hobart.