Access 150 years in combined experience.
Meet the Team
Andrew
Wright
With over 16 years hands-on experience building, servicing and handling rescue boats, Andrew Wright is the founder and director of Western Australian businesses: Shockwave Marine and Stem2Stern. The symbiotic relationship across these businesses, which share a workshop, provide a one-stop shop – from design, build, fitout and finish, to service, maintenance and repair.
Andrew is a passionate contributor to Volunteer Sea Rescue, with thousands of hours spent on various models of rescue catamarans. This intensive, first-hand experience handling boats in all manner of conditions informs his innovative approach to designing and building catamarans that are safe, sturdy, easy to handle, light and comfortable for drivers and passengers. These qualities also ideally suit the recreational sector, which Shockwave Marine has now entered. Andrew prides himself on building ‘the safest cats in Australia’ for both rescue and leisure.
A stickler for quality, Andrew ensures that his businesses install the best tech, mechanical and electrical systems. This ethos also translates to how he recruits and manages his team, employing craftsmen and specialists with proven hands-on experience and trainees who exhibit a dedicated work ethic.
Qualifications: Marine Mechanical (Diesel and outboard), Marine Electrical
Peter
Baas
Peter has over 40 years experience, hands-on in the marine industry. Accomplished and respected for building to standards, with attention to detail so all aspects are covered from the outset. Peter loves to keep busy and is passionate about completing DIY projects in his spare time.
Fitouts, component coordination and detailing.
Elliot
Chambers
Elliot is a Curtin University graduate who comes to Shockwave Marine with a heap of technical production and risk management experience. Having managed multiple high risk, high budget projects for the Perth Festival since 2012, Elliot has his eye on every detail to make sure projects are on time, safe and delivered to the highest quality. He’s passionate about refining processes and incorporating iron-clad practices that cover all bases. Stakeholder engagement and living up to delivery guarantees are also large on his agenda. Elliot balances his demanding work schedule and quality service expectations with a healthy injection of adventure – he’s a cars and boats guy, who loves to travel and seek the uncharted.
Production Manager, responsible for business efficiency and production improvement.
Colin
Holmes
Colin has over 40 years’ experience as a General Manager and Executive Vice President in the engineering industry, both in Australia and the USA. An expert in representing large investment capital equipment, Colin is only interested in promoting the very highest quality products that he is confident to present to customers. At Shockwave Marine he has found that the first class workmanship inspires genuine trust. He enjoys introducing people to the joys of collaborating with Andrew Wright and the team to build their dream powercats, and is motivated to see this small firm grow in stature and reach. Colin volunteers at Cockburn Sea Rescue and in other spare time he loves to turn reclaimed wood into beautiful pieces of furniture.
Marketing & Sales, responsible for building relationships with potential buyers.
Noel ‘Nobby’
Verran
Having run a successful panel shop for 30 years with 16 staff, Nobby’s experience is invaluable. He’s an expert in the fairing of moulds; eliminating any imperfections to make a clean cast and better finished product. He also completes all Shockwave Marine orders for St John Ambulance fit-outs.
A stickler for Occupational Health and Safety, Nobby makes sure compliances are adhered to and data sheets kept up to date. Nobby is a constant learner, saying he loves that about his career and coming to Shockwave Marine and Stem2Stern.
In his spare time Nobby is building his own boat, he’s a custom rod builder and an active fisherman with the club he inaugurated, the Fremantle Recreational Fishing Club.
Graeme
Wornes
Building watercraft and aircraft is in Graeme’s blood, having spent 20 years in aviation engineering, also as a commercial pilot, and 20 years in marine craft.
He is passionate about completing a good job, maintaining Stem2Stern’s high standards, and keeping everyone and the projects on track. He says it’s so rewarding.
Ever since he was about three years old, Graeme wanted to fly. Growing up on a farm, he loved fixing and making things. He loves a challenge – employing the manual dexterity of his hands and his brain. He knows everything, inside and out, about the boats built at Stem2Stern.
In his spare time, Graeme likes to make wine, enjoying the results as much as the science behind it. Living by the mantra of if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing properly, Graeme says, “if I do something, I don’t do it by halves“.
Ben
Kneer
Ben has over 25 years experience in all aspects of boat building. Starting out as an apprentice in 1995 Ben has worked for significant companies, in Germany and in Australia, on every scale of craft from dinghies to cruise ships. The ocean is his natural habitat having also been a dive instructor and a sailor who enjoys long distance races; his dream vessel being an America’s Cup yacht.
Shipwright, responsible for fibreglass fit-outs, finishing, repairs and paintwork.
Glenn
Sanqui
Glenn is a trainee, studying Electrical Engineering at Munster TAFE. At the Shockwave facility, Glenn receives invaluable hands-on experience, as he is exposed to all aspects of the boat building cycle, and the professional expectations in the workshop.
The team were all trainees once upon a time, so value is placed on offering useful experience.
Graeme
Prof. Wright
Graeme is an Emeritus Professor from the Faculty of Science and Engineering in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University.
He has conducted various research projects, is a respected lecturer and published numerous articles and papers, most recently in the arena of Ocean and Coastal Management and Ocean Engineering.
Advises on compliance and ethical practice, project management efficiency, and training.
Hudson
Pollard
Hudson’s background working with fibreglass and making surfboards on the Gold Coast made him a perfect catch for Stem2Stern when he posted an ad on Facebook looking for temporary work in WA.
Taking pride in making sure his workplace is neat and tidy, Hudson loves the fact that Stem2Stern is a big, clean, and organised factory. “It’s a positive place to work. I’ve learned new skills in fibreglass processes, in particular how to detail the gel and make the boats beautiful. Everyone is outgoing and friendly. I can ask anything, and someone will know the answer. It takes a team to build a boat and it’s great to see how well this team does it – there’s planning and consideration at each step“.
The hard work, efficient work ethic in the workshop, he says, is down to Andrew Wright, “he’s a very fair boss, which makes it easy to work hard for“.
Jason
Hill
Jason loves to see the physical manifestation of his hard work – the finished product.
With a background in marine engineering and a family history of lighthouse keepers and sailmakers, the high seas are definitely in his blood. He enjoys the breadth of work at Shockwave Marine and Stem2Stern. ‘We do it all. There’s method and practical understanding to how we build the boats and fix them. There’s a user-friendly approach‘.
Jason enjoys the fact that he’s not just a number at Shockwave, and that the team really pulls together. ‘People here have pride in their work which is great to see‘.
On his time off, Jason loves to hike – the longer and more challenging the better, thoroughly enjoying being in the big outdoors. Otherwise, he will be on a boat fishing, trading shares or spinning disks as a DJ.
Devyn
Cashmore
Devyn is a craftsman at heart; he loves making things, from raw materials to highly finished end result.
He says, “it’s so satisfying working here, because you see the whole cycle of making the boat and the most amazing part of seeing the customer’s happiness at the handover. This is so motivating, compared to previous jobs where I didn’t see the final work on site after it left the workshop“. Being respected for his skills and knowing that he contributes to the quality product is also important to Devyn. He likes the fact that Andrew, business owner, understands the work fully and trusts the staff’s capabilities.
In his time off, Devyn loves to be out bush – enjoying everything that the big outdoors offers.
Peter
Bass
With over 40 years’ experience under his belt, Peter knows everything there is to know about working with fibreglass and laminating. He’s an expert who keeps up with changing methods to make sure Shockwave Marine boats are the best in class. He enjoys the fact that everyone gets on well together in the team and how the workshop allows him to do his best work, achieving highest of standards.
A habitual craftsman and a constantly busy person, in his spare time Peter is enthusiastic about looking after his five birds and the garden. He’s been making model planes, boats and 3D puzzles since he was ten, when his parents set him on a lifelong passion with an Airfix Spitfire kit.
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