January 2011
2011 is set to be The Swiftline Trading Groups busiest year yet! It has started amazingly well with the confirmed orders of two new Swiftcat 10.6m catamarans, one off which will be a charter fishing vessel working out of a port in Dorset and she will be our first outboard powered vessel. The second will be a leisure cruising sports fisher based in Essex she is to be powered by Yanmar diesels with the new Yanmar ZT350 stern drives.
We have had an overwhelming response since the launch of our new superstructure and the bulk of our enquiries have come from Europe. After what can only be described as a few testing years it is very comforting to finally have found our footing and become an established and respected manufacturer of catamarans. For me personally it feels very surreal when I answer the phone to a client from abroad who is very excited about our latest builds and following our progress via the internet. Just to be known by people so far away is extremely flattering and very satisfying and it is things like this that keep pushing us to evolve our products and keep pushing the company forward.
Other areas of our business are also growing, Our Grp Company Fibreglass solutions has secured several new contracts ranging from commercial insulation and linings to the manufacture of oyster rafts and other batch and one off moulding contracts.
Our in House metal fabrication facility has expanded and is now providing a service and producing products for other companies and also the general public.
Thank you for your continuing support and interest and we would like to wish everyone the best of luck and a prosperous 2011.
Don’t forget to put Seawork in your event planners 14th-16th June 2011
All the best from Nick Rich and the Swiftline Team
November 2010
We have had a crazy few months since our last newsletter, having moved to larger premises we now have our whole operation under one roof.
We are delighted to have handed over two new build vessels to their owners, the first of which is the ‘PREDATOR’, she is currently working as a charter angling, a commercial potting vessel in the Adriatic sea and also as a feature vessel on a big game fishing programme, due to be screened from 2011. The owner was amazed with her sea keeping abilities and very pleased with a top speed of 33 knots, on her delivery trip she averaged 18 knots for two 8 hour legs and used 6 gallons of fuel an hour.
The second vessel was handed over to John Turner, who moors her at Bradwell Marina in Essex. John is without doubt the most excited client I have ever personally worked for, we supplied the vessel with all the grp work finished, drawing on our knowledge, and with the assistance from a few local boat builders and craftsmen, John built a truly amazing vessel that has gone way beyond everyone’s expectations. When asked what he thought of the vessel here is what John said “Ooooh my god what a boat! I still can’t believe it’s really mine! It is everything I ever wanted plus a million times more. What a boat what a f***ing boat, what a boat.” Everyone who happens to walk past is dragged aboard for a grand tour by arguably the happiest captain on the planet. We would like also to mention his partner Kate who has been extremely patient and supportive throughout John’s affair with a Swiftcat. Yamaha Diesels 2 x 250 bhp’s and a top speed of 30+ knots with an economical cruise in the mid 20’s power John’s vessel, ‘GREAT ESCAPE’.
As for vessels currently in build, we are well under way with the ‘TRENDSETTER’ that will be powered by Seafury surface drives for commercial fishing in Holland. And we will also be releasing the mouldings for Andy Lambert’s 9.6 Swiftcat, ‘LADY LUCY III’ towards the end of the month.
It has been a tough year for boat building and unfortunately we have seen the loss of a couple of close friends’ boat building businesses. Fortunately, we have secured several orders from Europe and at this point I would like to take the opportunity to thank all our staff for their continued hard work and devotion, which keep Swiftline Marine moving forward even in the most desperate of times.
We will be exhibiting as usual on the pontoon berth at the Sea Work Show 2011 and look forward to showcasing our products.
Kindest regards, Nick Rich and the Swiftline Marine team.
January 2010
Firstly, the Swiftline Marine team would like to wish you all a happy, safe and prosperous new year.
As we said in our previous newsletter, 2009 was a tough year for us having invested time and money in the construction of the new Swiftcat superstructure and also continued the development of our Marlin 25’, as with most jobs in boat building it took twice as long and cost three times more than anticipated. The beauty of mould making is that you only have to do it once, if you put the time and effort into making good moulds you can re-use them time and time again. We never help our situation when mould making, as we do not let ourselves be restrained by traditional designs using only one piece moulds, we simply build as we like them to look and then design the mould to release in sections – for example the finished Swiftcat superstructure having nine sections! The first of these new style vessels “MAKO” is now on the water and will be working out of Dartmouth, South Devon as a charter fishing/dive boat with MCA C.O.P. cat 2. The Marlin 25’ is taking shape and will be on the water early part of the year, she will also be a coded fishing vessel.
Since the launch of Mako, we have had an overwhelming response and secured orders for three more Swiftcats. The first will be a charter fishing vessel operating mainly in the Thames Estuary. The second will be a High speed commercial fishing vessel working from Holland and the third will be a charter fishing vessel working from Montenegro and fishing the Adriatic Sea.
We have also expanded our business by opening a steel and alloy fabrication workshop, developing and manufacturing stainless steel and aluminium products such as railings, bollards, rod holders, boat trailers and general steel works and are happy to quote on any work regardless of volume or size.
We will be exhibiting once again at the Seawork show in Southampton in June 2010, you can find us on the pontoon area where sea trials will be available.
Thank you once again for your interest and support and we look forward to showcasing our products. With continual input from the public and potential clients we will keep developing and evolving our vessels to meet the market demands.
Kindest regards Nick Rich and the Swiftline Marine team.
July 2009
We were very excited to have attended our first boat show this year. It has been an ambition of mine to be able to exhibit at a show such as Seawork International where we were represented alongside the main players in our field. One of the huge benefits of being at such a show is to spend time gaining the views of prospective clients as this facilitates better product development and allows us to keep moving forward with our designs. Due to a supplier issue we were unable to exhibit the latest of our vessels but instead we exhibited “Swiftsure”, our five year old prototype vessel; she more than held her own amongst newer vessels and amazed several people with demo speeds in excess of 40 knots!
Swiftsure is now up for sale for £80,000 as we will be building a new craft that will demonstrate our latest design. Swiftsure has been a superb vessel for us and it will be sad to see her go. Please contact us if you would like further details about the sale.
As well as being an extremely exciting year for us it has also been an incredibly hectic one, with the construction of the new superstructure for the Swiftcat and the addition of a 25 foot sports fisher to our product range. The ‘Marlin.25’ is a mono hull that maintains the elegant lines of the Swiftcat and, hopefully, the aggressive performance! We anticipate that she will provide a safe, stable and efficient platform. She is reasonably priced from £8,500 plus VAT. The first of these vessels is to be launched in September 2009 and sea trials will be available on request.
We look forward to putting all our new moulds into action as we showcase Swiftline Marine’s product development. We are sure that you will like what you see, and we invite you to come aboard with us to find out for yourself what Swiftline Marine can do.
Watch this space for more news
All the best from
Nick Rich and the Swiftline team