After deciding to buy a plate boat, we wanted a build and design that suited us now and also something that will suit us into our retirement. We looked at a variety of boats, different options available and thought about what it was we wanted out of our investment. We visited a couple of boat shows, saw a great array of boats, decided on what we though would be THE boat and then we saw “Vindicator”.
After talking to Glenn and Christine about what we wanted our ideal boat to be and what we wanted it to do, we were invited to go for a trial run on Frank’s boat at another boat show. The day was wet, windy and not very appealing however once on board the weather was the furthest thing from our minds. We were very impressed with the way the boat handled in the water, the finish of boat and its features.
After further discussions with Frank about some features we wanted that Vindicator had not designed or built previously, including an extended hard top, sound outboard knowledge and information from Glenn, decorating and colour advise from Denise and Christine, our Vindicator journey began on 17 October 2019.
Throughout our journey we received regular updates and pictures of our boats progress. We were welcomed to visit the factory and we were able to talk to the Vindicator staff. Throughout the build we made some further changes, but Vindicators focus was always about building the boat that we wanted.
Nine months later we took delivery of our “Unique” Vindicator on 15 July 2020. The boat was everything we wanted and more. The finish was only bettered by the performance with a great ride and at less that a litre of fuel per kilometre with an average speed of 40kmh, we are extremely pleased with our decision.
The Team at Vindicator made our journey an extremely pleasant experience, their knowledge, professionalism and down to earth approach was greatly appreciated. The only thing they didn’t explain to us was how hard it was to pick a name for a boat!!!! Finally settling on “Unique” which we feel captures our boat and our Vindicator experience.

In 2015 we decided to upgrade our TrailBlazer which we were using to fish the waters offshore Fraser Island. We looked long and hard and finally found the boat we wanted, virtually in our own back yard. The Vindicator !! , Built right here in Gympie by Watsons Marine. We chose the 6.8 mtr 1/2 cab model with twin counter rotating 115 HP Yamaha and it has not disappointed us. It is fully optioned with Auto Pilot, Auto Route Guidance, Radar, all integrated on a 12” Garmin Touch Screen Plotter/Sonar. And it even has an inflatable tender/outboard. We now get offshore further and faster due to the boat’s excellent performance in open water. Last year we upgraded our Gal trailer to a Vindicator all alloy drive on drive off unit. Now single handed launching and retrieving has never been so easy. Our ‘Vinnie’ has added a new dimention to our activities. The boat is perfect for trips away in the Sandy Straits for up to a week at a time. The Watson family and their staff have proved to be completly supportive with nothing ever being too much trouble, including free replacement of the rare parts fail. Frank, Denise & Glen, ….. you are the best boat dealer/builders I have ever had the privilege of knowing and dealing with.

In June 2016 our dream come true when we took delivery of 720 Vindicator. The team at Watson Marine made it happen seamlessly and we are now creating a life time of memories with our 3 children. Amazing boat and trailer that keeps on impressing us everytime we use it.
To our extended family and great friends at Watsons Marine
Thank you for everything
Don’t wait for the perfect moment to buy one, take the moment, meet the team and make the perfect purchase you wont regret.

Great business, family, trailer, boat, experiences and lifestyle….join the team

A great family business that build a great boat and offer excellent after sales service. We have had our Vindicator (Predator) for three years and have done mostly offshore fishing and could not be happier with our boat and the after sales service. Having owned two previous plate aluminium boats built in Victoria and of very good quality and well regarded I was very impressed with the quality and finish of the Vindicator and even more impressed with the ride, performance and handling in comparison to my other boats. We chose the 580 for the room and the comfort and the ease of handling at the boat ramp along with the safety especially when we have our grandchildren with us. Our Vindicator aluminium trailer fitted with the Boatcatch makes launching and retrieving a breeze. To Frank, Denise, Christine, Glen and all of the team at Watsons thanks for a great boat and keep up the great work. It is a pleasure to be a member of the Vindicator family. Cheers Nigel and Lyn. P.S. These boats sure can catch fish.

I highly recommend test driving a vindicator and talking to the team about options if you are in the market for a serious fishing and family boat. Frank and the team at Watson marine were incredibly helpful throughout the entire build of our top quality boat and trailer. Frank is a fisherman with a passion for boats and not just another salesman which means everything is top quality tried and tested by the vindicator team, they simply wont use cheap nasty products on their boats and their attention to detail is spot on.

Our boat is very customised to suit our style of fishing and Frank built exactly what I wanted, its amazing what Watson marine can fit into a 5.8m boat. I did a lot of research and could not find anybody that would build a boat with exactly the features I wanted except Watson marine, these people really know and understand boats and will back their products. Frank was available to discuss details during the build late at night after I finished work and always had time to talk me through things and answer any questions I had

I had several other “plate’ boats prior to the vindicator and words simply cant explain the difference in ride and stability, its so smooth and stable in any ocean. The trailer is quiet to tow and the boat rolls on and off smoothly. The boat catch fitted has never missed and my wife no longer gets her feet wet when pulling the boat out of the water.

The whole package is exactly what I asked for and anybody that wants a solid plate boat that is safe, smooth and can be customised to your needs should be looking at a vindicator quality boat and trailer.

Life time experience with Watson’s Marine Vindicator, and we are so pleased to be part of The Vindicator family.

Great family business, excellent customer service and awesome boats (and trailers). I’ve bought two boats and trailers from the Watson’s and I wouldn’t go anywhere else (even though we live between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast). Boats and trailers are quality craftsmanship and you’re treated like old family friends. Definitely worth a look if you’re after a solid, well-built boat and you like honest, reliable after-sales service.

Great experience getting a boat built with the team at Watson’s Marine. Always obliging and couldn’t do more for you. Great boat that will bring many years of enjoyment and always get you home safe.
Thanks Frank, Denise and Glenn.

We have now owned our 620 “Shuckles Cruz” for just over 7 years and we still love it. If you were to look over it you would still think it is 1 to 2 years old. This is a good example of a great Australian product and great Workmanship. Yes we would recommend the services of Watsons Marine to anyone and furthermore if anyone in the Townsville Region would like to go for a ride they can always contact me through Watson’s Marine.

Well, it’s nearly 6 months since we took delivery of our Vindicator 5.80m Centre Console.

After some 25 years of retailing various high-quality production craft over these years, I can say without any doubt that our Vindicator 5.80m gives a ride and handling capability instilling that safety factor required for fishing offshore reef or coastal estuaries. Workmanship and finish is excellent from order date to completion. Watson’s Marine instilled confidence in their professional operation. If we were still in business, I would gladly sell the “Vindicator” brand, but fortunately we are retired so just have to go fishing. Thanks to the Watson family for building a great range of craft, arguably the best mono hull we have owned.

After taking delivery of our second Vindicator, we thought that it couldn’t be any better than our first one, But it is! The new Vortex Design Hull sits higher in the waterway and produces less wake. This reflected in the fuel economy which is significantly better than our last model.

Our last model was powered by 2 x 115hp Four Stroke Yamahas, while our new 6.80m has two of the new 130hp Four Stroke Yamahas and they are a beautiful match for this hull. Economy is less than 1 litre per kilometre for both engines. The boat is on the plane in its own length. The 20Deg dead rise hull gives as soft a ride as a Cruisecraft 680, with much more cockpit space and all the benefits of plate aluminium. Vindicator’s usual attention to detail has meant everything works perfectly first time – total peace of mind. A Watson’s Marine Tradition. We believe Vindicator Quality Aluminium Boats are close to the pinnacle of plate aluminium trailer boat building, probably in the world and we have owned many other boats. Yes, they are expensive, but you get what you pay for and after 50 years in business, they will be around to complete your dream project.

We were more than happy to write this testimonial on these awesome boats and trailers.

We went to the Brisbane Boat Show in 2011 to have a look at what they had to offer in the way of new boats. We had a 6.2 meter Quintrex Boat & were thinking of trading it in on a bigger one. We looked at all the boats at the show & kept coming back to the Vindicator site where we met Frank & Denise Watson.

Denise explained everything we need to know about their Vindicator Boats & we were quite impressed with the quality & workmanship that had gone into building their Boats. Sharon & myself took the brochures went home & read up on everything we could find about the Vindicator Boat range. We really liked the 7.2 meter vessel. But we still had our boat that was doing the job for us at this time & for the next 2 years we kept talking about the Vindicator Boats. Then in December 2013 Frank rang us to see if we were still interested in the Vindicator Boat range. Frank asked Sharon & myself to come up, have a talk & a look at their boats being built in their workshop. We were very impressed at what we had seen & went home to do some serious thinking.

Well, on the 15th January 2014 – my birthday – we signed up for our new 7.2 metre Vindicator Boat. It was not long before Frank soon informed us our 7.2 meter boat had arrived at the shop. Here are just a few pictures of our new 7.2 metre Vindicator Boat starting with the Flat Pac and ending with the finished 7.2 metre Vindicator “Just 4 US” – what a beautiful boat. We also decided to go with the Vindicator Quality Aluminium Trailer – NO REGRETS THERE – what a great trailer, very easy to tow, load & unload.

A truly great rig. Thanks to Frank, Denise, Glen & all the Staff at Vindicator Boats & Trailers – it has been a wonderful journey with all of you, we would both love to thank you all very much for a very well done job.

We have always had a very keen interest in fishing with our boats gradually increasing in size over the last 20 years. It was always our plan to one day purchase a larger ~ 6m centre console boat for use in our beloved NQ waters between Mackay and Innisfail. Having a young family that were growing before very our eyes we knew the time was right to start seriously looking for our new boat and get back out there with the kids. We settled on the following criteria:

Safety was number 1 so the boat needed to be constructed using the finest of materials including fuel and fire-resistant buoyancy foam.

Plate Alloy Centre Console layout for ease of fishing or crabbing Mangrove Creeks right through today tripping the Whitsundays and Great Barrier Reef when the weather was right.

Be very stable and support a full-length shade canopy from the NQ sun.

Have a four stroke outboard ensuring reliability, quietness and economy.

After visiting quite a few boat shows and subsequent manufacturers we couldn’t shake the thought of one brand in particular that was simply a standout – Vindicator. We contacted Frank and Denise and after a few lengthy phone calls discussing the details it was an easy decision that we either go a Vindicator or nothing! The rest is history and we are now the very proud owners of a new 5.5 Centre Console with a Yamaha F115a and custom Vindicator trailer. Throughout the build Frank provided regular updates and progressive photos of the boat and trailer coming to life, this was very reassuring to see where our hard earned was being spent at each stage of the build.

My only recommendation if you are in the market for a top quality new plate boat is spend the time and do your research, these really are the best built, get what you pay for boats on the market. Don’t be fooled by its 5.5m badge, this very solid boat has a soft, dry and confident ride that doesn’t knock you around with a long day on the water. A big thanks to the Vindicator team for this exceptional Aussie made product. Aaron, Odette, Ryan & Mitchell Langham

After owning several open run-a-bouts, we decided to upgrade. Since going to Brisbane boat shows, we kept coming back to Vindicator Boats. We talked to Frank & Denise and were invited to go to Tin Can Bay for a test drive. We then knew a 5.8m Vindicator Half Cabin ticked all our boxes and after purchasing the vessel we have since re-located to Groote Eylandt, N.T. Having owned it now for over 12 months we have over 230hrs.

Our boat was fitted with twin Yamaha 70hp; 260 litre fuel capacity. We are very pleased with the 5.8m Vindicator, with its dry ride, capability and performance of the Yamahas and biggest of all, fuel economy. We are very happy with the placement of handles inside the boat and rails to give safety for walking around to anchor. Going from open run-a-bouts to Vindicator was a huge step; we had many questions for Frank & Denise to answer.

They were more than happy to answer those questions and give us advice and knowledge of their boats, that helped us with our decision. The attention to detail and workmanship is second to none; we would like to thank Frank & his Team for your ongoing support at a most remote location.