Business North
TRANSPORT » Exclusive Boat Haulage
| 55
A safe and secure ride guaranteed Kelly Deeks With a purpose-built, fully submersible hydraulic trailer, Exclusive Boat Haulage guarantees its clients their pride and joy will have a safe and secure ride to its destination. Shelley and John (JJ) Klinac bought the existing business two-and-a-half years ago from Peter Jacob in Levin, who had been hauling boats for 30 years. They added their own element to the business by immediately engaging Brian Morgan Engineering in Whangarei to build a new trailer which allowed them to pull boats straight out of the water. “It provides an advantage to boat owners to be able to bring their boats straight out of the water, especially in the more remote areas,” says Shelley. “They don’t have to pay for a crane or hiab to lift their boat from the water, and a lot of times we can save them having to bring their boat to a marina at a different location.” Of course not every boat can be retrieved this way, so each job is assessed at the time of enquiry. The Klinacs have since built a second trailer, not submersible this time, but which is able to carry larger and heavier vessels. The new trailer also features airbags allowing for a smoother and softer ride, and both trailers have been fitted with mudguards to stop stones and debris from flicking up and damaging boats’ paintwork. Exclusive Boat Haulage is available to haul boats throughout New Zealand, and the Klinacs spend a lot of their time travelling between Auckland and Wellington, with JJ hauling the boats and Shelley, with her class 2 pilot license, driving the pilot vehicle for over-width boats. From yachts and launches, to mooring barges, oyster barges, and catamarans, Exclusive Boat Haulage can carry them all, and has moved boats to some interesting places while coping with some challenging conditions.
Exclusive Boat Haulage has built a new trailer which is able to carry larger and heavier vessels.
“Once in Opotiki it took us more than three hours to get 300m up a driveway,” Shelley says. “The trailer was being towed with a bulldozer and a grader up a new driveway, which hadn’t been packed down. “JJ has been stuck before. People tell us their
ground is hard, but when you get in there with an 8-tonne trailer and a 14-tonne boat on it, you can expect to get stuck sometimes.” JJ Klinac was also bringing a 120-year-old boat from Dunedin to the Wellington Sailing Club on July 21 last year, when a 6.5 magnitude earthquake hit the Cook Straight just as he was crossing a bridge in the Marlborough town of Seddon. Being able to get the job done whatever the
circumstances, means Exclusive Boat Haulage is experiencing a steep growth curve, which the team of two find to be more than they ever expected. But as they are dealing with what they know are people’s pride and joy, they are reluctant to let go of any responsibility by bringing in another driver, instead they may be able to relieve some of Shelley’s workload by employing another class 2 pilot.
Brian Morgan Engineering Transport Engineering Truck and Trailer Work Proud to be associated with Exclusive Boat Haulage
Brian Morgan Engineering built a new trailer for Exclusive Boat haulage which can pull boats directly out of the water, saving clients time and money.
Proud to be associated with Exclusive Boat Haulage
1/57 Cobham Road, Kerikeri • Phone 09 407 3818