There are Australian boat brands with history, and then there are those whose history can be traced through some of the most influential names in international and Australian powerboating.
Edencraft sits firmly in the latter category.
Its story reaches back more than six decades, through the development of the legendary Formula 233 hull in Miami in the early 1960s, American powerboat identity Don Aronow, and ultimately to John Haines Snr, who brought the Formula 233 to Australia.
From those beginnings, the hull developed a formidable reputation for offshore performance and became part of Australian boating folklore. The Formula mould later passed through Yaltacraft before being acquired by Edencraft, at the time a marine service operation in New South Wales.
Through the 1990s and into the following decades, Edencraft boats were built in several locations around Australia, with successive builders continuing to develop the boats while preserving the fundamental characteristics that had earned the Formula hull its reputation.
That heritage remains very much alive today. The 233 Formula Classic continues as part of the Edencraft range, carrying a lineage that stretches back more than 60 years.
But while history is an important part of the Edencraft story, the past decade has arguably been just as significant in shaping what the business has become.
A new chapter begins
In May 2016, the Maher Family Group purchased Edencraft.
It was not simply a corporate acquisition.
Grant Maher was already an Edencraft owner, having purchased a 233 Formula from the previous owner of the business. A relationship developed and, when the opportunity arose to purchase Edencraft, Maher took it.
By December that year, the business had moved into a purpose-built facility at Moolap in Geelong, with dedicated moulding, joining and fit-out areas together with administration facilities.
What followed was a period of investment and development, but importantly, not at the expense of the heritage that came with the name.
The Maher family recognised that they had acquired much more than tooling, moulds and a boatbuilding operation. They had taken responsibility for a brand with an extraordinarily passionate following and a product whose reputation had been built over generations.
That responsibility has been matched with a willingness to move the business forward.
The 233 Formula has continued to evolve, the 6.0 Offshore has been redeveloped, the 565 returned to the range, and more recently Edencraft introduced the larger 255 Formula and the 655 Centre Console.
Alongside Edencraft International, the family has also developed Edencraft Marine and Edencraft Creative, extending the group’s activities beyond boatbuilding into servicing, marine retail and advanced manufacturing.
Edencraft Creative’s investment in five-axis CNC machining has provided the business with greater capability to develop plugs, moulds and new products, while also opening opportunities outside traditional recreational boatbuilding.
Today, Josie Eastman-Maher, daughter of Grant Maher, is General Manager of Edencraft International and an important part of the next generation leading the family business.
For her, 2026 represents a particularly significant milestone.
“I can’t quite believe it, but this year marks 10 years since the Maher family took ownership of Edencraft,” Eastman-Maher said.
“It’s been an incredible decade for our family, our team, our customers and the businesses who have supported us along the way.”
Building the Edencraft family
Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of Edencraft’s development under the Maher family has been the importance placed on the relationship with owners after their boats leave the factory.
The company refers regularly to the “Edencraft Family”, but there is considerable substance behind the term.
Owner events, fishing trips, factory activities and experiences have been used to bring customers together, creating connections between owners and the company, but also between the owners themselves.
That approach received industry recognition in 2025 when Edencraft International was awarded the Australian Marine Marketing Strategy of the Year.
The strategy was built around developing a values-driven owner community through events and experiences, with Edencraft describing the result as increased customer loyalty, advocacy and organic growth for the brand.
It means that, as the Maher family reaches its tenth anniversary at the helm of Edencraft, there is perhaps no more appropriate way to recognise the milestone than by bringing that community together.
Biggest Owners Weekend yet
From Friday 13 to Sunday 15 November, Edencraft will stage its 2026 Owners Weekend in Geelong, which the company expects will be its largest owner gathering to date.
The three-day program will combine fishing, boating and social activities, culminating in a Family Day at Edencraft’s Geelong headquarters.
A new addition will be the inaugural Edencraft Boat Owners Fishing Competition, with approximately 30 boats anticipated to take part.
Competition fishing will begin on Friday morning and continue through Saturday, with weigh-ins at Edencraft each afternoon across a range of categories.
On Sunday morning, attention will shift from fishing to what could become one of the more memorable images of the anniversary celebrations.
Owners will take their boats onto Geelong Harbour for a major fleet photo shoot, with professional photography and drone footage capturing the gathering on the water.
The fleet will then return for the Family Day celebrations at Edencraft HQ from midday, where the program will include fishing competition presentations, factory tours, family activities, food, drinks and live entertainment.
More than 300 people are expected to attend the Sunday activities.
For a company whose products are so closely associated with offshore fishing and whose marketing has increasingly focused on the experience of ownership, it is an event that brings together the various elements of what the modern Edencraft brand has become.
It also provides an opportunity for the people who build the boats to spend time with the people who use them.
As Eastman-Maher put it, the weekend is about recognising everyone who has contributed to the journey.
“To celebrate, this November we’re bringing the Edencraft community together for our biggest owner event yet,” she said.
“Thank you for supporting Edencraft and the owners who have helped shape our business over the past decade. We’d be thrilled to celebrate with you in November.”
Edencraft is also inviting marine industry suppliers and partners to support the weekend through prizes for the fishing competition and Family Day, with limited display opportunities available for participating businesses.
But ultimately, the November weekend is about something bigger.
It is a celebration of ten years under the stewardship of one Australian family, the owners and employees who have travelled that journey with them, and a boating lineage that began on the other side of the world more than six decades ago.
For Edencraft, history remains an important part of the brand.
The November gathering will be a chance to celebrate how far that history has travelled, and the community now carrying it forward.
For more information, visit their website HERE or their Family Day page HERE
