Who would you call if you had a burning desire to own a particular style of craft - something special, not on offer from the production lines - and the money to turn those dreams into reality?
Would you go offshore for your unique craft - to New Zealand, perhaps, renowned for its custom boatbuilding skills and infrastructure - or put your project in the hands of a local designer and builder?
On display at this year's round of boatshows were two custom craft which resulted from the individual decisions of two Australian owners to take the latter course, putting their faith in the Australian marine industry.
The two craft are very different in concept: one is a luxurious, modern pilothouse sloop for long-distance cruising, while the other is a classic-styled power cruiser intended primarily for harbour dayboating.
What they share, as the photos on these pages reveal, is a superior standard of craftsmanship and finish which vindicates the owners' choices and supports the notion that the Australian marine industry has real potential for growth in the custom craft arena at an international level.
A small number of Australian companies are already waving the flag overseas in niche markets such as high-tech racing yachts and bespoke sportsfishers. Others are eying the international superyacht market to see if there are openings for newcomers among the established players.
While the two craft featured here - the Stanyon-designed, Boatspeed-built ChinaGrove II and the Murray, Burns & Dovell-designed, Azzura Yachts-built Midnight - were commissioned by local owners, both are certainly of a standard worthy of international scrutiny.
CHINAGROVE II
Commissioned by a young Sydney multi-millionaire and valued at around A$8 million, ChinaGrove II is an impressive example of Australian craftsmanship.
The 26m pilothouse cruiser was on display (by Grant Torrens Brokerage) at the Sanctuary Cove International Boatshow in May, after which it set sail to Fiji.
Designed by Gold Coast-based Paul Stanyon of Stanyon Yacht Design (also the designer of the Buizen cruising yacht range), the yacht also received considerable input throughout its evolution from the owner, his project manager/skipper Eric 'Cedric' Dewey and the yacht's builders, Peter and Sari Ullrich of Boatspeed Performance Sailcraft in West Gosford, NSW - better-known for their involvement in composite construction of high-tech racing yachts (such as Brindabella, Ragamuffin and Atara.)
While composite construction has been used to produce a strong and relatively light hull, great attention has also been paid to interior comfort and style, with the owner opting for Balinese-influenced furnishings and decoration. Where possible, local timbers have been used, including jarrah floors and macore panelling.
According to Stanyon Yacht Design's notes: "This vessel is a truly luxurious 26m pilothouse performance cruising yacht of uncompromising functional elegance, design and high technology construction.
"The owner's requirement was that this vessel be handled with or without crew support. This has allowed the vessel to be designed with 100% usage of space dedicated to the owner and his guests.
The layout is for six to eight couples in three generously-sized cabins which are all full hull width. All cabins have their own ensuite. The interior amenity of the vessel is that of apartment proportions.
"The use of bow and stern thrusters, fully-automated anchoring systems and the latest in sail-handling technology, has eliminated the need for permanent crew completely.
"The combination of performance-enhancing features such as water ballast, efficient hull and foil design, composite construction, efficient sail plan and moderate displacement, all ensure spirited performance.
According to Sari Ullrich of Boatspeed Performance Sailcraft, the hull was built using strip-planked PVC foam, E-glass and Kevlar with vinylester resin, while the deck is largely E-glass, epoxy and PVC foam core. Carbon fibre was used to strengthen the coachhouse and the window mullions.
"We were able to use a lot of our race boat technology," Ullrich says. "I just love the race boats, but we see our future building high-tech, lightweight cruising boats like this - we are looking towards pushing our way into the US market and Europe as well. And it's a good challenge to keep the weight down".
At the time of writing, Boatspeed was moving into new boatbuilding premises at Somersby (NSW). Ullrich says: "It's taken me about a year to design it and it's got everything we've always wanted; there's a 130ft oven [25ft wide]; there's heating and chilling facilities worth around $50,000... We're putting so much into this."
MIDNIGHT
Andy Dovell of the Pittwater-based design house, Murray, Burns & Dovell, says the brief for this classic 50ft dayboat, titled the Azzura 50, was to recreate the style of the commuter boats in use on the US north-east coast at the turn of the 20th Century.
"People like the Vanderbilts would commute by boat from their homes on Long Island or further north to New York and back," Dovell says.
"This boat was designed for running around Sydney Harbour; the owner wanted to get from home to waterfront restaurants and back."
It was constructed by Paul Wrench of Azzura Yachts at Gold Coast City Marina, Qld, building on experience in composite racing yacht construction gained as an employee at McConaghy Yachts in Sydney.
Wrench says Midnight's hull was built in hand-laid E-glass and vinylester resin, with balsa core vacuumed in to place and post-cured. The timber decking and interior fitout are the result of "$60,000 worth of Burmese teak", he explains, with two-pack paint providing the stunning finish.
Although this was a custom order, Wrench says he has since begun building Azzura 50 No 2 for a friend of Midnight's original owner, and has also received orders for "a couple of 45s, smaller versions of this boat".
Wrench also recently completed a Class II offshore racing powerboat in composite materials including carbon fibre for Australian champion and Riviera chief, Bill Barry-Cotter. And he is excitedly preparing to commence work on a 100-120ft superyacht, which he expects to be a 12-15 month project.
Midnight is powered by twin 420hp Yanmar turbo diesels, which provide 30kt boatspeed if required. The light hull weight of around 9.5 tonnes has to be a contributing factor. ("It's basically just a dayboat, there's not even a fridge, just an icebox," Wrench says.)
But Andy Dovell is also very happy with the boat's handling characteristics in rough water, pointing out the vessel was able to maintain consistently high cruising speeds throughout the delivery from the Gold Coast to Sydney.
Dovell says: "It performs really well in a chop or seaway. The entry is so fine, it gets through easily; the design really works."
There are clear conceptual similarities between this craft and the Palm Beach 38, also designed by Murray, Burns & Dovell. What is evident here is the latitude allowed by a custom order to produce a unique and luxurious craft.