Sentinel Boats prowess on display in Sydney Harbour demonstrations

Tasmanian HDPE watercraft specialists, Sentinel Boats, has showcased its 830R tactical RHIB to key Defence and government personnel on Sydney Harbour, ahead of the IndoPacific 2025 international maritime expo. 

Sentinel Boats is the world-leader in High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE) sea boats for defence, law enforcement, rescue and commercial applications. The Sentinel 830R – currently in service with the Australian Defence Force, Ukrainian Special Forces and Queensland Police – will be on display at the Defence Tasmania stand 3J84 for the duration of the expo. 

But first, Chief Executive Officer George McGuire said they seized the opportunity to put the 830R through its paces for key current and future Sentinel Boats users on Sydney Harbour.  

“It’s one thing to climb aboard the Sentinel 830R at IndoPac, but another thing entirely to experience how HDPE eliminates hull slamming noise and the design and build provide exceptional speed, stability and turning performance on the water,” Mr McGuire said.  

“HDPE is the next generation of boat building material. Its longevity and durability offer unprecedented operational availability and ride quality is unmatched – offering significant cost savings over many decades of service and also allowing smaller fleet sizes for the same operational availability.” 

Last week Sentinel Boats won the Defence Award at the Australian Manufacturing Awards 2025 at a gala event in Sydney, featuring a keynote address from Senator the Hon. Tim Ayres, Federal Minister for Industry and Innovation.  

Sentinel Boats was named NZ prime contractor of the year in 2023 for its delivery of high-speed Littoral Manoeuvre Craft (LMCs) to the RNZN.   

“We’re extremely proud to play a role in strengthening Australia’s sovereign capability, which aligns strongly with the Federal Government’s Future Made in Australia initiative,” Mr McGuire said.   

“Our entire family of sea boats is designed and manufactured in Australia by our partners One2three Naval Architects and our skilled team of Tasmanian boat builders.” 

In addition to the 830R, Sentinel Boats will also showcase designs for the 780R at IndoPacific. Currently in production under DNV survey as the Royal New Zealand Navy’s (RNZN) next-generation sea boat fleet, the 780R features water jet propulsion and single point lift Henriksen hook system (DNV design certified).  

Sentinel 830R technical specs: 

Sentinel 830R on Sydney Harbour.