INTERVIEW - Yellowfin Boats with Damien Duncan

AFTER a long spell Telwater has re-launched the Yellowfin brand of boats on the back of growing economic optimism for Australia. Marine Business caught up with Telwater's director of marketing and sales, Damien Duncan, to find out what's behind the re-release. Interestingly, this style of large plate fishing boat sells exceptionally well in prosperous times. Does Telwater's launch signal to the industry that good times are just around the corner?

How did the re-release of Yellowfin Boats come about?

We had the brand from 1981 and we produced the boats up until the early '90s, gave it a spell, and now we have re-released it. We've been working on this for at least the past 18 months and now there's just some fine tuning, to make sure we get it right. We acquired some good information today from the tests and we will go back and actually put that in practice. It's all about usability. The R&D team is headed-up by Craig Madam who was one of the builders of the original Yellowfins. When we called our dealers and spoke to various customers, some of the features which they raised included the need for a plate boat with deep sides, a sharp vee and with the gullwing, which is designed to keep you on the plane at lower speeds while maintaining stability at rest.
We did a lot of research on the Yellowfin range, we wanted to know what features to include, and spoke to a lot of fishermen for ideas. Our Yellowfins have a lot of standard features that the others have as options, such as the transom cutting board, the 135 litre kill tank, underfloor flotation. It also has a fully welded self-draining floor.

How does this brand fit alongside the three other Telwater brands?

What we saw was during busy times, was that the market for this type of boat was buoyant. At the moment it is a very small part of the market. A very small number of registrations, only about 10 per cent, are 6-metre plus. About 95 per cent of the market is below 5.5-metres. That's where our other brands fit in. When things pick up, there are a lot of affluent people who can afford this [Yellowfin] style of the boat and we wanted to cater for that side of the market. We also saw an emerging trend with plate boats, people like the look and the features of them, so we're re-introducing the Yellowfin brand. Yellowfin will be a completely separate brand and sold through separate dealers.

Does the re-release indicate Telwater's optimism for the Australian economy?

A lot of our dealers are confident now to do in-house boat shows, and on-water days, where as six months ago that confidence just wasn't there. The reason they're doing that is because customers are again walking in through the door. It's all about consumer confidence, consumers are now confident again to spend their money. Anyone who's on a fixed and duel income would be laughing, because of lower interest rates, low fuel prices - they have more money to spend. The only problem was
the uncertainty. We've seen an improvement in store traffic and sales when the media
stops concentrating on the doom and gloom in the economy.

Are there any particular areas/markets in Australia you see the Yellowfin being more successful?

The Northern Territory is one, there's also been success with this type of boat in Victoria and South Australia. A lot depends on individual dealers too, how they display it, whether they do on-water days - all the things the customer wants to see.

How have dealers around Australia responded to the re-release?

We've had a huge amount of interest and we've taken enough orders for six months going forward. That's a huge amount of boats given the fact that every dealer wants to stock it.

Why are dealers required to be stockist only dealers?

Yellowfin dealers must be stockists and will stock a minimum of three boats. That way customers can see the boats, test the boats and see the range. There's no use a dealer quoting on a boat unless the customer can actually physically see the boat.

How will manufacturing differ from the other press aluminium brands, have you employed new specialist staff and a new site for the new brand?

We've actually employed new people who are specialists in that type of welding. And also employed some people with our excess labour from the other brands, but lately we've seen our orders pick up considerably so we're utilising as many people as we possibly can. But it will be its own specialised cell in our production process, so we can measure it, and ensure it is viable by knowing the running costs.

Is there anything else you want to tell Marine Business readers?

We acquired some good information today from the media tests and we will go back and actually put that in practice. It's all about usability with these boats.
Paul Phelan and Craig Madam built the boats back in the '80s and markets have changed. Now we're geared up for the next move which is not too far away. That's why we have consistent production so we can have consistent supply. When you get the production right the customers can have their boats in a very short time with little hassle.