27/03/2026
This is one of those stories that makes me really happy to have been involved with and the customer got to achieve his life long dream of catching a tuna from his own boat! Awesome work Robin!
Robin and his wife Sonia came and saw us at Marco Boats early in 2025 about a new boat but with what Robin needed to make it useable we just couldn't make it work in their budget for a new build.
Keeping in touch with our customers where we can, we had heard about a fairly new 600 Striker that was for sale and put Robin and Sonia in touch with the owner.
After discussing what the modifications to the boat might cost to add what was required by Robin, they went off to try and strike a deal on a new boat.
A week or so later I got a call to say they had been successful and "Thunderbird 3" was now safely in their possession awaiting a space where we could start the modifications.
Traditional davits and platforms for marine environments we looked at firstly were extremely expensive, then most were too bulky to fit in a 6m boat and lastly some looked like they might last a month in a boating environment.
At that point we knew we would need to design something ourselves that would fit in the boat to start with and not break the bank account.
Luckily Thunderbird 3 was a current model shape we have all the cad files for so the problem solving began.
What you see in the photos is the culmination of multiple conversations with Robin about his requirements and a bit of leg work from both of us to find parts that would work budget wise, space wise and with a bit of redundancy safety wise.
The final results work awesome, Robin can now get into the boat easily, with overnight trips to Tutukaka now on the plan seeing as he can get off the boat at the marina, and the platform means he can see while driving there.
We are so happy we could help keep you out on the water Robin and even more stoked we could help you achieve your goal of catching a tuna from your boat.
Just a marlin to go now ;)