G'day all, It's been a while since I've posted anything ,with so much going on, time just kept slipping by and before you knew it, it was the end of August already.

Over the last month, especially with spring now here and summer just around the corner, the forum has been going gang busters, with builds happening left, right and centre, with some builds about to hit the water! As for us, even here in our design office, enquires for yet more designs are on the increase, everything for even more offshore designs, power cats, cabin boats and even asking when are we going to get into sailing designs.

Speaking of boat plans, it's amazing to see just where some of our designs are about to be built. From the cold regions of northern Russia, to the Equator and even right down to the deep Southern Ocean. We've even got a few boats about to commence on islands in the middle of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans!

As always, we appreciate our customers and the support that you have given us over the past four years and continue to do so. I say a big thanks to all of you for your support in the past and I assure you of our best intentions to keep you coming back in the future, with interesting design concepts to build.

So, have a good one and. HAVEAGREATWEEKEND

Tropic 12

New Design for the Month Over the past few months, we've been getting a lot of enquires for a smaller version (around 12ft) of the Tropic 14. Well, the plans are now finished for the Tropic 12, a plywood composite design constructed from 6 & 9mm plywood. Like her bigger brother, the Tropic 12 is designed for estuary/lake and river fishing with loads of storage and a ton of cockpit space to stand and fly fish or chasing predator fish amongst the mangroves.

"Think of a place you want to go on the water and the "Tropic 12" can get you there. Whether you're fishing, diving or just having fun, the Tropic 12 is an ideal small multi species fishing boat. Easy on the pocket and packed with features left only to your imagination, the Tropic 12 maximizes it's space with a wide beam, stable hull and an open and roomy interior for loads of storage and fishable cockpit space, whilst out on the water.

The heart and soul of the Tropic 12 lies in its modified-V hull, designed for the tough demands of fishing or family excursions, whether your running the estuary's or fishing the freshwater river backwaters and lakes. But the real beauty of the Tropic 12 is its wide beam and shallow draft, enabling you to navigate across shallow flats, up coastal rivers and even into tidal creeks. Overall, it's the perfect all rounder that's easy to handle, easy to trailer or car-top and more importantly... easy to build."

Latest Launching. The latest Splash for the month is Brads Mushulu 14. Brad (living down in Sydney) started building back in the July with plans for his wife and himself to fish for bream and flathead on Berowra Creek and the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney.

We all know he must have been getting close from his build pictures of the boatbuilding Forum, but when I received a phone call from him for the information required for the Australian Builders Plate and where to get the "blank" plate, we knew it was just days away. Anyway, we look forward to hearing more from Brad over time and reading of his fishing adventures in the fishing section in our Forum.

Latest Builds For the Month. With so many builds going on this month, I guess the easiest way to begin this month, is from the biggest to the smallest.

The Pro Tournament 21

Since Dean began construction of his PT21, we've now sold a few more sets of these plans, where they'll be operating in the Deep Southern Ocean. We're also getting a lot of enquires for a 24 and 26 fters, with a couple wanting a 40 fter. As far a Dean is concerned, his boat is now painted (looks great and just like the renderings on our website) and he's now modifying the trailer to suit the boat. Then its time to get the electrical done, throw the outboard on and get her wet. So we look forward to showing you more next month. To see more of this design, please visit our website.

The Cruise Control 5.2

Tony over the past month been working on fitting out is cockpit area and also his front cabin. As Tony mentioned to me, it's all those little things that really slow one down, particularly when you're fitting it out to suit yourself. Well, we all have various ideas what makes a great fishing boat, so when you build your own, you can create all those things whilst you're building. Try and do that with a production boat!

The Sea Strike 16

This design as really taken off. With her 20 degree deadrise at the transom, obviously it's a design that really suits those die hard fisho's who want to build their own boat. We've got quire a few builders on our forum, showing their SS16 builds, and with the speed their putting them together, we can expect a number of them hitting the water before Christmas. With our tournament-proven 21 degree deadrise hull design, delivering top-end speeds and great handling through a variety of conditions and a ride unlike any other, the Sea Strike 16 is packed with features you might not have thought you needed, but we did.

The SS16 includes a large center console for extensive electronics, kill tank, ice box facilities, under floor storage, walk through transom and up to a 100 litre optional fuel capacity for those long offshore runs. From trolling the shallows or racing to your favorite offshore fishing grounds, experience the ultimate in sport fishing performance. Wow, we look forward to watching these builds over the coming months.

The EdgeTracker 487

The Edgetracker series, with tiller steerage is proving to be yet another popular series. With her 18 degree offshore bar crushing hull design, an open and uncluttered cockpit providing you with plenty of fish fighting room, loads of storage compartments under the deck, pedestal seating, rear lockers and with fish holders along the side of the hull, the Edgetracker 487 is a big boat for its size. Like the SS16, there are a number of builders showing their builds on our forum, with a few of them wanting to have their boats launched before Christmas. So keep watching here to see more next month.

The Gulf Explorer 16

This is yet another design that is creating a lot of interest. Big boat attitude in a small easy package easily describes the Gulf Explorer 16 in perfect detail. Truth be told, the Gulf Explorer 16 is simply a great all-around boat. The Gulf Explorer 16, a stitch and tape plywood composite design has a large open 12ft x 6ft (3.65m x 1.82m) cockpit providing you with plenty of fish fighting room, storage areas in the aft compartments and also under the raised front deck, and a console with tons of room for electronics and the capacity for a 50-75 litre fuel tank for those long days.

With a few of these now under construction, it's great to see and appreciate the sheer volume of this design. So much so, that Mathew, who built the very first Mushulu 14, is now back again building the GE16. So we look forward to seeing more of his progress over the coming months.

The Flat Chat 16

Sean approached us about a month back, looking for a design that would suit the waterway where he resides. With scattered lakes, rivers and marshes and estuaries leading out to the sea, Sean wanted a boat to go Bass fishing. Not content with the typical alloy boat, re-vamped as a so-called "bass boat", Sean wanted originally to build the Flat Chat 18, but with space in his shed limited, he decided to build the Flat Chat 16 instead. Australian slang for "Full Throttle" or "Pedal to the Metal", the Flat Chat 16 is a "flats" or shallow water fishing boat, a term a fitting name for the design.

Built to take shallow water fishing to the next level, from saltwater to fresh, the Flat Chat 16 is designed to be equipped with the distinctive advantages for both saltwater and freshwater fishing, geared for optimum top end delivery, responsive handling, shallow hole shots and a smooth, dry ride.

Big on performance and all-around versatility, the Flat Chat 16's sleek, low profile design is designed to be extremely responsive, maneuvering with quiet, controlled ease, even in windy conditions. With her super shallow draft and extra dry ride mean the Flat Chat 16 is right at home whether you're fishing the saltwater estuaries or running a freshwater line on a nearby lake or river to take on a world of angling action.

So, we'll be keenly watching his progress build pictures, so stay tuned to see next months progress report.

The Roguewave XT-14

With quite a few plans for this design now sold, it's great to see one under construction on our forum. Tim, from Victoria, has now begun building his RW14, even adding a bit of "flair" with his build pictures. He even built a scaled model of the design to get a feel for what she'll look like before he started building the boat. The Roguewave XT-14, a vee hull punt (not flat bottom), provides a clean and efficient hull shape with features and functionality typically only found in larger boats, With her wide shallow vee hull, this allows for large deck area, greater stability at slow speed and smooth fast runs in choppy seas.

The Roguewave XT-14 is a compact design, yet has enormous capacity. It includes a self draining cockpit, loads of storage lockers, comfortable seating throughout and a stable platform for you and your friends and family members, along with all their gear. So we look forward to watching his build on our boatbuilding forum. In the meantime though, stay tuned to see even more next month.

The EdgeTracker 426

Another very popular deep "v" hull design, the EdgeTracker 426, like her bigger brother, boasts also yet another bar crushing offshore hull design. It would seem that everywhere you look on the forum, yet another ET426 is being built. With the speed that some builders are doing, you can bet your bottom dollar that we'll be seeing these boats on the water before summer.

The Tropic 14

This is a design gaining popularity fast, probably one of the reasons we built one. Whether you're fishing, diving or just having fun, the Tropic 14 is an ideal mid size family/ multi species fishing boat. Easy on the pocket and packed with features left only to your imagination, the Tropic 14 maximizes it's space with a wide beam, stable hull and an open and roomy interior for loads of storage and fishable cockpit space, whilst out on the water.

The heart and soul of the Tropic 14 lies in its modified-V hull, designed for the tough demands of fishing or family excursions, whether your running the estuary's of the Gulf or fishing the freshwater river backwaters and lakes. But the real beauty of the Tropic 14 is its wide beam and shallow draft, enabling you to navigate across shallow flats, up coastal rivers and even into tidal creeks.

There are a number of these now under construction, so we look forward to seeing more shortly.

The Sandy Strait 14

Although this design is now 4 years old, it's proving to be just as popular now, as it was a few years ago. Designed to be lightweight, simple to construct and a great beginners boat to build. The Sandy Strait 14 has a simple open plan design, with the priority being for easy planing at low speeds, great stability whilst at rest, and reduction in fuel consumption without compromising the strength, durability and safety of the design.

Careful consideration was also given to loads of storage lockers, side shelves for all that fishing gear that needs to be kept handy and comfortable seating throughout, whilst still providing a stable platform for fishing or other recreational activities without compromising safety for those on board. So we hope you enjoy the latest build picture from Ross and his Sandy Strait 14.

Mark's plans are available in our Duckworks store.

Mark's website is: