Nautic Star
Sector: Marine Manufacturing
Industry: Boat and Trailer Design and Construction
About the business
A family-owned boat builder in the heart of Lonsdale, Nautic Star have spent more than 25 years designing and building fully custom offshore boats and trailers for recreational, commercial and government clients.
And no two of its boats are the same.
Built around their own proprietary plumb bow design that’s incredibly unique in Australia, every vessel is drawn, fabricated, painted and fitted out in-house by a small team of expert tradespeople.
With customer satisfaction their top priority, their motto is: If even the smallest detail isn’t right, it’s corrected, or the work starts again.
The journey
In 1996, inspired by his family's commercial fishing background and his own love of the sea, Marko Bacic designed his first boat, building it with his partner Tanya in his cousin’s backyard.
Happy with the result, they took it to the Adelaide Boat Show, where it drew an enthusiastic response – and by 1999 Nautic Star was born.
And it’s this early ambition that continues to drive the team today. Their goal? To build the very best boat on the market, in its category.
With every design still drawn by hand before the company's naval architect turns it into a detailed 3D digital model that guides each part of the build, parts that were once marked out and cut manually today lean on advanced technology to assist, arriving machine-cut and ready to assemble by their highly skilled team.
Over time, and thanks to this dedication to exceptional quality, both state and federal government agencies also began commissioning their boats - in some cases entire fleets - paving the way to bigger and more demanding projects.
Through all this growth, however, the company has stayed small and tight-knit, with their employees considered family. Their three sons have also grown up alongside it, seeing the hard work that goes into everything and how far the business has come.
And the future remains bright. Collaborating with leading international brands, a demonstration boat is currently being constructed to showcase the latest, cutting-edge marine technology to the world.
Why Onkaparinga?
Nautic Star has built boats in Lonsdale from the very beginning.
What started in a rented shed became permanent two decades ago, when the Bacics bought neighbouring land and built their own industrial complex.
And while they had a choice to set down roots either side of the city, it was the southern coastline that drew them in.
Located close to the O'Sullivan Beach boat ramp, the lower Gulf of St Vincent has always been ideal water for their builds, with Backstairs Passage and Investigator Strait serving as perfect testing grounds.
And with so many great businesses on their doorstep, Nautic Star draws on local suppliers wherever possible, utilising their products and services right through the production process.
Almost three decades on, they're still glad they chose the south!
“The magic happens when you love what you do and you’re in the right environment. It stops being work and starts being a labour of love.” Tanya Bacic, Director, Nautic Star