Within two weeks of the event, Dave Bond of Looe ordered a South Catamaran 32/10 Island which will be used for commercial fishing in the winter and charter angling through the summer.

Ben Colman, Sales Director of South Boats, said, 'It was very clear this year that the market has noticed catamarans as a realistic alternative to the monohull in many applications.

We discussed pilot boat cats with Canadian authorities at the show, survey cats with many operators at the show, and some really quite interesting application that I had better keep to myself for the time being.

Again seawork has proved its value to the marine industry.'

South Boats certainly drew attention at seawork2003, with three immaculately prepared boats carrying out demonstrations twice daily.

This enabled 24 potential clients per day to sample the benefits of the South Catamaran design compared with competing catamarans and monohulls.

In addition to sales and ongoing negotiations, South Boats' sister company, South Catamarans Ltd, signed a rewarding licensing agreement with Canadian boat builders Canmar International Group of Newfoundland. Since South Boats delivered the first 34ft 11in catamaran to Newfoundland earlier this year, demand for similar craft has exceeded all expectations.

Robert Starkes, CEO of Canmar who attended seawork2003, reports that the first 55ft South Catamaran was launched late last month and the first two 45ft South Catamarans are well underway.

He said, 'There is a big market opportunity in Eastern Canada and North America which should prove to be very successful.'

MJInformation No: 18516