Fin Chaser holds one of the best spots in the First Pavilion at the Hutchwilco Boat Show, and the Hamilton builder has made the most of every square metre. The stand presents a full sweep of the range, starting from the entry-level tinny at one end and stretching to an eight-metre amphibious carrying a Mercury V10 at the other.
At the accessible end of the lineup sits the 385T, a no-fuss fishing tinny aimed squarely at those getting started on the water. Move up and the 465 comes in two distinct forms: the R, with a forward steering position, and the CC, which places the console amidships and leaves the full perimeter rail free for fishing. The 535CC applies that same thinking to a larger platform. The 560CC goes a step further, adding a seat behind the console, doors on the storage compartments, and a gas fitting integrated into the console top. These are not cosmetic flourishes added for showroom appeal. They are the kind of details that come from watching how people actually use their boats on the water.
The 600HT pairs a forward console with a dedicated fishing platform at the stern and enough foredeck to work an anchor or set up a bow fishing position. The 430SS is a compact, tidy open boat whose side-mounted console keeps the rest of the cockpit clear for anglers. Every vessel on the stand is aluminium, and every one of them is built in Hamilton.
The amphibious boats draw their own crowd. The 600HTA brings the ANURA amphibious system to a six-metre hull, while the 700HTA stretches to seven metres and arrives with a full electronics suite fitted. Nine units have already found buyers in Australia. The eight-metre amphibious on display is powered by a Mercury 425 V10, and Fin Chaser is deliberate about how that eight metres is defined: hull length, not the overall span from the tip of the motor to the bow. In a market where measuring conventions can be conveniently stretched, that distinction is worth knowing.
The boat that stops people mid-stride in the aisle is the 800HTWA, though the name deserves a moment's explanation. Hard Top Walk-Around, not amphibious, which is an understandable confusion given the eight-metre amphibious sitting close by. The 800HTWA made its public debut at the Auckland On Water Boat Show two months ago and appeared on the cover of Boating New Zealand. There is still only one in existence. A visit to the Fin Chaser factory in Hamilton before the show gave the chance to examine the finished boat in detail, and the fit and finish demand a second look before aluminium even registers as the construction material. At this level of workmanship, the medium becomes almost incidental.
The walk-around layout delivers bow space that is genuinely practical rather than nominal. It works for fishing, for handling lines at the wharf, or for managing ground tackle without awkwardness. The hardtop overhang channels water forward rather than back into the cockpit, keeping things drier at speed. It is a design that earns its looks through function rather than trading on them. Elsewhere at the show, Fin Chaser has also supplied a new 560 centre console for Suzuki's Lateral Line stand, a collaboration that was not quite complete when the show opened but is on display nonetheless.
Tim and the team are realistic about the 800HTWA's place in the lineup. Selling a couple of them a year would be a result. It was never conceived as a volume boat, and nothing about it suggests otherwise.
