Our Team
Seahorse is owned and operated by the Phil and Tracey Scherer who live in the original birthplace of kontiki fishing - Tauranga, New Zealand, situated in the South Pacific. It's also where all Seahorse products are designed and built. Being close to the beach, and being kontiki owners ourselves, we are able to continually develop the Seahorse product range to ensure we bring you the best kontiki products on the market.
We have brought a range of business, manufacturing and fishing skills to the product. We use the Seahorse products whenever we can learning and developing as we go. Our team is committed to delivering the ultimate beach kontiki fishing experience using equipment that is second to none. Call us to discuss your fishing requirements and we will be able to recommend the perfect solution for you.
History
Kontiki fishing is a traditional form of fishing from the Pacific Islands including New Zealand. The New Zealanders have made it a enjoyable pastime which has been popular since the 1940's and possibly earlier. Originally kontiki fishing used sail rafts or inflated tyres with sails to pull lines from the beach, and these early lines had a hundred or more hooks on each set. Given the success we have now with only up to 25 hooks, it makes you wonder what they did with all the fish!
The south-westerly winds that are common in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, and with it's long sandy beaches provided the perfect conditions for the development of the early sail Kontikis, and they proved this style of fishing could be very successful.
These early kontiki units had interesting systems to improve their performance, including using sugar sweets as timers, and dropping sails to make the retrieval easier. The sweets would slowly dissolve in the water and once dissolved, the Kontiki sail would drop sometimes releasing a weight to anchor the fishing line once the wind powered Kontiki was well offshore. However there was always the problem with the children eating the sweets on the way to the beach.
During the 1980s and 1990s, kite fishing became a popular method of beach fishing, and due to the improved performance it almost took over from the sail rafts method. But kites still suffered the same problems of having to rely on offshore winds to operate, and these generally only happened midweek when you were at work.
Motorised Kontikis have been around in numerous home-made forms since before the 1970s, all of which tried to overcome the problem of relying on the wind. Motorising the kontiki and winch created their own problems. In general, the machines were temperamental and required the knack of the builder to keep them running. From the late 1990s, a number of these home-builders started selling their units in small numbers but none of them provided the performance and reliability demanded by the fishing public. This is where Seahorse Kontikis stepped in.
Our Story
Seahorse Kontikis started developing and selling electric Kontikis and winches in 2001, with the desire to build and sell reliable electric Kontikis. Calling on the best commercial fishing practices, and using the best marine electronics available, Seahorse Kontikis developed the first Seahorse kontiki system with a 30lb thrust motor. With waterproof components, reliability and performance that outstripped anything else available, the Seahorse system became an instant best seller. Within six months, Seahorse had become the number one Kontiki manufacturer in New Zealand and the world.
In 2003, Seahorse introduced the plastic roto-moulded body made from polyethylene, and a new, improved control unit. The control unit monitored the status of the batteries and had an electronic timer. This was what the New Zealand public was waiting for, and these improvements resulted in Seahorse Kontikis being used everywhere
In 2004, the Seahorse 46 Kontiki was developed and released to the market, replacing the existing kontiki with a more powerful motor. It quickly became the kontiki of choice, and excelled in big surf conditions allowing fishers to explore new fishing grounds. The aluminium framed traceboard was also introduced enabling traces to be attached quickly and safely.
The years rolled pass with continuous improvements being made to the Seahorse products. Finally in 2011 the GPS Seahorse 46 Kontiki was released the the fishing public to much acclaim. Finally a Kontiki unit that would steer itself where you wanted it to go it. The GPS Seahorse 46 became an immediate best seller as it gave the fishers exactly what they wanted.
2012 saw the first GPS Seahorse kontiki sold to a customer in the USA, which was quickly followed by more, as the word spread about this new and successful form of fishing. Because of this increasing demand, Seahorse USA has been created to to provide these customers with the service and support they deserve.
In 2012, Seahorse had sold Kontikis into over 20 countries around the world, including France, Japan, Australia and our first sale to the USA. This was the first of many, and finally in 2015, Seahorse will have be based in Georgia, and we will be able to provide the same high standard of service to our customers in the USA. Plus it gives Tracey and myself a great reason to spend time on some of the best beaches in the world.
2015 has seen a new model become available. The New Seahorse S30, powered by a Lithium battery, this mighty mini with it's next generation GPS autopilot system .
Seahorse USA
Seahorse USA Inc. has been set up to provide our customers with the service and support they deserve, and to allow even more fishers to experience this amazing and relaxingly style of fishing. Based in Georgia, Seahorse USA is perfectly based to serve customers along the Eastern Seaboard, and the Gulf States. We will be performing demonstrations initially in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina, as they are close to our base in Georgia.
Seahorse USA will hold stock including a full selection of accessories and spare parts to ensure immediate courier delivery so you can get fishing as soon as possible.
C/- Base 3 USA
1145 Uniform Road, Griffin, GA 30224
P: +1-678-373-4041
sales@seahorsekontiki.com
http://www.seahorsekontiki.com/
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