SMOOTH RUNNING

After working in the marine industry for over forty years as an engineer, surveyor and assessor, Al Francis had built many boats and eventually decided it was time to design one from the ground up for he and his wife to enjoy. He reasoned that distilling those years of experience into an efficient and pleasant looking cruiser would draw similarly minded buyers to his new concept.

One constant over the years were the owners who came to him hankering for a bit more speed than their displacement cruisers could handle. With this in mind, he created a pretty and easily managed entertainer with overnight facilities that could cruise at around 15 knots. Enter the Newport 460.

DESIGNER CHINA

Following the well-worn path to boat construction set by Australian builders before him, Francis commissioned Jianghua Marine in Guangzhou, China for the task. Al had worked as an advisor to the original Integrity builder, Noel Nicholson, and had visited the factory many times, getting to know the management and marine architects in the process. Jianghua Marine still builds Integrity and Hudson Bay, as well as many commercial models for the Asian