Once you become a client of Rod Twitchin Marine (RTM), you not only have great service, but also a lifelong relationship.
This and the RTM team’s extensive experiences at sea are the underlying themes that drive RTM’s business.
After more than five years exploring South-East Asia, the 41-metre Sovereign superyacht, MY “Batavia” chose to undertake a series of complex refit works at The Boat Works’ world-class superyacht yard.
Batavia is one of 47 superyachts of 24-metres+ from the Asia-Pacific and domestic Australian market to head to The Boat Works for service and refit projects since expanding its facility with the new superyacht yard in February 2020, attracted by the unrivalled array of skilled marine professionals on-site and Gold Coast’s largest boat lift at 300 tonnes.
Batavia’s owners had intended to travel to Auckland for the America’s Cup in March 2021, but their plans changed due to COVID19 travel restrictions.
Captain Mark Clacher has been the skipper for the owners for the past 16 years and at the helm of Batavia for six years, navigating the tranquil waters of Lankawi, Thailand, the Maldives, Indonesia, Cambodia, and Borneo. “The owners had cruised all of Australia and wanted to see all the wonderful islands on our doorstep, so we’ve been based in Asia for the past 5 and a half years,” he says.
When it came time to undertake repairs and some refurbishment, Captain Mark contacted Rod Twitchin, Director of RTMarine, based at The Boat Works. Rod has had a long history with the vessel’s owner and crew and had overseen or carried out the pre-purchase inspection on Batavia overseas six years ago.
“We could have stayed in Asia or chosen another yard,” says Captain Mark. “But Rod told us about The Boat Works’ new purpose-built Superyacht yard with 300-Tonne lift and all the facilities, so we headed to the Gold Coast.”
Batavia’s upgrades included an array of engineering works, plumbing and air-conditioning, antifouling and underwater lighting installs, refinishing works of the superstructure along with various interior and exterior refurbishments.
“The hospitality and co-operation of The Boat Works’ staff were a boon to captain, crew and painters alike. We congratulate and commend The Boat Works on the thought and effort that has obviously been involved in the development of the new facility.”
Project Manager, Rod Twitchin says “It all went smoothly. The biggest challenge was working to the tight deadline of seven weeks, which is often the case with commercial and privately-owned vessels. But we all collaborated and got it done.”
Rod is an experienced sailor who understand the sea. He also has accreditations from AMSA as a master and engineer, which certainly complements his marine surveyor’s accreditation.
RTM’s suite of services includes project management and consultancy, commercial and recreational surveying, pre-purchase and insurance condition reports, valuations, safety inspections, vessel manuals, safety management systems, insurance reporting, and even interior design.
Rod’s team of tradespeople at The Boat Works Coomera ensures all facets of refit and repair can be covered in-house. The team is diverse, about half a dozen or so in size, and capable of providing boats 20 feet and over with refits, delivered with good old-fashioned service. The 300-tonne lift on-site, means that If they’re in survey, the boats can have their annual inspection out of water for commercial purposes, as well as any refurbishment and service works, all managed by the one company.
Although having that capability to service big boats, Rod will always welcome local boat owners. RTM has been servicing and supporting local boats for eight years and history has shown many take advantage of his sea experience with open arms. “We welcome a call from our clients any time, even if it’s to ask a question about weather, tides, or issues aboard. We don’t want their weekend ruined over a simple fix. Not only can we help, we want to!”
www.rtmarine.com.au Ph: (07) 5556 – 0035
