A Purpose Built x7010WA, Built For Real World Use

Jarrod from Halls Maintenance & Fabrication, based in Barham, NSW, recently shared his experience of starting his first CNC Marine boat build, and how the journey unfolded from the initial idea through to completion and time on the water.

Jarrod (HMF Barham):

A bit of background on how it all started. A friend of mine Phil has a yacht moored up in Airlie Beach (which I have done a heap of work on over the years). He had Prosail Australia way back in the day, and when he sold the business, he kept one boat that was named Iluka.

Phil waltzed into my office one afternoon as he often does, sat down and said straight out, “We need a tender boat for Iluka, should we build one or buy one?”

I said to Phil, “Well what sort of tender, what do you want it to do, how many people (grandkids) do you plan on taking fishing at a time etc, and most importantly, how much money do you want to spend?”

And in true Phil fashion he said, “Well I’m buggered if I know, but I’m not getting any younger, my knees are about stuffed, so I need to be able to move around in it okay, I need shade, and I need to be able to climb on and off it. It needs a decent fridge on it to keep the beer cold, a big fuel tank so we can get out to the reef and the islands, and it needs to be reliable, maybe one with two engines.”

I asked, “Have you heard of CNC Marine?”

“No,” he replied.

I said, “Well they are a bunch of naval architects that design boats, from a car topper tinny to a vehicle loading barge. They have some really cool designs.”

He said, “Well I think we better have a look.”

We spent the next hour scrolling through the range, with a few phone calls back and forth to Phil’s brother-in-law Steve (who has lived on boats his whole life and operates Iluka). In the end we decided on the 7010WA, which with the wider beam suited them perfectly.

Phil looked at me and said, “Well if we are going to do it, let’s not waste any time. I will pay a deposit now because it needs to be finished by the end of August.”

And that’s how it all started. The kit turned up, we spent a day or two getting our heads around it, then got stuck into it.

Phil and Steve have used the boat heaps. They love it. They said it handles well, it is stable, and they just need more time and good weather to use it more. They got the wrap done up in Mackay, and that just finished it off.

Steve, being in his 70s and Phil in his 80s, said, “We don’t need anything flash, it will be on a tow line behind Iluka for most of its time.” Once they saw it finished, they were glad they agreed to the wrap!