Amity Boats is a Brisbane based marine company, headed by principal of Australiawide Boat Sales – Euan MacDonald. Euan has brought together a group of top rate individuals in the marine industry to utilise their experience in creating a classic style traditional day sailer/weekend camping yacht.
Euan MacDonald – Director
Euan has a vast experience in boating, growing up sailing on the Gareloch in Scotland on traditional boats before crewing and coordinating the Tall Ships events around Europe. He has worked professionally on super yachts, classic yachts, and even Hot Air Balloons, qualified with Hons in Business from Queen Margaret University (Edinburgh), he settled in Brisbane in 2001 and ran Australiawide Boat Sales from 2004 to 2018. His love for classic boats has seen many restorations over the years, alongside the importing of NEW Folkboats from Denmark.
A word from Euan
Welcome to Amity Boats website – I hope you enjoy its development as much as we’re enjoying developing our new brand of boats. The Amity Classic has been a long time in development and I’m so delighted in how it has all come together. It’s a boat for many different types of people, if your like me with a family, it’s the perfect overnight camper, or also from a sailors perspective its incredibly good fun for class or club racing. What’s important is its simplicity which makes it both practical and good value without sacrificing on quality or good looks. See you on the water…
Barry Colson – Designer
Colson Yacht Design is the design and project management company established by Barry Colson, one of New Zealand’s most innovative designers.
Barry has salt in his blood. He comes from a long linage of boat builders and a family history that ensured that he was brought up on the sea. His father, Clyde, is a well known and respected “blue water” sailor and skipper. Barry’s mother Heather Colson (Reid) is featured in Jann Irons book “sailing away” and was unique in being one of few New Zealand women sailors of her time to have devoted her life to big ocean racing completing more than 100,000 sea miles and held a commercial launch masters ticket.
Barry has been the winner of several international design competitions. Respect has come from as far away as England where in 1995 he was the winner of the prestigious” Whitbread 30” design competition. The New Zealand naval architectural society confirmed their recognition with the “Autoship award of Excellence”.
Barry understands the very separate topics of classic traditional sailing and modern design and build techniques. This is hugely important to our whole company ethos.
Ben Pluck
Ben is in charge of all fiberglassing in our hulls, decks, keels, floors etc. Ben is a qualified shipwright and avid traditional boat enthusiast. He has a wealth of experience from his trade which is fiberglass manufacturing and is very proud of the fact that we are building solid boats that will last the test of time.
Gary Saxby – UK Sails
Gary has been instrumental in the Amity Boats project since day one when we utilized his skills to loft out the frames for the hull. Gary has a wealth of experience in both sail making and also racing where recently he has won line honours Brisbane to Gladstone twice in last three years. He has been designing and making sails for 28 years and in his spare time has designed and built skiffs, keel boats and multihulls. Hi expertise has been instrumental in producing a well balanced and designed set of sails for each and every Amity.