About Flyfin Boats | Aluminium Boat Builders in New Zealand
- About Flyfin
- The team
Flyfin's Founders And Innovators
Flyfin is owned and run by its two founders. Nick Fenton, boat designer and owner, is the person behind every hull and how a Flyfin performs, trained in marine design and shaped by years managing superyacht builds. Maddy runs the business, from operations to the direction the brand takes. Together, they've built Flyfin around one idea: a boat you're proud to own.
Nick Fenton
Owner and Boat Designer
Maddy Dimitrova Fenton
Owner and Business Manager
The Team and Boat Builders
Flyfin is a small team of boat builders in the Bay of Plenty, and everyone in it has a hand in the boat before it reaches the water. In the workshop, the same people who cut and weld a hull also finish it. Beyond the workshop, the team brings each Flyfin to life through photography and video, and helps you find the right boat for how you'll use it.
Joris
Production Manager
Troy
Fit Out
Dee
Boat Builder & Photographer
Lucas
Boat Builder
Laura
Marketing
Chelsea
Assistant
Oscar
Boss
The Story of Flyfin Boats
The water, the craft, the problem of making something that moves well and looks right. It was always going to be boats.
Owner and boat designer, Nick Fenton grew up building boats for the lagoon at Whitianga, and it was never going to be anything else. He trained as a composite boat builder at Tristram Marine, then studied Marine Design at Massey University. There, a philosophy started to form that still drives every Flyfin today: practical and strong boats don’t need to be ugly. It sounds simple. In practice, it’s rare. From there, he designed hydrofoil speed boats and project-managed superyacht builds, before founding Flyfin in 2015 with a depth of experience few boat builders ever gather.
2015 | The First Flyfin
Nick and Maddy met in France, both immersed in the superyacht world, before choosing New Zealand as the place to build something of their own. It started in 2015, with fibreglass. The first boat that carried the Flyfin name was built for family — and it was good enough that word travelled fast.
The name Flyfin (FF, for friends and family) was born in one of Nick’s old study projects.
The Switch to Aluminium
A deliberate shift to full aluminium construction became a turning point. Nick had never been fond of the New Zealand aluminium boat market, but the realisation came that it wasn’t the material that made bad boats. It was the way they were being built. Switching to aluminium was a conscious choice, one that unlocked freedom of design and made it possible to build exactly what each customer needed, without compromise.
Amphibious Boats Become the Flagship
Until 2019, amphibious boats in New Zealand were mostly inflatable-collar designs. Nick saw the gap. A purpose-built amphibious fishing boat — safer, more practical, better performing — for people who live close to the coast and want direct access to the ocean from their own backyard.
Performance and Design Are Flyfin's Identity
The vision is clear. Flyfin as the name for performance boats, amphibious and conventional, across New Zealand and Australia. A range that welcomes new owners at the entry point and at the top end, delivers a level of build quality that’s hard to find anywhere else. A product and a customer base, to be genuinely proud of.
Get in Touch
Questions about a Flyfin, or want to see one in person? Get in touch with the team in Papamoa Beach. ➔ Contact Us
Explore the Range
Flyfin designs and builds three ranges of aluminium boats, Amphibious, Hardtop and Sport Open, from 4.9m to 8.6m, for families, watersports enthusiasts and serious fishing.
Amphibious
The Amphibious range launches from any beach or shoreline. No ramp required. Simple to operate, built to last, powered by Tectrax electrical wheel-system.
Hardtop
All-weather confidence for family trips and serious offshore fishing alike. Stable in chop, dry at speed and finished to match the way it performs.
Sport Open
Easy to tow, easy to launch, easy to love. The Sport Open range is built for the family that wants one boat for everything and values convenience.