Sealine is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

brand of

motor yachts A yacht () is a sail- or motor-propelled watercraft made for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , ...

. It is originated in the former Sealine

boatyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes more involved ...

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

that was founded in the 1970s by Tom Murrant. As of 2013, the brand belongs to the parent company of German

HanseYachts HanseYachts AG is a German yacht manufacturer headquartered in the city of Greifswald (Baltic Sea). The company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of sailing yachts with lengths of 29 ft (ca. 9 meters) to 67 ft (20.42 meters). The company ...

AG.

History

Founding and rise (1972–1997)

The English aircraft engineer and boating enthusiast Tom Murrant (1939–2005) founded the Sealine parent company ''Fibrasonic Marine Ltd.'' in 1972 with the help of three other persons. Manufacturing started near

Bobbington Bobbington is a village and civil parish in the South Staffordshire district of Staffordshire, England, about west of Wombourne. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 506, increasing to 588 at the 2011 Census. Bobbington is just ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. The first model was a 23 ft GRP family cruiser with

sterndrive A sterndrive or inboard/outboard drive (I/O) is a form of marine propulsion which combines inboard power with outboard drive. The engine sits just forward of the transom while the drive unit (outdrive or drive leg) lies outside the hull. Ope ...

(''23 Continental''). In the wake of the world oil crisis 1973, the young company suffered and survived several years by producing items for other sectors and as subcontractor for other boat builders. In 1978, ''Fibrasonic Marine'' presented two models under the new brand name ''C-Line''. Furthermore, the company moved to a larger site in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

. In 1979, ''C-Line'' became Sealine, and an 18 ft weekender with coloured hull was launched. More and more, the brand stood out with clever space utilisation and versatility. In the 1980s, the models ''30 Fly'' and ''285 Ambassador'' were brought to the market and became best sellers. In the 1990s, Sealine entered the US-market and rose to one of the "Big Four" British motorboat builders (alongside '' Fairline'', ''

Sunseeker Sunseeker International is a British luxury performance motor yacht brand. Originally named Poole Power Boats, the company was founded by brothers Robert and John Braithwaite in 1969. The company changed its name to Sunseeker International i ...

'' and ''

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'').

Changes of ownership (1998–2013)

In 1998, a period of substantial changes began. Tom Murrant and his Co-partners sold the company for US$45 million to a group of

venture capitalist Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity financing provided by firms or funds to startup, early-stage, and emerging companies, that have been deemed to have high growth potential or that have demonstrated high growth in terms of number ...

s headed by the English industrialist Gerard Wainwright who started to improve build-quality and design. Only three years later, Wainwright sold Sealine for US$68 million to US-based ''

Brunswick Corporation Brunswick Corporation, formerly known as the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, is an American corporation that has been developing, manufacturing and marketing a wide variety of products since 1845. Brunswick has more than 13,000 employees in ...

''. The new owner implemented advanced manufacturing structures, widened the range upwards and tried to attract the market with luxury. In 2004, a ''T60'' was launched, the biggest Sealine ever. Like the whole sector, Sealine was severely affected by the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

. In 2011, ''Brunswick'' sold the company to US-based

private equity Private equity (PE) is stock in a private company that does not offer stock to the general public; instead it is offered to specialized investment funds and limited partnerships that take an active role in the management and structuring of the co ...

firm ''Oxford Investment Group''. In April 2013, Sealine went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal: the process of dealing with or controlling things or people. ** Administrative assistant, traditionally known as a se ...

. Attempts to sell the company as a whole came to nothing. The manufacturing site in Kidderminster was closed. Around 300 employees (that had left from the 600-strong staff in the best days) lost their jobs. The brand besides moulds, plans, parts lists and equipment was purchased by German ''Aurelius SE'',

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, the parent company of German boat manufacturer ''

''.

Restart in Germany (2014–present)

In 2014, ''HanseYachts'' started to produce the adopted Sealine models ''S450'' (formerly ''SC42'') and ''F450'' (formerly ''F42''). A German subcontractor temporarily produced the also adopted ''S380'' (formerly ''SC35''). Furthermore, HanseYachts appointed the British naval architect Bill Dixon as designer for all Sealine models and presented the first new model ''F380'' (''SC35'' advancement). In 2014/15, the first two Dixon designed models ''S330'' and ''C330'' were launched.

Trivia

In the late 1980s, a Sealine ''285 Ambassador'' named "Sea Gybsy" starred in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

drama " Howards Way".

Current models (specs)

¹ Sport model, ² Cruiser model,³ Flybridge model, ⁴ Model with outboard engines Naval architect: Bill Dixon

Awards

*Sealine ''F380'' – “Motor Boat Award 2015” for the “Best Flybridge under 55 ft” *Sealine ''S330'' and ''C330'' – "Motor Boat Award 2016" for the "Best Sportscruiser up to 45 ft"

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://www.hanseyachtsag.com/us/
Sealine ''F380''
review. Motor Boat & Yachting, August 2014 Yacht building companies British brands