An Eye for Design. West Coast Boat Builder Celebrates 30 Years in Business

South African West Coast boat builder Tallie Marine embraces cutting-edge technology, including live-streaming sea trials on Facebook. But when it comes to designing the perfect hull the boat-building company believes nothing can beat the human eye.

Antonie Tallie, MD of the family-owned business in St Helena Bay, says one of the most important parts of his job is to stand with his father Anton in their cavernous shed, cups of coffee in hand, and assess the lines of hulls under construction.

“We’re very practical people,” says Antonie. “You’ve got to have a feel for this …  We’ll make all the ribs in the frame by hand and then you can see how it looks; it’s not always easy to get the feel of a boat  on a computer.

“You’re looking at a whole bunch of lines, and it’s very different to seeing and standing in front of a boat – you can actually see the lines where the boat is running, you can see where you can shave off and where you can’t. It’s a very hands-on approach.”