Leisurecat join the FAB Dock family
If you are looking at buying a serious fishing catamaran, then you just have to have a look at a Leisurecat. One of the best built boats around and run by one of the truly great guys in the marine industry. And just to prove just how great a boat they are, Ian now owns three of them and has them sitting in various corners of the country so that he is never far from a great day out.
We put his most recent purchase into a FAB Dock in Mindarie and as it fits like a glove, will not only keep his latest edition to his fleet clean and dry, but make berthing it all that more easy.
Thanks for joining our family Ian and thanks for your support Kev.
FAB Dock makes Greenline even greener
The new range of Greenline boats have made an huge impact in the boating market with their environmentally friendly diesel/electric hybrid drive system. Not only does it save its owners money on fuel, but they can also get along in silent, fume free mode for that serene boating experience.
By matching up his new 40 foot Greenline with a FAB Dock, Nev has taken his ‘green’ credentials one step further by eliminating the need to apply poisonous antifoul to the hull of his boat. And apart from the obvious financial benefits of keeping your boat clean and dry inside a FAB Dock, it will also save Nev over one thousand dollars a year in sacrificial anodes as the downside to having enough solar power to run a small city, is that all that electricity has a tendency to chew through the 14 anodes mounted throughout the boat.
So all in all, a win for everyone concerned, including the fish.
Keeping a Greenline 40 clean and dry
WA filling up with FAB Docks
Boat owners in Western Australia continue to fill up our order books, and prove that the FAB Dock is the most popular dry docking system by far, with another very busy week in this boating mecca. With installations from as far north as Geraldton to the southern area of Mandurah, I won’t even try and list out all the names and boats that are now protected in FAB Docks. And in between all this, we still managed to measure up a whole bunch of new boats that the production team are now flat out building so that we can have them installed in time for Christmas.
The only two things that came off worse than myself after a week of 20 hour days was the kangaroo that decided that at 3am, a billion square kilometres of Western Australian desert wasn’t enough and he wanted to play Frogga with Justin’s brand new Volkswagen Amorak. He wasn’t quick enough and the Germans don’t do a lot of crash testing on large bouncing animals. So there is no saving Skippy and the last I heard, the Amorak wasn’t faring too much better.
I am hoping for a more relaxed and uneventful final trip for the year in a couple of weeks to help Guy install this last batch and join the team and customers for a well earned Christmas drink.
Kanagaroo that hitched a ride back to Perth
Another Sea Ray in a FAB Dock in WA
Stern Drives dry docked
Two for Townsville
There are now a couple more FAB Docks in North Queensland’s capital after local friends, Adrian and Gary, by sheer coincidence, ended up with the same size Caribbean and (obviously) the same size FAB Dock.
Being one of the more seriously built 26 foot boats on the market, Adrian opted for the sportier version while Gary bought the traditional flybridge model. Both well suited when venturing offshore past the protected waters of Magnetic Island.
The best way to keep your running gear clean
The best dry docking system for your Caribbean
The best way to keep all your running gear clean
More for Mackay
Having researched all the other forms of dry docking, Ray came to the conclusion that for value for money and ease of use, a FAB Dock was was going to be the best system for his amazing 3000 Seaquest.
In the warm tropical waters of Mackay, it is a full-time job trying to keep the sea growth from accumulating on the hull and running gear of your boat, so a FAB Dock will quickly pay for itself in cleaning and running cost savings.
Ray is so passionate and excited about his new dry dock purchase that he is more than happy to chat to anyone in the local Mackay / Whitsunday area that wants to ask any questions or see how a FAB Dock works. So drop me an email and I will pass his number on.
The best way to keep all your outboards out of the water
FAB Dock in Exmouth, Western Australia
I had heard so many fascinating stories about Exmouth and I was lucky enough to visit it for myself recently thanks to Bob and his wife deciding that they wanted to spend more time on their boat on the water, rather than under it on the dirt. After their most recent DIY antifoul experience they vowed never again and so immediately ordered a FAB Dock to keep their magnificent 35 foot Caribbean clean and dry.
The local hospitality is absolutely amazing and the next time I am back to install another FAB Dock, I will be taking an extra few days holiday to experience the crystal clear waters, coral reefs and aquatic wildlife. I don’t know if the locals are trying to keep it a secret to maintain the pristine condition of the local waters and maintain the abundance of sailfish, marlin, whales and whale sharks, so don’t tell them I told you about the place, but if you are looking for some time away to relax, unwind and get back to nature, Exmouth is the place.
I might even see you up there on one of my trips back.
35 Caribbean in a FAB Dock
Mandurah Boat Show
What a weekend everyone had at this year’s Mandurah Boat Show. For once, we had perfect weather in which to set up our now famous FAB Dock tent and reinstall Mark’s FAB Dock underneath his tricked up 240 Boston Whaler Outrage. But this sense of dryness and warmth disappeared as quickly as it arrived and we spent most of Friday huddled in our tent avoiding the gale force winds and frequent showers, along with anyone who was brave enough to risk the elements to view the latest and greatest in marine products. It’s amazing how interested some people can be in a dry docking system, even though they don’t even own a boat, when it is pouring rain and we had a dry tent.
But the weekend more than made up for this wet and windy start and the crowds flocked in. Justin, Hayley and I were swamped with enthusiastic boaties keen to learn how a FAB Dock could save their boats. The main difference, though, between these requests and every other boat show that we have exhibited at, is that most of these people had seen a FAB Dock either in the water, in a magazine, on our website, or a friend had told them about it.
We are all so very proud that all these years of product development, excellent customer service and just plain hard work is finally paying off. So much so that I had to extend my stay out West by another week so that we could install some of the FAB Docks that had been ordered previously as well as measure up all the new ones that were ordered at the show.
So from the bottom of my heart, and the whole team here at FAB Dock, we would like to thank all our customers who have made us the number one dry docking system in the world.
The famous FAB Dock Tent
NZ falls in love with FAB Dock
Having our FAB Docks manufactured in New Zealand for the past three years, we thought it only fair that we actually share the benefits of our world class dry docking system with our ANZAC neighbours.
So we left a beautifully warm Spring behind on the Gold Coast to be welcomed by a howling cyclone, driving rain and freezing temperatures on our arrival into Auckland. (My congratulations to the Virgin pilot for getting us on the ground safely. By the way, Virgin is the name of the airline for those that didn’t know, I am not sure of the pilots experience in his personal life.)
The rain abated to periodic showers throughout the weekend for the Auckland Boat Show, but if you have been following my stories, rain at a boat show is a fact of life for us. But they breed these Kiwis tough over here and a bit of rain and 50 knot winds isn’t going to stop them from checking out the latest boats and marine products on show.
Another sunny moment
And so, on top of the normal enthusiastic response we receive from guests at boat shows all over the world, Kiwis were even more amazed that such a worldwide product is actually manufactured in their country. They now have an environmentally friendly alternative to keeping their boat clean, that also helps them berth their boat, is nearly half the price of any other option, and is made in NZ!
With FAB Docks already in the water at Orakei Harbour and Half Moon Bay, for those that couldn’t make it down to the show, you can still arrange to get a close up look by calling Bill Richmond on 0274 732 386 and he will be more than happy to show you one and explain all the benefits of having a FAB Dock under your boat.
I am looking forward to my next visit to help Bill install his first batch of FAB Docks and see if Auckland does actually warm up in the summertime.
Our FAB Dock tent saved us as from the Auckland weather
4 FAB Docks – 4 days – 10 000 kms
What a whirlwind few days this has been, installing FAB Docks in Brisbane, Townsville, Darwin and Perth. We even had to get Sharon out of the office to help us install David’s FAB Dock under his very well appointed Voyager Cat. A magnificent cruising powercat that David and Javana do just that. With frequent trips to the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Coast and the Keppel Island Group from their base north of Brisbane, they certainly make the most of their boat.
Then it was off to Townsville to install a FAB Dock under yet another Caribbean. Adrian had just picked himself up an absolute bargain on the Gold Coast and had it trucked up to Townsville. The boat is in absolute pristine condition and hadn’t even been spoilt with antifoul. So the timing was perfect as we had the FAB Dock in place the night before the boat arrived and Adrian drove his brand new pride and joy straight from the boat lift into his FAB Dock first thing on Saturday morning.
Another 26 foot Caribbean
In the meantime, Guy was busy installing another FAB Dock in Hillarys Harbour in Perth under Peter and Mal’s 27 Sea Ray Amberjack. I am looking forward to seeing it for myself in a couple of weeks when I am next out there.
Another 27 Sea Ray Amberjack in a FAB Dock
For me, it was then off to Darwin in install a FAB Dock under one of Rick’s commercial dive boats (see previous story).
First FAB Dock in Darwin
And tomorrow it is off to Auckland to officially launch FAB Dock into the NZ market so watch out for the wrap up of the Auckland boat show.
Darwin gets its first FAB Dock
Not realising that it doesn’t get light in Darwin at this time of year until 7 o’clock, Rick’s suggested meeting time, I moved it forward to 6am to try and get his FAB Dock installed before the heat and humidity set in, so that we could be admiring our handywork with a beer in hand before lunch. So it was just as well that Drew and Saul came prepared with torches.
The install went perfectly well on the marina beach and we were soon towing Rick’s new FAB Dock into place.
Getting a ride to the marina berth
A short time later and we had one of Rick’s seven commercial dive boats safe and dry inside it’s new home.
So if you are ever up that way and need something fixed, removed or salvaged from the ocean, Rick and his team are the guys to call. One of the most professional, hard working and friendly crews that I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
And once the locals see the benefits and savings Rick gains from his FAB Dock, I am sure we will be seeing a lot more of each other in the coming months.
Thanks again guys.
The rear of Rick’s dive boat