Testimonials

Thank you so much for traveling up to Port Denarau, Fiji to fix our boat. It has been completely successful, and we are now enjoying New Caledonia before sailing back to NZ in a couple of months.

It was entirely the right thing for us to request the insurer to bring in a specialist boatbuilder from NZ to repair damage to the lifting keel bulb and hull/keel fairing collar on our composite yacht, an Elliott Tourer 1350. The damage resulting from finding an unmarked coral bombie with the keel bulb!

While willing, the local boatbuilders were not familiar with the construction of a lightweight composite hull or the lifting keel with bulb. Their proposals were for a much more difficult, costly and lengthy repair which we could see was not necessarily going to provide the best outcome.

This factor was acknowledged by the insurance broker who supported our wish to engage you. We saved time, money and a lot of stress all round as a result of your expertise, plus it is always a pleasure to have your company.

Thank you so much.

Phil Salthouse was hired to run the reassembly and commissioning of my Salthouse 63' Integrity. Notably while I was away for long periods and excitedly returned to a near complete vessel. 

Phil's extensive experience and product knowledge with electronics and systems helped this process and produced a very high quality finish. He also is widely respected in the industry and was able to call on additional workers when required including painting and general boat building work. His ability to skipper the vessel when requiring haul out and sea trialling also helped with the process. 

Understandably I would happily recommend Phil and his company to anyone without hesitation and he is still involved with the vessel and her new owner for general maintenance and additional equipment installation as required including boat delivery when needed.

In late 2015 I asked Aquamagic Yachts to build me an OK dinghy. The quality was fantastic and the detail to keeping the boat light, stiff and fair was all anyone could ask for. 

The boat is everything I wanted, and I would recommend Phil and the team to anyone wanting to have a quality build of any boat.

Phil Salthouse undertook the completion of our little modern classic trailer yacht, “Shirley”. 

The attention to detail and the finish is what one would expect from a super yacht rather than a small trailer yacht! 

Phil provided incredible insight to the style and design aspects of the yacht, such as the cuddy cabin and shearline. He also came up with some very innovative ideas for some complicated areas, such as the water ballast system, the rig and outboard bracket. Nothing was too much of a problem. 

Everywhere “Shirley” goes she is met with admiring looks and complimentary comments – a real attention magnet. I’ve no doubt that the little yacht will still be around in a 100 years’ time, still drawing these looks and comments. 

To say we’re delighted with the finished result would be an understatement! We’d have absolutely no hesitation in asking Aquamagic Yachts to undertake our next project, whatever that may be. 

Best sailing regards,

We got to know Phil during the building of our first Warwick 55 Shahtoosh – successfully delivered in 2001 and cruised/campaigned for over 10 years.

Entrusting Phil and Sandy of Aquamagic Yachts Limited with our new Warwick 75 project seemed the logical thing to do – and we were returned the favour of witnessing a second to none understanding of what it takes to bring a small custom-designed super yacht construction to a level exceeding our expectations. In-depth knowledge of the various trades involved – being able to attract the right subcontractors – with an understanding of Owner expectations is the right mix to bring a complex project such as Shahtoosh (75) to fruition.

The end result is there to show.

We obviously would recommend Aquamagic Yachts Limited to any potential client expecting the same high standards.

I have no hesitation to recommend Phil Salthouse as a professional in yachting – not only as a boat builder with a lot of common sense, practical experience in all areas of a yacht – but also as a boat handler – as proven on the many regattas he has been sailing with me – some quite successful indeed – such as the 2004 Raja Muda off the Malaysian Coast.

Performing always with a smile – and pushing everybody at the right moment – he is also a good team member – a pleasant person to have around.