Greatness, it takes time. A passion for craft, a commitment to do things the right way, the aim of perfection countered by the constant need to improve - there are no shortcuts to these things. After all, we’ve been leading the way since 1996, and we’re just getting started.
Two brothers begin their working life selling fresh produce. But it’s the go-kart they made to sell it from that really inspires them, beginning a lifetime of craftsmanship. Over 40 years later, they’re still working together - but selling boats instead of bulbs.
The spirit of that go-kart lives on as John and Mathew begin building boats in their converted shed. When they can, they source materials from the UK. When they can’t, they build them from scratch. A sign of things to come.
The Tahoe 20, ‘Jade’, emerges from the Williams Oxfordshire workshop. Powered by a single V8 inboard engine, she’s based on the classic Italian and American runabouts of the 1950s and 60s.
The first Williams tender, the first Williams boat show. The immaculate Jade features at Henley-on-Thames with a display stand and boat trailer built by the boys. (Would you expect anything less?)
Jade is given glowing reviews in ‘Classic Boat Magazine’ and ‘Motor Boat & Yachting’.
Jade posing for a Majorca photoshoot.
Jade isn’t an only child for long. Work begins on her sister, ‘Izana’, a 33-footer powered by twin V8s running through Z drives. She echoes the classic Italian lake boats of the 1960s but has a new engineering configuration and modern hull shape, created by award-winning naval designer Tony Castro.
Jade isn’t an only child for long. Work begins on her sister, ‘Izana’, a 33-footer powered by twin V8s running through Z drives. She echoes the classic Italian lake boats of the 1960s but has a new engineering configuration and modern hull shape, created by award-winning naval designer Tony Castro.
After appearing at the London Boat Show, Izana is delivered to her new owner in Antibes, France. She sails the glittering Côte d’Azur for a decade before sailing onto Montenegro.
Izana being put through her paces by ‘Motor Boat & Yachting’ magazine.
To spread the joy of tenders to a wider audience, we create the Ski Rib. Fast, nimble and built to fit the most popular powerboat of the era, the Fairline Targa 43, the Ski Rib is a hit. Over 100 of them are built in two years.
Fuelled by the Ski Rib’s success, ‘Williams Marine’ becomes ‘Williams Performance Tenders’. We build the first of a new, groundbreaking generation of jet tenders. It starts with the TurboJet 325, which, with its innovative design and powerful 4-stroke Weber engine, changes everything.
When the TurboJet hits the European boat shows, demand rockets. We expand the TurboJet range, adding the 285, 385 and 445 to the crew. This allows us to offer a tender for most yachts between 45ft and 100ft. Production soars to 900 tenders a year.
We launch our first diesel tender, the TurboJet 505D. This sees us expand into superyacht territory and start a unique, long-standing relationship with one of the finest engine makers in the world - Yanmar.
The success of the 505D allows us to expand our diesel offering. Now called the DieselJet range, the 445D, 505D, 565D and 625D combine people-carrying practicality with rip-roaring performance.
Understanding that a tender needs to work seamlessly with its yacht, we create the Tender Launch System. Now, owners can easily move their tender from their yacht’s garage to the water and back again.
We launch the Powerboat Workshop, an annual course for 14/15-year-olds where they build a radio-controlled powerboat using the same techniques employed on Williams tenders. Every year, we pick one pupil to join our apprenticeship programme. Alan Sugar, eat your heart out.
Collaborating with renowned engine manufacturer BRP, we launch our exhilarating SportJet 460 tender, the start of a completely new range of yacht tenders
Proving that great things really do come in small packages, we launch the MiniJet 280, powered by the BRP ACE 900 engine. Owners of yachts between 38ft and 45ft can now experience the joy of owning a Williams tender.
We expand the SportJet offering to include the 345 and 395. They open up the feature-filled SportJet experience to a whole new raft of yacht owners, with the most recent additions able to fit on yachts from 50ft upwards.
Launched back in 2005, the TurboJet changed tender travel forever. Now in 2018, we make it even better. Powered by the industry leading 90hp BRP Rotax ACE 903 engine, the TurboJet reaches blistering speeds. And with its new upholstery and slash-cut tube profiles, it looks the part while doing it.
As yachts increase in size, so too must the tenders onboard them. So we launch the EvoJet. Designed for superyachts over 40m and able to comfortably fit 13 passengers - and their belongings - the EvoJet is a new high-water mark in luxury tender travel.
We open our in-house resin-infusion moulding facility, so we can produce lighter and more environmentally friendly mouldings.
