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David Bradburn - Owner/Managing Director
David Bradburn, aged 51, founded Bluewater Cruising Yachts Pty Ltd some 26 years ago. He is a passionate sailor and loves everything about boating in particular cruising yachts. Since the age of 14 David has dreamed about cruising designs and their suitabilities and compromises. He has been living his dream building the best cruising yachts in the world for their class.
David has built or been in charge of over 60 builds throughout his business career to date. His hand on speciality is GRP laminating as well as project management, design, customer liaison, staff training, and quality control. He has spent many thousands of hours enjoying sailing yachts in enclosed waters as well as many thousands of sea miles cruising the Australian East Coast including 2 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Races and a Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race.
David is always humbled by the great responsibility that customers place in his leadership, company, ability to deliver the ultimate cruising yachts and the trust they place in him.
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Russell Webster - Boat Builder
Russell Webster, aged 57, has been building boats for 39 years. Firstly for his family owned business for 22 years where he built over 600 runabouts, half cabin and cuddy cabin speedboats. Then was involved with building a custom 70 ft Precision Sportsfishing boat. Russell specialises in all aspects of boat building from plug design and mould making through to GRP laminating of hulls, decks and structural assembly, fitout, timber finishing, spray painting, launching and commissioning. Russell has worked for Bluewater since 2002 and is a key staff member.
“Working at Bluewater provides the opportunity to build boats from start to finish. As well as be involved in all aspects of boat building during construction. Also, many and varied smaller projects over the last 7 years. Boat building provides me with the opportunity to work practically, creatively and artistically to overcome problems and achieve standards of work uncommon in today’s world. I enjoy and strive for the craftsmanship and discipline necessary to bring imagination and design to the conclusion of something beautiful and worthwhile.”
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James Christie - Boat Builder
James Christie, aged 26, working at Bluewater for the last 8 years has provided me with opportunities that have enabled me to develop a career I could never have imagined. Working on the yachts is a long and challenging process, but I enjoy seeing projects come together over the weeks, months and years. It takes a great deal of discipline to see a build, or several builds, all the way through to completion.
At Bluewater there are always many projects on the go at one time including several custom boats and offroad campers. Shifting between the jobs, and recently becoming a Project Leader, has been greatly rewarding for me as I enjoy working alongside the highly experienced tradesmen, as well as the great group of apprentices we have on board.
“At Bluewater we take great pride in knowing we deliver a premium product and the fantastic, ongoing relationships with our customers are testament to the integrity of the company.” |
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Jamie Foulkes - Boat Builder
Jamie Foulkes, aged 37, has been working at Bluewater for the last 7 years as a highly qualified Shipwright. Jamie possesses all the necessary skills to enable Bluewater to produce their Bluewater 420 Raised Saloon including fibreglassing, mould making, timber fitout, plumbing, deck fittings, etc but he specialises in and has a great passion for being mechanically minded. He specialises in machinery and system installations. Jamie is a real asset to the company and an integral part of the Bluewater team.
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Kevin Gleeson - Boat Builder/Cabinet MakerKevin Gleeson, aged 53, has been working as cabinetmaker for the majority of his adult life. He is a keen skiff sailor and enjoys the challenges presented in boat building.
"I like being able to transfer my skills in antique restoration, traditional cabinet making,
shop fitting, model aircraft design and construction and sailing experience to the job. Gaining new skills on the job is also rewarding."
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Alan Quinnell - GRP Layup/Boat Builder
Alan Quinnell, aged 50, has been working in the marine and fibreglass industry for the last 30 years. His expertise is with GRP laminating. He started by building runabouts, pools, and then Leading Hand building large in-ground fuel storage tanks which involved travelling around Australia and overseas setting up new plants. Alan has also been involved with large industrial GRP installations such as the Mackay Water Recycling Project.
Alan is a meticulous and highly efficient craftsman who has been with Bluewater for the last 18 months. In this time Alan has become a key staff member.
“I like working at Bluewater because there is a wide variety of jobs and a real sense of achievement when you finish building a yacht. The joy of being a boat builder is that we have the ability to turn raw materials into a yacht that the customer will love and cherish because of the dedication and hard work that has been put into constructing their dream boat.”
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Jo Learmont - 3rd Year Adult Apprentice
Joe Learmont, aged 29, starting my boatbuilding career with Bluewater has been a great opportunity to acquire the skills and knowledge I need to become a successful tradesman.
Working with people from a variety of professional backgrounds and with specialised skill sets has allowed me to learn quickly while becoming part of an effective team.
“What I enjoy most is the process of designing and implementing elegant solutions to the problems we face every day as boat builders trying to create something of the highest possible standard. Sometimes the learning curve is steep, but that’s when it’s the most fun! Also, it’s difficult not to be inspired by David’s relentless enthusiasm for boating and boatbuilding!”
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John Stuart - 3rd Year Adult Apprentice
John Stuart, aged 29, is a 3rd Year Adult Apprentice and enjoys learning new skills and boat building techniques that lead to a high quality finish.
“Converting raw materials into a boat gives great job satisfaction. Working alongside a great team of staff has helped me learn so much in a short space of time.”
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The Bluewater 420RS
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The Bluewater 420CC
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The Bluewater Cygnet 20
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