The story of a boat builder extraordinaire.
When Anton Tallie started repairing boats in St Helena Bay on 1 April 1988, little did he know that Tallie Marine would become the boat-building behemoth that it is today.
The first breakthrough
At the end of 1994, he decided ‘enough of repairing’ and the following year went full steam ahead into building boats. Many headaches later, he secured funding for a factory to replace his modest workshop.
With impressive ingenuity, Anton designed the first 45ft glass fibre reinforced plastic (GRP) vessel using foam and wood to make a mould for the 7:1 scale model. He achieved this feat without the aid of CAD, computers, or an engineering degree, relying solely on his inventiveness. On 17 February 1996, the 45ft Highland Queen was launched from the half-built factory in Sandy Point Harbour with much fanfare.
Growth and expansion
Initially, Anton, his son Antonie and the team concentrated on 45-footers for the squid industry, gradually advancing to 60ft vessels. Today, the company is hailed as Africa’s largest GRP boat builder, with their most significant creation being a 100-footer. However, the primary market now lies in 83-footers for the pelagic fishing industry, according to Anton.
‘Among our notable vessels are 76-footers for the squid industry that can load up to 70 tons, long liners, landing craft, bottom trawlers, ski boats, a 90-seater floating restaurant, mussel cats for Blue Ocean at Langebaan lagoon and research vessels,’ he explained. ‘To date we’ve built 180 vessels. And we’re particularly proud that we’ve trained all our artisans (most of them former handymen) to the gold standard in GRP boat building.’
Personal pursuits
In the past, Anton used to race stockcars at Goodwood and the West Coast, but his increasing workload culled that in 1995. Since then, his interest morphed into motorbikes and cars. Between him and his son, they rebuilt 36 motorbikes and five cars (a Lotus 7, Ford Cobra, 1948 Ford pickup, 3-wheeler and an old Mini). These now grace a museum at St Helena Bay’s Golden Mile. His current project is rebuilding a Tuk-Tuk.
That’s not all. As a lark on New Year’s Eve in 2000, he decided to take up flying. ‘I qualified as a pilot in 2002 and first flew a Piper Cherokee 235. Then I built my own plane in the garage from Thatcher CX4 plans, followed by a Skybolt from US-bought plans. I very happily flew that for eight years, but last year when I hit 73, it was time to hang up my flying gloves.’
The legacy continues
Anton retired from Tallie Marine in 2015 and his son took the reins in 2016. But he still goes to work four days a week to pursue his hobbies. Also, with more time to spare, he’s resumed playing league pool, a pastime he once paused due to work commitments.
Although he and his wife Rinette used to travel extensively (40 countries over 16 years!), Anton now prefers spending leisure time drawing or starting the next garage project. ‘I can’t live without pistons! They’re my pets.’
From a small repair shop to Africa’s largest GRP boat-building enterprise, Anton Tallie’s journey is a testament to ingenuity, perseverance, and an undying passion for craftsmanship.
FAST FACTS
To relax I read
My sport is playing pool and running up and down the stairs at home
For armchair sport I watch MotoGP and American motor racing
Favourite West Coast place is first and foremost St Helena Bay
Best restaurant is Die Seekat in Paternoster
I love eating meat (chicken is my veg of choice)
My signature drink is rum and soda
