Two separate vessels powered by dual Yamaha F350 V8 outboards have each received Australian Marine Industry Federation (AMIF) Boat of the Year awards for 2008.
Taking top honours in each of their own categories, the Naiad DV8 by Kirby Marine and the Grady White Express 305 from G4 Marine both presented to the judging panel with twin Yamaha F350 V8 outboards and each received their respective accolades at the boating industry’s night of nights on the Gold Coast.
The 10 metre Naiad DV8 from Kirby Marine took out the AMIF Boat of the Year Award in the Cruising Trailerable Aluminium Over 6m category. Standing out as the only rigid inflatable boat in the awards line-up, the Naiad DV8 proved that safety, quality of finish and high-speed performance are still high priorities for the Australian marine market.
On the other end of the boating spectrum, the Grady White Express 305 collected the Boat of the Year award for the Imported Non-Trailerable Fishing Power category. The sleek American import harnesses every cubic inch of the twin V8 Yamaha rig and impressed the judges with its legendary design and quality of finish.
Playing a key role in two Boat of the Year awards is worthy of praise, but the significance of such an achievement for Yamaha lies in the ongoing success of their latest outboard project.
“We are very pleased at how quickly the Australian market has embraced our new V8 F350 outboard,” said Brett Hampson, National Sales and Marketing Manager for Marine Products at Yamaha Motor Australia.
“To have two Boat of the Year category award winners both powered by dual Yamaha V8 F350 outboards is testament to the technology behind this world-first engine. Our F350 is unmatched for power to weight performance across all outboard and sterndrive platforms and still lays claim to being the word’s cleanest outboard. It’s no surprise these two leading boat brands found success with our F350.”
Multiple F350 outboard configurations are now becoming a popular engine installation for large planning hulls that require the torque of a sterndrive, but want the simplicity of an outboard. Installing a V8 outboard on the transom not only saves weight, but also saves considerable room on deck with cockpit space now free to use without a sterndrive engine in the way.
Yamaha has also made controlling multiple engines simpler with their Digital Network System. Multiple engine synchronization can be achieved with the Auto-Sync Throttle Control making twin, triple or quad engine control smoother and simpler than ever before.
Yamaha is proud to have played a part in powering the Naiad DV8 and Grady White Epxress 305 to success in the AMIF Boat of the Year Awards.
Yamaha outboards are available through an Australia-wide network of authorised Yamaha outboard dealers. All Yamaha 4-stroke outboards are supported with a full 4-year manufacturer’s warranty and all 2-stroke outboards are backed by a 3 year warranty – standard conditions apply.
