About KENTIKI

Hi, we are Ken & Dot Smith of KENTIKI

Ken's family have been fishing the Wanganui coastline and the river for four generations. From the 1800s when George (Artesian) Smith arrived to sink wells for the fledgling settlement.

From their home at Sandy Hook on the Wanganui River, fishing from the water's edge, was the family passion - whether it be for whitebait or snapper.

We have always enjoyed fishing off the beach with family and friends. We'd like you to be able to experience the fun and fulfilment of long-line fishing too.

Our story started in 1970 with a chance encounter with the late Fred Snowdon on the South Beach of Wanganui.

A great variety of hull shapes and timing mechanisms with petrol motors were trialled in an attempt to refine the product. However, it was the decision to go electric using battery power and electric Mercury outboards that accelerated the quality of the kontiki to a point where it was a marketable product.

Since then, we have been continually developing and improving the design, always striving to have the best quality kontiki with maximum dependability. The kontikis have come a long way... from petrol powered tin cans to streamlined plastic models with electric motors,

We take pride in our workmanship and are committed to outstanding customer service. We invite you to look through our website and if you choose to purchase from us, or even just call for a chat, you will receive personalised service from us, the manufacturers.

The Kentiki branding and trademark was designed and formulated by George's great-granddaughter, Tracy Quirk.

Logo trade mark registered No 638784

Kentiki Trademark registered No 834111

 Testing and fine tuning Kentiki electric fishing kontikis to go straight and true without line tension.

 Since May 2010 every Kontiki we have made has been fitted with a patented aluminium device to prevent torque steer, a course correction system, letters patent No: 585508. Once made each Kontiki is taken to a local lake and tested and set so that it is capable of steering a straight line in flat calm water. This gives the owner the assurance it can go in a straight line. The kontiki is marked, similar to a timing mark. All the owner has to do is make allowances for the drift and wind influences when setting the course. This will take a wee while to learn, but most Kentiki owners can achieve this skill quite quickly. A check on our website at the Metserv page on the "links" page will show the drift direction and wave height etc at the beach where you will be fishing. This is a handy tool to show the direction of drift and we suggest you use it to your advantage.