North Coast Marines - Marine Accessories & Boats, Darwin, Northern Territory

North Coast Marines designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of plate aluminium boats (product series Hydracraft & AquaRat Punts) for recreational and commercial purposes. Additionally, we provide repair and modification services, and we supply marine spare parts and accessories.

It all began when I went fishing with my father, Ken to our favourite croc and shark infested fishing spot. An average fishing day became more than memorable when the trusty 4.5 m pressed alloy side console tinny, developed a gaping wound in the keel that even the 850 GPH bilge pump couldn't keep up with! - but that's another story!

Being both a keen Barra and Reef fisherman, the task was to design a boat that was capable of performing both with little compromise… traditionally Barra boats have had a reasonably flat bottomed hull to achieve a shallow draft and stability, the offshore hull has traditionally had a Deep V hull to achieve rough water ability, this makes it difficult to have a true dual purpose boat.

Having been involved in the boating industry for 18 years, I have a sound understanding of the structural requirements to successfully design and build quality plate aluminium boats. This, combined with extreme fishing and boating conditions experienced in the Territory, lead me to design the hulls, Hydracraft, Aquarat and Xtreme.

Traditionally the fibreglass boat was the best choice in pleasure boat craft with excellent ride mid-term durability and smooth, streamlined finish, - all attributes that in the past could not be addressed in plate design without blowing the budget. Today modern technology, has allowed plate hulls to compete favourably through vastly improved fabrication methods and products and material availability. Plate boats are lighter, fuel efficient, less expensive, low maintenance, and retain higher residual values, when compared with their fibreglass equivalent.

Consequently, I set out to produce plate alloy boats that had both style and grace and were well suited to navigate through the reefs, shallow river courses and rock bars that are common in coastal waters of Northern Australia.

All North Coast Marines plate boat hulls are designed and tested to ensure:

Shallow draft to enable access to the shallowest creeks. It has also meant that boarding and disembarking in crocodile infested rivers can be achieved with minimum risk associated with the depth of the water required to launch the boat.

Stability at all times, both at rest and while in motion. This is crucial for all fishermen and women, and boaties in general. It adds to the safety aspects of the boat, minimising the possibility of verturning the boat or causing a passenger to fall overboard.

Hydracraft hulls are currently the most popular in our range. While HydraCraft boats are excellent in blue water they are also ideal for rivers and estuaries. The long forefoot, survey standards construction and stylish lines are the signature of the Hydracraft.

Protecting the Territory's rivers and waterways has always been a high priority for the company. The reduction of wake for both the AquaRat and Hydracraft is an important feature, but excellent manoeuvrability was an important criteria of the AquaRat design as it is specifically designed for the narrow winding rivers.

AquaRat Punts, like the Hydracraft range, are customised to meet the needs of the eventual owner and can be brought up to survey standard.

Repairs and Modifications
No job is too big or too small!
There has been a growing demand for our services in the area of repairs and modifications to existing craft.

To date modification work has ranged from building and inserting fuel tanks, electronics, hydraulic steering, storage lockers and the like, to building new transoms and major hull modifications.

Modification work has also included bringing craft up to survey standard, a necessity for work-boats and tour operators.

There has never been a job too big or small that we cannot accommodate. For any job we are happy to provide a free no obligation quote.

A retail service to Palmerston and rural residences has become apparent through customer enquiries. As we use most of the items we intend to provide in our manufacturing arm of the business, a retail outlet was a natural progression. With over a thousand product lines stocked there is something for everybody. Once again our aim is to provide friendly and professional customer service at highly competitive prices.

Its managers are not only very experienced with total quality management principles and practices, but that they also bring to the company sales, marketing and promotional experience, advanced computer technology skills, in depth knowledge and experience with a wide range of relevant state and federal legislations, as well as some 20 years experience in the boating and fishing industry.

Its manufacturing staff (including the managing director) are friendly customer orientated, highly qualified and experienced aluminium boat manufacturers. The team is able to provide high quality finished products, designed and fitted out to address all customer requirements.
Perhaps a crucial aspect of all staff is that we are all keen boaters, enjoying fishing, skiing and boating in general. It is this enthusiasm and interest that drives us to produce ever improved products and services, and it has proven to be a crucial aspect to personalising the customer's experience, and ultimate satisfaction.

Customer base

To date 80% of our prospective customers have resulted from word of mouth, and praise from current owners of our boats. It is for this reason that the company is committed to excellent after sales service.

Our customers include tour guides, Department of Defence, Primary Industry and Fisheries, Parks Australia North, avid fishos. It is this spread of people that will continue to lead to a further broadening of our perspective customer base.

Ethos of the company as a whole

The management and manufacturing staff operate as a team. Careful attention to creating a close family relationship between all staff and their respective families has ensured open frank communications within the team, creating an effective efficient and enjoyable working environment.

All staff are encouraged to participate in the decision making processes and are kept informed with respect to where the company is positioned financially. Thus far this sort of staff involvement has lead to unity, high productivity, and everyone working towards common goals.

Is there more?

The creative potential of the company is only limited by how many hours there are in a day. In the first 18 months the company had designed and produced three significantly different and successful hull designs and numerous accessory components. It has grown from one mans hobby to a company that is renound for producing boats that are not only stylish and of the highest quality, it also prides itself on having customer service that is second to none.

North Coast Marines is and always will be committed to providing high quality, personalised and affordable products and services, to clients Australia wide with the view to broadening our customer base to include the entire Asia pacific region.

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