Longhurst keeps growing his Gold Coast ‘field of dreams’ as marine industry booms

Tony Longhurst has put the pedal to the metal at his ‘field of dreams’ in the Gold Coast Marine Precinct at Coomera with plans to continue his expansion of The Boat Works superyacht facility amid sustained demand for marine services in southeast Queensland.

The ‘build it, and they will come’ strategy shows no sign of abating for the former V8 race driver and marine industry veteran who has filled out the most recent expansion – a $30 million project on the property’s northern shipyard, which has helped more than double the facility’s superyacht capacity over the past two years to cater for vessels longer than 75 feet.

“We've been at this for ten years,” Longhurst tells Business News Australia.

“When I started, we had just 18 boats. Now we have 60 boats, from 100 people on site to about 1,000-plus. It just keeps growing and growing.”

The Boat Works is arguably the fastest-growing business within the Gold Coast Marine Precinct, located on the Coomera River's banks and employs more than 5,000 people across multiple businesses.

The marine precinct sits just behind Dreamworld, which was founded by Longhurst’s late father, John, and is also home to luxury yacht manufacturer Riviera, owned by Longhurst’s brother Rodney.

The precinct is also dominated by Bill Barry-Cotter’s luxury yacht brand Maritimo and Quintrex manufacturer Telwater, which Canada’s BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) acquired in 2019.

The latest expansion at The Boat Works includes ten new refit sheds that are 18 metres high and 42 metres long, offering all-weather protection for trades to work year-round. Nine of the sheds will be ready to accept vessels in early 2024.

This brings the total number of sheds to 70 on-site at The Boat Works, all of them operating at capacity.

“Every time we build something, it is at capacity. We have a list from here to Dreamworld waiting to get in,” Longhurst says.

“Thousands of boats are being launched worldwide each year and hundreds of them are making their way to Australia, but the marina and slipway facilities just aren’t keeping up. So every bit of land we own, we are building on.”

The Boat Works spans more than 22ha, with Longhurst revealing that he is constantly assessing areas that are underutilised to optimise space at The Boat Works.

“We’re pushing out as far as we can,” he says.

Click here to read the rest of the article by Nick Nichols in Business News Australia.