SALTWATER MARINE FREMANTLE
It all started about six months ago while working in Port Hedland, when I made the decision to start negotiations for the purchase of a new training vessel. Sadly, but fortuitously, I was only able to go down this pathway due to the passing of my mum, who never owned anything substantial really except for her house. So thanks mum for making this all possible.
Being a training vessel with clients on board meant I had to jump through a few hoops, heaps of them actually, as there are new standards set out by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. I won’t bore you with the details, but the most important standard was level flotation in the event of a capsize or swamping. In business and life I place important emphasis on people who follow through, keep the lines of communication open and answer questions in a timely manner. Although only a few boat manufacturers in WA had built vessels to meet the new standards, I was keen to stay local rather than purchase interstate and promote any worthy product. I started dealing with a business in Perth, but after a month of emails outlining my requirements, the ‘trail’ went cold. After another three unanswered emails and two phone calls, I politely advised that this was not the service I expected and I would be purchasing elsewhere. The manager finally contacted me with excuses for the delays, but by that time I was already dealing with another supplier.
Conversely, this business I had now started negotiations with, Saltwater Marine in Fremantle, were immediately responding to my enquiries and now, four months later, as I await handover for the new vessel in December, the managing director, Brett Martin has provided a highly professional service that even includes taking after hour phone calls if required. Of course, the quality of the product is equally important and on my initial inspection, before a custom made targa top was to be fitted, I was suitably impressed. On this day, Brett organised a meeting with Mark Nash ( Nashy ) who is the business owner of Wake Maker Marine, established in 2005 and specialising in aluminium fabrications. When he turned up, I immediately took to Nashy because he we talked fishing first, before business. He then offered some options for me to consider, especially when I told him that it needed to hold up on the Cape Leveque road, north of Broome. He was very familiar with the road as a family member owns land up there, so promised to bring his ‘A’ game for this contract. The attached photo shows the quality final product. If you check out their website you will see the great work done on commercial and recreational boats and a huge range of targa top designs.
So what exactly have I purchased? The vessel is a 5.6m metre Trailcraft, with self draining hull, powered by a 115 four stroke Yamaha. For those who are not aware, Saltwater Marine is now the sole factory direct agent for Trailcraft Boats direct from China for all of Australia. For this reason, the price saving is considerable as you buy direct from the supplier as opposed to through a boat yard. So, if you are looking to buy a new or second hand aluminium vessel, it will definitely pay to give Brett a chance to compete with anything else you may have in mind. Stand by for the next article after I take delivery, test drive, tweek the custom Furuno electronics and have my graphics package displayed on the new vessel.
