Hardy Marine

Our company was founded by John Hardy in 1976 and initially built small motor sailers designed by Colin Mudie. High demand led to the building facility in North Walsham, Norfolk being expanded to its current size in 1982.

In these early years large numbers of small motor boats were built, with the brand being expanded in the early 80s to include the Seawings range.

The Andrew Wolstenholme-designed semi-displacement Hardy 36 was introduced in 1997, followed by the Commander 32 and Commodore 42 a few years later. Building on the reputation these yachts generated, the Hardy 50 hit the market in 2004 and the first of our flagship design, the Hardy 62, was completed in 2013.

In 2013, Hardy Marine came under the ownership of the Windboats Group, which has been boatbuilding in Norfolk since 1920.

Over the past 30 years, most of Windboats’ effort was directed at producing nearly 300 Oyster world cruising yachts of up to 72ft, and the building expertise and design flair developed from this has now been brought to our highly respected Hardy brand. The Windboats Group also builds and markets the innovative Gunfleet range of 43ft to 74ft fast ocean sailing yachts, in addition to the highly respected Trusty 23 and 28.

At Hardy Marine we are proud to say that we have now delivered well over 4,000 boats worldwide, making us one of the most prolific British boatbuilders.

Over the past 40 years the high build quality and customer support we have offered has resulted in many of our owners buying from us again and again, enjoying the strong resale values our boats attract.

Hardy owners currently include Raymarine, the marine electronics manufacturer, who commissioned a heavily customised Hardy 36 for equipment testing in 2002, followed by a Hardy 42 that went into service in 2008.

Following a highly competitive tendering process, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution ordered two Hardy 42s that were delivered in 2006 and 2007. These yachts are used for crew training, and we are immensely proud that two of our yachts play a part in this exceptional charity.