Every meaningful job on a hull starts the same way: the boat comes out of the water. For owners searching for boat lifting in Fremantle, that work happens on the hardstand, and the SFM Marine recreational facility at Rous Head Harbour runs two lifters rated to 200 tonnes that handle everything from 14 ft trailer boats to 90 ft cruisers, catamarans and tri-hulls included.
Motoryachts Australasia (MYA) operates from an office attached to SFM Marina in North Fremantle. The lifts, sheds, hardstands and pens are connected to that office, sitting directly alongside our sales, brokerage and after-sales service teams. The arrangement shapes how we look after the boats in our care, and it is worth understanding before you plan your next haul-out.
Boat lifting in Fremantle: inside the Rous Head Harbour facility
The facility runs two lifters rated to 200 tonnes. Two machines matter more than the headline capacity suggests. A large motor yacht committed to a long hardstand period does not tie up the yard for everyone else, and routine lifts for smaller vessels can be scheduled around major work rather than queued behind it.
Beam, not length, is often the deciding constraint in a haul-out, and the facility accepts vessels to 10 metres across. It operates 7am to 4pm, seven days a week, so lifts fit around weather windows and owners’ diaries instead of a five-day working week.
The reason so much maintenance concentrates on the hardstand is simple: the underwater story can only be read out of the water. Anode condition, shaft seals, cutlass bearings, through-hull fittings and the state of the antifoul: none of it is visible from the pen. A scheduled lift turns those unknowns into a checklist.
On the day, the process is straightforward: the boat motors into the lifting bay, slings are positioned clear of shafts, transducers and stabilisers, and the vessel is carried to the wash-down area before being blocked on the hardstand. A well-run yard makes this uneventful, which is precisely the point.
From 14 ft trailer boats to 90 ft cruisers
The lifting envelope runs from 14 ft trailer boats to 90 ft cruisers, which covers most of what Perth owners actually run: centre consoles and half-cabins at one end, flybridge cruisers and sport yachts at the other, and a great deal in between.
Multihulls are usually the awkward case in any haul-out conversation. A cruising catamaran carries far more beam than a monohull of similar length, which rules it out of many lifting bays. The 10-metre allowance at Rous Head means catamarans and tri-hulls come out as routinely as monohulls, without the owner arranging transport to a yard further afield.
The small end of the range deserves a mention as well. A 14 ft trailer boat rarely needs a 200-tonne lifter, but its owner often needs the same things a cruiser owner does: a Mercury-authorised engine service, an electrical fault traced properly, a hull cleaned and protected. Bringing trailer boats into the same facility means the same trades and the same standards apply at every size.
The range matters to MYA commercially as well as practically. The brands we represent span Saxdors from roughly 20 ft to Sunseekers well past 100 ft, and at the time of writing our brokerage list runs from trailerable boats to a Sunseeker Manhattan 60. Nearly all of them can be lifted, surveyed and serviced within walking distance of our office.
Qualified trades on the hardstand
A lift is only as valuable as the work done while the boat is out. The facility employs qualified mechanics, electricians, shipwrights and engineers, so the trades a hardstand period calls on are already on site rather than travelling in from around the metropolitan area.
That word qualified carries weight. A shipwright reads a hull structurally; a marine electrician understands DC systems, bonding and the corrosion that follows when they are wrong. Boats punish improvisation, and a yard staffed by people who hold the right tickets is the difference between a repair and a recurring fault.
MYA’s own service operation works in step with those trades. We are an authorised Mercury Marine dealer, with Mercury-specialist technicians and factory authorisation for service, maintenance and warranty work. Warranty repairs are completed to factory standard with genuine parts, and a 24/7 technical support line covers the problems that refuse to wait for business hours.
Work commonly completed during a haul-out includes:
- Antifouling and underwater hull preparation
- Engine servicing, including Mercury factory-authorised work
- Mechanical and electrical repairs and upgrades
- Plumbing and onboard systems work
- Interior and exterior detailing to concours standard
Much of this is best handled inside a tailored maintenance programme, where the lift is planned into the year rather than prompted by a failure. Our page on boat servicing in Fremantle covers that side of ownership in detail.
Attached to the facility, not the owner of it
A point worth stating precisely: MYA does not own or operate the lifters. The recreational facility at Rous Head Harbour is run by SFM Marine. Our office is attached to SFM Marina, which puts our service coordinators steps from the hardstand rather than a phone call away from it.
The practical effect shows up across the business. A brokerage listing that needs a pre-sale antifoul or an out-of-water inspection has the boat, the lift and the people scoping the work in one place. A buyer weighing a pre-owned vessel can see it hauled, examined and returned to the water without a logistics exercise. Our page on Perth yacht brokerage and servicing explains how the sales and service sides of the operation reinforce each other.
For owners of the brands we represent, Sunseeker, Saxdor and Sealegs among them, the attachment also simplifies warranty work. The boat can be lifted, the authorised repair completed with genuine parts, and the vessel returned to its pen under one coordinated plan.
It matters after the sale, too. When a boat we delivered comes back for scheduled work, the people who know its history are beside it on the stands, not interpreting another workshop’s notes from across town. A documented service history is also one of the strongest cards a brokerage listing can hold, and a boat maintained through one facility accumulates exactly that.
Closed-loop water treatment and the Henderson facility
A modern hardstand is judged on environmental practice as much as tonnage. The Rous Head facility runs a closed-loop water treatment plant: wash-down water from hull cleaning is captured and treated within a contained system rather than draining into the harbour.
That matters most during antifouling, when the residue coming off a hull is exactly what should not enter the water the boat sails on. Owners increasingly ask where that residue goes; here, the answer is into the treatment plant, not the harbour.
SFM also operates a facility at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, south of Fremantle. For most recreational owners the Rous Head yard is the natural first call, but the Henderson site sits within the same operation, and our service team can advise which facility suits a particular job.
Arranging a lift or a service
Most haul-outs run smoothly when they are scoped before the boat leaves the water: what is being done, which trades are needed, and which parts should be on the shelf before the lift rather than on order after it. Is the antifoul a recoat or a full strip-back? Do anodes and bearings need to be waiting? Does the engine service fall due within the same window, so the boat only comes out once? Our service team plans that sequence as a matter of routine, for a straightforward antifoul as much as for a season’s worth of accumulated work.
Call MYA on +61 499 770 180 or get in touch through our contact page. We are at the North Fremantle marina in the Rous Head Harbour precinct, viewings run seven days by appointment, and if you would like to look over the facility alongside a boat you are considering, we can arrange both in the same visit.
Frequently Asked Questions
How big a boat can be lifted at Rous Head Harbour in Fremantle?
The SFM Marine recreational facility at Rous Head Harbour runs two lifters rated to 200 tonnes and accepts vessels up to 10 metres in beam. The working range spans 14 ft trailer boats to 90 ft cruisers, including catamarans and tri-hulls. Motoryachts Australasia operates from an office attached to the marina and can help scope and arrange the work around a lift.
Can catamarans and tri-hulls be hauled out in Fremantle?
Yes. Beam is the usual obstacle for multihulls, and the Rous Head Harbour facility accepts vessels to 10 metres across, so catamarans and tri-hulls are lifted as routinely as monohulls. That removes the need to transport a multihull to a distant yard for antifouling, out-of-water inspections or underwater repairs.
What are the operating hours for boat lifting at Rous Head?
The facility operates from 7am to 4pm, seven days a week. Motoryachts Australasia's service team, based in the office attached to the marina, can help plan a lift and the work around it, and a 24/7 technical support line is available for urgent technical issues outside yard hours. Viewings with MYA run seven days by appointment.
Does Motoryachts Australasia own the lifting facility?
No. The recreational lifting facility at Rous Head Harbour is operated by SFM Marine, which also runs a facility at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson. Motoryachts Australasia's office is attached to SFM Marina, so the lifts, sheds, hardstands and pens are connected to the office. That proximity lets MYA coordinate lifts, servicing and brokerage preparation in one place.
What work can be done while my boat is on the hardstand?
The facility employs qualified mechanics, electricians, shipwrights and engineers, and MYA's service team adds Mercury-specialist engine servicing and warranty repairs with genuine parts. Typical haul-out jobs include antifouling, mechanical and electrical work, plumbing, and interior and exterior detailing to concours standard. A closed-loop water treatment plant manages wash-down water on site.