Rogers Boatshop celebrates 50th Anniversary 

When asked what the key to success for a smaller business in the marine industry was, Rogers Boatshop managing director Nigel Arkell quickly replied – “Do what you say you are going to do.” 

It is a philosophy that recurred regularly throughout the conversation with Nigel, and something his staff have taken to heart in their everyday dealing with clients. 

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Nigel pays tribute to his staff, saying it is all about people on both sides of the counter.

“As a smaller one-outlet business (there used to be three yards at its peak) we need to deliver to the best of our collective abilities. It is nothing cleverer than that, it makes Rogers Boatshop what it is today. 

“We all have a boating background and a passion for being on the water, and I would like to think that is something shared with our customers. It is what keeps them coming back.” 

Rogers Boatshop has been integrally intertwined with the industry for many years, no more so when the company’s founder, the late Roger Arkell, first opened his yard in Library Lane – Albany. Roger passed away in December 2010, leaving son Nigel to take over the reins.

“Dad would never have completely retired, but he had taken a step back and was more often than not found wandering around Westhaven where he had his launch berthed.” 

Roger’s introduction to the marine industry came via the building trade. He was on the tools in NZ and then Australia, returning home to work as the sales manager for Sam Parker who then was manufacturing alloy rollers doors and rubbish bins. 

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It was while he was in Sydney that he met his wife Robyn who has played a big part in Rogers Boatshop over the years, looking after the books.

“We are in the people business. People interacting with people to ensure positive outcomes for all parties,” Nigel says. 

Roger suggested building alloy boats so was tasked with investigating the opportunities and that was how Parkercraft was born. Initially, there were just two models – 10 and 12-footers and they were rivetted, not welded. At the peak of their production, 1,800 Parkercrafts were sold a year. They were all individually tested in a tank to ensure there were no leaks. Nigel recalls as a very young lad being put in a boat in the tank, an experience he didn’t particularly enjoy, letting everyone know it with his loud cries! 

Having established the Parkercraft brand and the manufacturing process, Roger resigned to set up the first of the Rogers Boatshop yards in Library Lane, Albany, opening the doors in June 1973. His war cry was: “We are just 12 minutes north of the harbour bridge” – traffic was much lighter in those days! He had been encouraged by David Reynolds, who managed the Mercury distributorship, and was a strong advocate of Rogers.

One of the first marques on board was Buccaneer Boats, with Rogers Boatshop soon leading the sales charge. They still carry the Buccaneer range today, just one of two of the original four businesses still in the game – Paraparaumu’s Boat City is the other. 

Roger, while originally qualified as a builder, had salt in his veins. He was a competitive dinghy sailor who represented New Zealand in the 1960s,  with cherubs and skiffs his favourite class. He used his carpentry skills to create the first ‘bendy’ masts. He would saw the wooden masts in half and hollow them out before regluing them back together. 

Roger was also involved in the powerboat scene. He was one of the organisers of the ‘Atlantic 100’, a popular rally where economy, nominated speed and efficiency was just as important as speed. 

“It was during these events that I became aware of the good economy the Japanese motors were capable of compared with other brands and inboards.” 

As well as organising the events, Roger also participated in them. The boats were always named Jolly Roger, the biggest of which was a 24ft Vindex. 

The original outboard brand stocked was Chrysler with Marlborough hulls, Savage Electra, Parkercraft and PMC dinghies joining the original line-up. 

Nigel says back then retail was a five-days-a-week scenario – weekend trading was still to come. 

“That didn’t mean we got Saturdays off. I remember as a family we would sometimes leave Auckland on a Friday night after work, travelling to Wellington where we would pick up the Marlborough boats and tow them back up to Auckland, arriving late on a Sunday evening.” 

When they did get time off at a weekend the family would head out into the Hauraki Gulf to fish.  

“We had a choice – fishing with dad or church with mum – we did a lot of Sunday fishing!” 

In 1980 two Auckland locations were granted a Saturday trading license – Parnell Rise and Albany – which put paid to the fishing!

The experienced service and fitout team includes (from left) Zach Swift, Cameron McCorkindale and Reece Bramley.

By this time Sea Nymph, Bonito and Steadecraft boats had been added to the line-up, along with Hoskings trailers that were built on-site. Rogers Boatshop still use Hosking Trailers today. 

It did not take long before the Rogers Boatshop North Shore ‘empire’ expanded. In 1980 a yard was opened in Browns Bay, selling Mercury, Fyran and Steadecraft brands. A Takapuna branch was established a year later – Nigel remembers having to paint the fences as an after-school job. 

Over the three yards quite a variety of brands were added – Sea Nymph (1973), Buccaneer (1976), Fyran (1980) Steadecraft (1983), Bonito (1989) and the Australian pressed alloy Stacer boats (1991).  

Yamaha outboards became one of Rogers Boatshop’s key brands in 1983, and remains so today. 

At one stage Rogers Boatshop was selling the RBS 20, a Haines Hunter V198 hull built under license where wooden decks and topsides were added. A similar arrangement saw the RBS Skipjack 13’6” come onto the yards in the early 1980s. 

While working for his dad as a schoolboy, mainly detailing boats, Nigel helped out at his first Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show in 1984, starting full-time with the company at the 1988 show.  

He clearly remembers selling his first-ever $100,000 rig in 1991. It was a Buccaneer 720, purchased by John Lobb and taken to Taranaki. 

Personal Water Craft (PWCs) hit the Kiwi market in 1987, a year before Nigel came on board full-time. He was meant to be the PWC specialist with Yamaha Waverunners one of the top-selling brands. 

“I enjoyed the stand-up PWCs and running them in the surf more so than the conventional PWCs.” 

He had dabbled in dinghy sailing as a schoolboy and was part of the NZRYS’s junior programme. He enjoyed the speed and excitement of the dinghy racing compared to the keelers which were too slow – “sailing didn’t spin my wheels as it had for dad.” 

Nigel took over the Library Lane, Albany yard in 2000. In the meantime, Roger had taken on the French Beneteau Boats agency and was starting to wind down his involvement in the day-to-day running of the company. 

“Dad was especially proud of the association with Beneateau, but it wasn’t my gig.” 

The Antares A30 was taken to the Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show, where it took out the All Purpose: Open award, one of several won over the years. Roger was inducted into the boat show’s Hall of Fame in 2005 where his contribution to the marine industry was recognised by his peers. 

Roger passed away in December 2010, aged 66. With the cost of leasing real estate becoming prohibitive, it made sense to consolidate the operation under one roof.  

“With three branches, we had staff spread across the North Shore. Given the number of products we represented, it became difficult to keep a finger on the pulse. 

“By concentrating on our key brands and going back to our roots, it was easier to maintain our core service values that our client had come to expect and enjoy.” 

Tribute to staff 

Rogers Boatshop started off as a family business 50 years ago and remains so today. 

“This is not just about the Arkell family, but our staff, many of whom had racked up two decades or so as part of the operation,” says Nigel.

Alistair Arkell and ‘friend’.

On the sales team, John Pounder is still selling boats at 70 years of age, having joined the business in 2006. Alistair Arkell has been on the sales team ‘on and off’ for 22 years. Similarly, Reece Bramley started in the service workshop department for Roger and now Nigel, spanning 22 years. Outboard technician Cameron McCorkindale kicked off his association with the company in 1991 and has also been there ‘on and off’ for a 22-year total.

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Managing director Nigel Arkell and salesman John Pounder.

Julene Schmetza has been the office administrator for many years. More recent appointments include service apprentice Zack Swift (18 months), yard manager Dave Geddes (12 months) along with the most recent addition Will Coleman assisting with yard duties.

Founder, the late Roger Arkell.

And as to the future, Nigel is quietly confident the marine industry will weather the forecast financial storm. 

“Kiwis are ardent about their boating and fishing, and there will always be a place for quality boats, motors and electronics regardless of the economic climate – Rogers Boatshop will be there to provide for those passions,” Nigel says.

Rogers Boatshop part of the Yamaha evolution

Rogers Boatshop and Yamaha have partnered for 40 years, seeing significant evolution of both organisations over that time.  

Together we've seen horsepower grow alongside the demand for larger boats, the shift from two-stroke to four-stroke engines, and more recently digital and electric integration. 

Collectively we've brought continual improvement to the boating experience for our joint customers, and we sincerely congratulate Roger’s Boatshop on a fantastic milestone. 

- Yamaha Motors NZ

Extreme and Buccaneer are Rogers Boatshop’s flagship boat brands, along with Yamaha outboards.

Relationships important

The relationship between Rogers Boatshop and the Buccaneer marque goes way back – the Albany, North Shore outlet being one of the original four dealers for the Waikato-based manufacturer. 

“Rogers (Boatshop) has always been passionate about our brand. We are boatbuilders, not salespeople, so we need the likes of these guys to promote and sell our product,” says Gerry Gerrand, founder of Buccaneer Boats. 

“They have always been proactive on the sales side and have maintained a strong presence at the boat shows, flying the Buccaneer brand.” 

Gerry estimates that the North Shore dealership has probably sold over the years more Buccaneer boats than any other outlet – “they would certainly be in the top two.” 

“Roger’s famous sales pitch was that his shop was ‘just 12 minutes north of the harbour bridge’ to entice potential sales Auckland-wide.” 

Gerry says as well as being supportive in stocking a good range of Buccaneer boats, they also provided a good backup service for their customers, a number of whom had purchased several boats from them over the years. 

“Having a retail outlet that creates brand loyalty and awareness is what you look for in a good dealership. Nigel has carried on in his father’s footsteps in doing that for the brands they carry. 

“We wish them all the best for the future and thank them for their support in the past.” 

 

Extreme Boats | Quality Aluminium Boats

Rogers Boatshop is a dealership that takes pride in the correct setup of each rig sold.

Auckland’s first Extreme dealer 

Rogers Boatshop has been a loyal dealer of the multi-award-winning Extreme Boats since 2008 when Roger Arkell became Extreme Boat’s first Auckland dealer.  

In 2010 Nigel took over the helm, running the family business with sure footing, and continuing to grow a solid relationship with Extreme Boats. Being a family-owned and operated business, Extreme Boats look for good strong family values when selecting dealers. Honesty, integrity, and loyalty are three key values in creating a strong-willed partnership that will weather the test of time and ultimately benefit each party equally.

A dealer that takes pride in correct set up to reach maximum performance with every boat package is another important factor,” Extreme Boat’s Glenn Shaw says.  

“Rogers Boatshop has always taken pride in gaining maximum performance through correct engine set up, providing their customers with a package offering optimum performance.”  

Having sold over 200 Extreme Boat packages, the team at Rogers Boatshop know the product well. Aftersales service is another important value for a manufacturer once their product leaves the site. Extreme Boats have always had full confidence in Rogers Boatshop that their boats will not only be set up correctly but the customers will be looked after, even after the boat leaves the yard.  

“We are grateful to have Rogers Boatshop as a valued member of our dealer network and look forward to many more exciting years working together.”

Customer loyalty well earned

“Not many firms would come to your assistance on Christmas Eve to help with an outboard issue, but Rogers Boatshop did,” says long-time customer Rod Fergusson. 

“While I have found Yamaha to be a very reliable motor, on this occasion I was worried about an issue that cropped up just before the Christmas break, so gave service manager Reece a call to ask him if I should still use the boat over the holiday break despite my concerns,” says Rob. 

“Although my call was at the 11th hour – the staff had finished for the day and were having Christmas beers when I dropped the boat off – Reece was able to quickly diagnose the issue and had it fixed in five minutes.” 

Service doesn’t get much better than that! 

On another occasion, Rod was off Tiritiri Matangi island in the Gulf on a mate’s boat when they struck engine trouble. Despite the boat’s owner not being a Rogers Boatshop customer, Reece picked up the after-hours call and talked them through a fix that saw them get safely back home. 

Rod says it is that sort of support that has seen him a Rogers Boatshop customer over many years, starting with the company’s founder Roger Arkell who originally operated out of Library Lane, Albany premises.  

Rod has purchased five boats – three Fyrans and more recently, two Extremes – all Yamaha powered. His current vessel is one of the new Extreme 616 Game Kings, which he launched in February. A regular in the Hauraki Gulf, Rob says he enjoys the new Extreme’s performance, although the opportunity to get out has been limited due to this summer/autumn’s dodgy weather.  

“Whenever I have had the time to go for a fish, the weather quite often has not been suitable.” 

Rod says Rogers Boatshop’s after-sale service has always influenced his boat purchases. 

“I am a great believer that if you come across a product and a supplier that offers good service, you stick with them. I have a good rapport with the company and appreciate the personal touch of the sales and workshop staff. Nothing has ever been too much trouble.”

Rod uses his boat throughout the year, including regular winter trips – “outboards need to be used to keep them performing at their best.” 

Asked if he considered getting a bigger boat, Rod says his current Extreme 616 is easy for him to handle.  

“Anything bigger and I couldn’t get it down my driveway.” 

Rod says he thoroughly recommends the team at Rogers Boatshop, who have always gone that extra mile to ensure he is, and remains, a satisfied customer.


 


June 2023 - Grant Dixon
New Zealand Fishing News Magazine.
Copyright: NZ Fishing Media Ltd.
Re-publishing elsewhere is prohibited

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