Jul 14

Jul 14 Tiller Boat Company: Building Mini Performance Boats for Maximum Fun

When it comes to getting on the water, let’s face it, the cost of boats is a factor. But I’ve said it before, the size of the boat and the money spent don’t correlate with how much fun you can have. I came across the Tiller Boat Company and immediately fell in love with the projects and the concept of the company. Started by two friends in Sydney Australia, Josh and Tristan, find older small runabouts and completely refurbish them into performance orientated tiller boats. They have a few bands they like and in this article we will look closely at a couple of their favorite projects, two Haines Hunter rebuilds.

Haines Hunter tiller — There is beauty in simplicity and the little Haines Hunters look really cool. Compact but the deep V, full strakes and decent beam make these great little hot rods.

The hulls are 13’ and 14’ models and similar to some boats you would find in the US as well, when many boat companies made little boats, more common in the eighties and nineties. I noticed with these little Haines Hunters, they are a great design, deeper front, nice entry and a modest V with a little pad. Looks like they ride really nice. One genius thing about turning runabouts into tillers is the simplicity. You not only remove any rigging and steering, but you also move the driver weight to the back, which is nice for bow lift. With any 40-60 HP, you can really fly any little boat. Plus, the affordability of a small engine is fantastic.

Haines Hunter restoration — How it started. The guys got a great workspace.

Josh and Tristan found these two boats on the local market and really began by leasing a small warehouse. They stripped the boats down and really focused on quality. Removing all the old material and replacing the structure (stringers, transom, floor) and decking with Thermolite, a dense fiberglass reinforced foam board, instead of wood. They also used a light weight Corelite, closed cell foam, for other areas. With the boats being smaller, the material cost isn’t that much more, so might as well go with modern composites.

Always the hard part but with some hard work, Tristan and Josh pulled the old material to start fresh.

The great thing is, I believe these weren’t tillers originally and had windshields and steering wheels, so the interior is very simple. These guys did an amazing job finishing them off. For paint finish, they sprayed them with Awlcraft 2000, a two part polyurethane marine paint that is extremely durable and has a beautiful gloss. Boston Whaler blue for the 13” and light gray / cloud white for the 14’. The bottom was painted in a polyester urethane (Awlgrip), which provides a little more durability than Awlcraft 2000. These boats came out incredible. For flooring they went with a soft EVA foam.

With a combination of Thermalite fiberglass reinforced board for structure and Corelite closed cell foam these boats are strong, light and better than new.

When you see the boats running on their Instagram and see the quality of build they did, you can tell the passion runs deep. Josh and Tristan are lifelong boaters and fishing guys who love running these fast tillers. So far, with a 90 HP 2 stroke Merc, Josh’s boat is running 52 MPH, spinning a 20” Laser 2. Incredible numbers and they look like a blast. With a tiller, it looks like even more fun. Most of our readers are in the USA, but I know there are many boats from the past that fit this idea and can be great projects.

Painted in Boston Whaler Blue, with Awlcraft 2000, the finish is durable and really nice. The two part polyurethane paint is a little more user friendly than the Awlgrip and it can be buffed or repaired more easily. Awlgrip is a little more durable but a little harder to work with.

Obviously these guys put a ton of work into these boats but it’s further proof that you can have as much or more fun on the water in a small package. Josh mentioned they tow with a jet ski trailer. If you’re in Australia you’d see them ripping up the Port Hacking River and South Coast Lake Conjola near Sydney. I absolutely love these boats and the Tiller Boat Company is a great idea. Thanks to Josh and Tristan for sharing these awesome projects.

Website: Tiller Boat Co