Graham Johnson arrived at Pine Harbour Marina in 1991 to run the local marina's first boat repairs and maintenance service. Brown and Miller Boatbuilders had been granted the lease for both repairs and the boat painting services and at the time were waiting for the new workshops to be completed. Graham's arrival was the culmination of a plan first started in 1985 when he recognized that marinas provided work and lifestyle for many marine related and community interests.

His own wooden boatbuilding career began at "Jack Stone Boats" in Porana Road Glenfield in 1977 when he moved down from his home town of Whangarei. Back then "Jack Stone Boats" was surrounded by boatbuilding and design legends such as Jim Young, John Senior, Phillip Wilson, Max Carter and Laurie Davidson. After a year there Graham returned to complete his apprenticeship in Whangarei at Orams Marine in 1981. Graham received his Trade certificate during the building of the "Wanderer V", the last boat built for the world renowned cruising couple Eric and Susan Hiscock where he was put in charge of construction. In 1985 Graham moved North to Opua where plans were underway to build a marina. He purchased a 50% share of "Deemings Boat Yard" at Tapu Point in the Bay of Islands. One of his neighbors was the famous boat designer John Spencer.

The company serviced the well-established game fishing fleet which included the famous "Lady Doreen". Twenty five years later they met again when she featured at this year's Auckland "On the water" Boatshow by invitation from Graham, whose company also had their newly built gamefishing boat "Bewitched" berthed along side.

Finding that the Opua marina was at least 15 years away and with a brand new family, Graham returned to Whangarei and set up "Johnson's Boat Yard" down by the port, soon after buying the neighboring business "Sea Steel Yachts" which launched him into the Steel and Alloy boatbuilding sector.

On the advice of well known yacht designer Alan Warwick - he had built three of his designs previously - Graham moved to Auckland in 1989 with a view to establishing his next business within a marina complex. Within a year he was working for Brown and Miller Boatbuilders.

In 1995 Graham was approached by the newly formed West Auckland "TransOcean Yachts" to manage construction of their range of steel passagemaking vessels. After convincing them to set up at Pine Harbour Marina, he moved across to them and the doors opened a few months later. Over the course of the next four years, half a dozen motor and sail boats were built from their facility. In 1999 Graham bought Brown and Millers Repair business establishing "Johnson Marine Boatbuilding Limited" which still operates as the repairs division for "Johnson Yachts International".

In Early 2000 "Trans Ocean Yachts" closed its doors and Graham approached Pine Harbour Marina Director Elizabeth Kempthorne for permission to establish his own new custom Boatbuilding company. Johnson Yachts International Limited opened on 4th July 2000.

"On our 10th Anniversary I would like to give special thanks to marina directors Elizabeth Kempthorne and Alan Drinkrow for the opportunity they have given me here at Pine Harbour marina and I wish the marina great success with their future expansion plans." (Graham Johnson)

Their repairs facility continues to operate steadily and earlier this year they hosted their first ever "Father and Son" simultaneous boat maintenance in our workshop when local real estate agents Geoff and Rex Bignell brought their boats in.

"Many thanks to all members of the Bignell family. Special thanks also goes to local engineering company "Cooper Engineering" for their outstanding workmanship on all of our projects. This is shown nowhere better than on the blue hulled classic sailboat "Archimedes" moored inside the entrance to the marina, built and maintained by us since 2003."

With the company now firmly established within the marine industry Johnson Yachts International has recently been invited to join the new "Destination New Zealand Superyacht Refit" group, a market recently recognized by the NZ government as fast becoming a major growth area and, standing with the Superyacht builders, is heading towards becoming NZ's 5th largest export earner.

The largest boats they have built at Pine Harbour are the 60 ft high speed Excitor II for the Bay of Islands tourist industry followed by the 57 ft cutter Archimedes and the 55 ft Florida Bay Coaster Teddy Bear.

Since starting out in 1977 Graham has seen New Zealand Boatbuilding survive within the world's ever increasing desire for bigger and more expensive boats. However, with the increased use of more sophisticated computer software and leaps in advanced construction materials and products, he notes two things have not changed at all. The first is the real need for well trained hands-on tradesman without which few custom boats could be built and also with each generation there is still the desire by many to get a boat and pursue the dream of traveling to those far away tropical destinations. For a number of very satisfied clients Johnson Yachts International has been able to make those dreams possible.