Bill Upfold is a qualified boat builder having served his apprenticeship with John Lidgard Yachts & Co Ltd. in 1977-1981.

During that time Bill became experienced in custom designed yachts. In 1984, after the completion of his apprenticeship, he established his own business trading as Elite Marine Boatbuilders Ltd. and started producing his own designs. It was not long before Elite Marine Boatbuilders Ltd. with its highly skilled and qualified team had established themselves a reputation for building custom one-off high quality motor yachts and had become a leader in the New Zealand market.

In 1996 the business had grown to allow the boatbuilding to be contracted out to selected boat yards that were capable of producing the same level of quality as Elite Marine. This enabled Bill to concentrate on designing. All of Bills designs are marketed under the Elite brand name. Bill Upfold`s background in boat building gives him the unique ability to liaise with the boat yards on a rational basis and achieve an end result that all parties involved can be justly proud. Elite Marine Design work closely with some of the most respected boat building companies in New Zealand that have the reputation for producing custom built crafts to the highest possible standards in either timber or glass composites.