Stabicraft named Grand Prize Boat Partner for Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show, 2027 and 2028
Two of New Zealand's best known boating names are back in business together. XPO Exhibitions has confirmed Stabicraft as the Official Grand Prize Boat Partner for The Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show for 2027 and 2028, timed to land in the same year Stabicraft turns 40 years old. Organisers are already calling it a landmark year for the country's largest boating event.
Stabicraft and XPO are already working on a major activation to mark the 40th anniversary, with grand prize details, supporting partners and visitor experiences to follow closer to the show. Stabicraft won the role through a competitive Expression of Interest process open to boat, engine, trailer and marine technology partners.
A partnership after being big at the show for many years
For long time visitors, the Stabicraft name will feel less like a new arrival and more like a return. The Invercargill manufacturer has exhibited at Hutchwilco for decades and held the grand prize boat role once before, from 2013 to 2015. Founder Paul Adams, who started the company in 1987 and invented the world's first Aluminium Positive Buoyancy Chambered boat, is a Boat Show Hall of Fame inductee. He'll appear at the 2027 show with the Stabicraft team, promoting the StabiX and the brand's focus on adventure engineering, innovation and safety.
"Stabicraft have been hugely successful selling premium aluminium craft at this Boat Show for many decades and have enjoyed a significant lift in boat sales at this iconic event, including the recent 2026 edition," says Stabicraft CEO Aaron Greene. "We're pumped to be partnering with XPO to tell our story of New Zealand manufacturing excellence and further showcase our brand as a leader in trailer boats, to not only a New Zealand audience, but to consumers and dealers from neighbouring countries too."
Honouring a decade with Surtees
The new partnership also closes out a significant chapter for the show. Surtees held the grand prize boat role for a decade, during which more than $2.5 million in premium boat packages went to visitors. Organisers acknowledged that legacy directly, alongside the continued support of Yamaha, Garmin, Hutchwilco and the show's wider network of marine partners.
In 2027
Hutchwilco remains New Zealand's largest marine event, drawing more than 30,000 visitors a year. Full details of the 2027 prize package are expected in the coming months. "Let's just say Stabicraft, XPO and leading marine engine and tech providers are working on something very special," says Brent Spillane of XPO Exhibitions. "We believe this game-changing grand prize package will generate excitement right across New Zealand and attract a significant uplift in high-intent visitors to the show."
