Let’s face facts – owning a boat is an exercise in expense. There’s the ever-rising cost of fuel, the marina, storage or transportation fees, registration, insurance, and the seemingly endless upkeep and maintenance costs. As a lawyer, I often come across clients who’ve fallen into the trap of buying into the boating dream without fully appreciating the true costs associated…
Over seventy-nine years ago, in the Scottish town of Paisley, a young woman was meeting with a friend at a local café when she decided to order a bottle of ginger beer. After drinking a glass of the refreshing beverage, she started to pour herself a refill from the opaque bottle, when out flew the decomposing body of a snail.…
Bedazzled by what are perceived as bargain basement prices, increasing numbers of private purchasers are turning online for new and second-hand vessels in the USA and other enticing countries as a result of a strong Aussie dollar. But along with this new found freedom of expanded marine markets has come a litany of consumer problems, as unsuspecting purchasers throw caution…
Several years ago I attended a business clinic held by the NSW BIA and the single point I remember was, ‘In times of uncertainty, how business responds, is critical to its survival’. The uncertainty facing the marine industry today is real and it would be fool hardy for a company director to ignore the underlying economic factors causing this uncertainty…
Stranded on the high seas, the bilge pumps are working at full capacity as the engine-room floods and all power is lost. Circumstances have it that you are able to do little more than don a lifejacket, transmit a mayday message and prepare your crew to abandon ship. Both you and your vessel are now at the mercy of the…
While it can be hard for businesses to keep afloat with the barrage of constantly changing laws and regulations, some impending legislative reforms are too important to ignore. In less than six months, a radical (yet long overdue) federal scheme will come into force that will impact on manufacturers, retailers, lenders and borrowers alike. Right now, all across Australia, businesses…
Its early morning at the bustling Port Hueneme in California and a crane operator is carefully unloading a 72-foot, 42-ton Sunseeker Predator yacht from the weather deck of a European cargo ship. Clearing a stack of shipping containers the luxury yacht hangs suspended in the air, some 30-metres off the ground. Suddenly and inexplicably the crane gives way and the…
Roll-up, roll-up, the boating show season is once again upon us. Over the next few months, thousands of boating enthusiasts will descend on marinas and exhibition centres across the country, all eager to see (and in some instances, buy) the latest and greatest of what our industry has to offer. For suppliers, retailers and BIA members, these shows offer the…
One New Year’s Eve, having just finished my shipwright apprenticeship, I sat down with a flute of Champagne and drawing pad, sketching an artist’s impression of what I considered to be the latest in sailing craft design. Like many yachting aficionados at this time of year, I had spent the week religiously watching yet another nail-biting Sydney to Hobart yacht…
It has been a difficult few years for many Australian retailers in the maritime industry. The global financial crisis slowed sales across the board, and the surge in the Australian dollar and greater consumer confidence in online shopping has meant increased competition from cheaper overseas markets. These ‘grey marine products’ offer an affordable alternative to consumers, and many within the…