SIMPLE DECISIONS
The Elite AT43 from Allan Tongs Boatbuilders is like a sweet shop of special features selected from the range of Elite Marine Design and put into one boat. Rebecca Hayter picks out her favourites on Ikō, meaning ‘Let’s go!’ Ikō is the tenth Elite AT43, launched in November 2025.
It makes perfect sense that the Elite AT43 is full of my favourite things because I sort-of represent a portion of its target market, being aged between 50 and 70, plus falling into a sub-category as a yachtie turned launch owner.
So here are my top three favourite features. Number one, I’m loving Ikō’s manoeuvrability. After having a yacht’s keel to keep me on track at low speed, I found it daunting to manoeuvre a launch in close quarters, but Ikō has twin engines, a bow and a stern thruster, and – yay! – a cockpit console with throttle and toggle steering. That means the luxury of a wheelhouse for most of the trip, with the option of steering from the cockpit when necessary to be close to the action, such as docking or working a fishing strike.
Number two: The interflow of cockpit and galley. In creating the Elite AT43, this feature was on everyone’s wish list. In this concept the cockpit/wheelhouse door disappears into the bulkhead to port and the large window between the galley and the cockpit lowers into the half-height bulkhead to starboard. Voila! The entire main deck becomes one large, indoor-outdoor space
of cockpit, galley, saloon and helmstation. The cook remains part of the party, and food and drinks can easily pass to and from the adjacent, outdoor seating. There is a fridge/freezer under a seat to starboard and a set of clears around the cockpit for shelter when required.
The almost all-round windows in the wheelhouse take the effect of wide open spaces to its full potential. With just two mullions well forward, the saloon has all-round views, to be enjoyed from all seating positions. Our grandads would never, ever have believed a boat could have so much light and space in the saloon.
Of course, in some conditions, this much air is too much, so the cockpit-galley door can be secured and the huge window only partially lowered to allow fresh air without the effects of nuggety weather.
Number three: The silent chines which have become a signature feature on Upfold designs. Again, as a yachtie who appreciates the quiet of a yacht’s hull, it drives
me crazy when I lay down my head to the sound of a launch’s sloppity, lickety, ploppity as wavelets ripple along the bow sections at anchor. But Upfold’s silent chines promise silent nights for the Christmas cruise.
A NEW PATH INTO PRODUCTION
Since setting up shop in 1983, Allan Tongs Boatbuilders yard had built almost exclusively custom boats, including eight boats by Bill Upfold of Elite Marine Design. Custom builds are innovative, which makes life interesting but brings challenges in running a business in a tight economy.
By 2018, Allan’s son Nigel was running the boatbuilding team and suggested they conceive a new Elite model and go into production. After plenty of market research in tandem with Upfold, they reconfigured their operation to production-style building and launched the first Elite AT43, Huia, in 2019.
The following is overly simplistic, but, effectively, instead of telling the customer, ‘You can have anything you like,’ as they would for a custom boat, the Tongs welcomed potential customers at boat shows to the Elite AT43 with: ‘You can have anything you like as long as it’s like this one.’
Far from freaking out, the customers loved it – for three reasons:
- the cost of the boat would come in at around 20 percent less than the cost of a custom-built boat, like for like;
- the delivery time would be around six-to-eight months compared with more than a year for a similar custom boat;
- the big decisions had already been made by Tongs and Upfold – a formidable depth of experience in building boats for New Zealand conditions. Oh, what a relief.
‘Not everyone can envision what a boat will be like from the plans,’ Nigel says. ‘Customers can walk onto the Elite AT43 at a boat show and touch, see, feel what they’re going to get, but also request some modifications.’
In creating the Elite AT43, the designer and builders kept it simple, because it’s easier to handle and maintain a simple boat. The Elite AT43 is a 13.2m sedan to fit a 13.5m marina berth. It can easily to be extended at the swim board during build to take full advantage of a 14m berth. The Elite AT43 was initially marketed by Hammer and Tongs Creative, run by Nigel’s wife, Ester Tongs. When Allan retired in 2022, Ester joined Allan Tongs Boatbuilders full-time, bringing her marketing and décor design skills.
The move to production boatbuilding has been a success, as the company evolved to building boats in female moulds rather than over male moulds. ‘When we initially took this project on, we didn’t quite understand how many moulds we were going to end up building,’ Nigel says. ‘When you’re doing a production boat and you keep repeating for boat after boat, you might as well have a mould for everything. Like, down to the dashboard and armrest and the sunroofs above the saloon, every cupboard door. It saves a huge amount of time.’ All possible components are cut identically and perfectly using CNC technology.
Customers often visit Allan Tongs Boatbuilders in Auckland as their boat takes shape and work on their individual décor with Ester. ‘We’ve got a couple of real artisans working for us,’ Ester says, ‘like Jase, who does our cabinetry. He does a beautiful job with inlays, for example, in the saloon table. Because we’re a custom boatbuilder, we can do some modifications, and this particular boat is a good example of that.’
Ikō’s owners are taller than average, so they requested longer bunks in the cabins and sacrificed barbecue stowage for longer seating in the cockpit. The owners also asked for more headroom in the saloon, but that would have required all new window patterns and impacted on the boat’s aesthetics. Nope, that request was declined.
LIFE ON BOARD
Ester describes the Elite AT43 approach as practical luxury boating. The generous 4.5m beam ensures wide side decks and a spacious saloon, dining and U-shaped galley to starboard opposite a full-size Mitsubishi Electric fridge to port. Honouring the commitment to simplicity, extras such as a dishwasher, washing machine, generator, gyro, water maker are not actively encouraged, but do feature on some of the Elite AT43s.
The cockpit is all about ease of management, reflecting Nigel’s observation of an elder relative who was struggling to retrieve and stow his outboard and barbecue from the lazarette. The Elite AT43 has dedicated, vertical stowage for the outboard beneath the port seating, including a socket for charging an electric outboard, alongside the shore power.
Boarding from the dock or dinghy is easy, with good handholds, and davits to secure the dinghy. Underway, the dinghy can be pulled up into the cockpit. There are two, lightweight 2.5 kg gas bottles in separate lockers at the transom – again, making it easy to transfer gas bottles ashore for refilling.
The accommodation is based on a scenario of owners in the island berth master cabin, with their adult children in the starboard guest cabin with a king-size berth which can easily convert to twin singles, and grandkids in the port cabin in full- length bunks. Other scenarios: two or three couples cruising, or the owner and mates away on a fishing trip. Some customers have expressed a wish for two cabins and two bathrooms, instead of three cabins and one head, which is a possibility for the future.
A particularly nice feature is the separate shower to port, opposite the head to starboard, with strategically placed doors ensuring privacy from the rest of the boat.
Upfold designed the hull mould so it can be adapted for the installation of single or twin engines, IPS drives or even jet units. ‘We wanted to offer as many options as possible, in twin and single engine installations,’ he says. Ikō’s owners enjoy long range coastal cruising, so they selected twin Volvo Penta D6s
at 440 horsepower, and requested a 1500L fuel tank, up from the standard 1200L tank, located under the cockpit. The propellers are in hull tunnels to achieve the most efficient shaft angle and for protection in case of groundings or hitting stray logs.
‘There’s an R&D coupling in the driveline between the gearbox and the shaft,’ Nigel says, ‘so that takes up a little bit of the alignment. And if you were to hit a rock or a log for example, the R&D coupling will take the hit, rather than damaging the gearbox apart or engine.
Ikō’s onboard power system runs on AGM batteries charged by the engine and solar panels on the roof.
A HIGH LEVEL OF CONSTRUCTION
Although the production boatbuilding represents significant savings for the customer, money has been spent where it counts, including in a reasonably high level of construction technology and materials. Upfold worked with structural engineering specialist Nina Heatley of Clever Fox Projects who specified a vinylester outer skin and engineered laminates either side of structured PVC foam cores. The result is a stiff, light build which saves weight and, therefore, fuel. The interior cabinetry is also a weight-saving combination of ply-foam-ply, vacuum pressed prior to CNC cutting. ‘It’s never going to be as light as an equivalent custom build, but it’s not far above it,’ Upfold says.
He designed the hull for efficient running, responsive handling and good sea-keeping capabilities: a monohedron hull, with slightly warped bottom and diminished deadrise towards the transom. There is a lifting strake below the waterline, and silent chines just above.
The twin Volvo Penta D6s at 440hp engines are accessed through the port cabin and installed with plenty of space around them for maintenance. More utilities are under the cockpit sole, including the battery bank, teak rod holders, steering system and the 70 litres-per-hour watermaker, which saves having to carry full tanks of water – another weight saving measure.
The Elite AT43 defines a new era for the family- operated Allan Tongs Boatbuilders. It takes full advantage of their 40 years’ experience in boat building and their solid relationship with Bill Upfold of Elite Marine Design to create a high quality boat which promises longevity in looking good, working well and holding its value. And, it’s a treat for customers to visit their boat as it takes shape in the hands of a friendly team in Auckland. In regards to the Elite AT43, I think that’s another of my favourite things.
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA 43ft / 13.8m
Beam 4.5m
Deadrise 14 degrees
Weight 11.5 ton
HP Range 500-1000hp
Fuel Capacity 1500L
Water Capacity 720L
PERFORMANCE DATA
RPM KNOTS LPH LNM
1000 6.5 7.9 1.2
1800 11 34.5 3.1
2600 20 75 3.8
3200 26.5 121 4.6
3400 28 142 5.1
3750 31 175 5.7
