HAPPY 21ST
NEW ZEALAND DESIGNER GREG ELLIOTT IS CELEBRATING THE 21ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE LAUNCH OF HIS FIRST TOURER PILOTHOUSE CRUISING YACHT.
The first Tourer was an Elliott 1550 – Kotick – built by Darren Schofield (Silverdale’s Custom Yachts) and launched mid-1998.
Since then scores have been built – and today Elliott Marine’s Tourer range is the only New Zealand-designed fibreglass production cruising yacht being built in the country. Ranging from 12.5m to 20m, the Tourers are performance-focused pilothouse offshore cruising yachts. They’re built in yards all over the world – with options geared to customer location, budget and selected design. The yachts are particularly favoured by live-aboard cruisers.
A key advantage of a Tourer is the ability for owners to make their mark on the base design, with plenty of options for customising the interior layout and the styling. Current new builds include a 1350 Tourer at Hutcheson's Boat Builders in Tauranga, and a 1550 Tourer being built in China.
“The original Tourer concept was a blend of performance, comfort and seaworthiness and although we have redefined the models over the years, it’s that blend that’s made them so successful,” says Elliott. Improved materials and styling changes have all been incorporated into the designs, but the core style remains true to its origins.
Though they’re designed for simple, short-handed operation and easily-handled sail plans, the real point of difference of the Tourers is their exceptional performance, and many have proven themselves on the race circuit.
Although there are no current plans to expand the range, the option is there. “All our designs are customer-led and market-driven, so if there’s demand we absolutely could take the range bigger,” adds Elliott.
