WA Marine Industry Award Winners – 2010

The winners for the 2010 WA Marine Awards were announced at a prestigious gala dinner on Saturday 1 May at the Burswood on Swan.

The WA Marine Awards are organised by the Boating Industry Association of Western Australia and are designed to recognise and reward the boat builders and importers of WA.

This year’s awards were sponsored by Club Marine and The Department of Commerce. The BIA said both sponsors have shown great commitment to the WA Marine Industry award and the Boating Industry Association of Western Australia who wouldn’t have been able to continue these established awards without their support.

This year the judging of the awards took place on the 2nd and 3rd of February at the Fremantle Sailing Club.

The team of judges this year included; Sheryl Swarbrick from Dreamboats, Darren Heath from easyboatingnow.com, Mike Brown our local boating journalist, Bill Plug from Total AMS and Barbara O’Dowd from the Department of Transport.

The judges were not chosen at random: each boat is judged on a wide range of criteria, so we need a wide spread of expertise in the panel. Sheryl Swarbrick is  the Award’s expert on ergonomics and interior design and fit-out. Darren Heath, a lifelong water sports enthusiast, is the high performance and skiing specialist. Barb O’Dowd is currently the Transport Department’s accident investigator so the natural choice of safety specialist. Bill Plug provides the vital skills of a naval architect. Mike Brown has been testing and writing about boats for years within the WA Media.

The judges armed with their clipboards and judging sheets rigorously went over each boat on land and on water, marking them on a number of categories; overall impression, presentation, ergonomics, performance and safety.

The Winners – Boat of the Year categories

The 10m Naiad by Kirby Marine took the 2010 WA Boat of the Year.

• WA Boat Builder of the Year, Sponsored by Premiere Events – Chivers Marine.

• Aluminium under 6m – Westerberg Bandit 5.4 by Westerberg Marine.

• Aluminium under 6m Merit – Chivers Shark Series: Reefshark 170CC by Chivers Marine.

• Fibreglass over 6m – Abrolhos 8000 Walkaround (Project Rat) by Commodore Marine.

• Aluminium Custom Built vessel – Wakemaker PDF by Wakemaker Marine.

• Fibreglass Custom Built vessel – Mako 9000 by Leisurecat Australia and the GivenPower Cat GT-11 by Seafest Marine.

• Imported (QLD) trailer boat of the year – Haines Signature 702L entered by All Boat Business.

• Imported Ski Boat of the Year – Malibu Wakesetter VTX entered by Malibu Boats WA.

• Imported Ski Boat of the Year Merit – Camero Vision
Centre Mount entered by Offshore Marine.

The Winners – People award Categories

The people awards are to recognise those working in the industry that go above and beyond what their role requires and are committed to the Marine Industry.

• Young Boat Person of the Year – Matthew Marks from Commodore Marine.

• Marine Industry Member of the Year, sponsored by Westcorp Capital – Joseph Claussen from Dreamboats.

• Outstanding Contribution to the Industry award, sponsored by JPW Marine – Tim Wright from R Marine Perth.

• BIAWA President’s Award for Contribution to the Industry– Mark Butchart from Challenger Tafe.