Seawind cats
In early October, after undergoing a business restructuring in its base south of Sydney, Australia, Seawind Catamarans announced that going forward, the company would likely be building its entire line of award-winning cats in Vietnam.
In making the announcement, Seawind’s managing director Richard Ward said, “This year has been the most challenging in the 30 years I have been in business, however I have been humbled by the support of our suppliers and would like to offer my thanks to give Seawind this opportunity to move forward and focus on the next 30 years of building great multihulls.” Ward added that high manufacturing costs, and the ongoing strength of the Australian dollar—which put Seawind at a competitive disadvantage with many imported models—would necessitate the closing of the firm’s Australian production facility located in Wollongong.
Ward said Seawind would continue to offer after sales service and warranty support for future and existing Seawind owners in Australia and around the world, either directly from Seawind itself or through Multihull Central, whose headquarters are in the purpose-built multihull marina of Rozelle Bay on Sydney Harbor.
Following the completion of the last three Seawind 1250’s on order, future production of the Seawind 1250 will likely move to the Seawind/Corsair Marine facility in Vietnam, where the Seawind 1000XL2 and Seawind 1160 are already being built alongside the range of high performance Corsair trimarans and the Corsair 50 catamaran. Corsair Marine, originally based in California, has been producing boats for the last six years in Vietnam.
The accompanying photo shows an imported Seawind 1160, built in Vietnam, after launching in Sydney’s Botany Bay shipping terminal. For more information, visit www.seawindcats.com.
