GREY nomads like former truckie Graham Johnstone are helping keep boat builders afloat during tough economic times.

The 71-year-old keen fisherman from Kempsey in NSW is among the army of caravanners who would never dream of leaving home without their trusty tinnie.

And boat manufacturers like Col and Troy Glass, who build their Sea Jay aluminium boats in Bundaberg, Queensland, say they can't thank them enough.

"The grey nomads who were looking for a tinnie to put on top of their caravan really became our saving grace," Col admitted.

The family-owned business was launched in 1989 but, like many other companies, found itself struggling during the global financial crisis.

"Things were tight for a while, from small operators to the really big boat companies, but we were able to survive because there was still that passion to get on the water, but more at the entry level," Col said.

"We found that not only grey nomads but families were turning to a tinnie to be more versatile, and things are starting to turn around."

Graham, a member of the Port Macquarie Regional Caravan Club, said he was seeing more and more caravanners with boats.

"Lots of my friends take their tinnies on their travels ... I certainly wouldn't be without mine," he admitted.

Graham hauls a Jayco caravan behind his 1995 Nissan Patrol, which has clocked up 260,000km.

He and wife Marlene, 71, have used their 13ft tinnie with 4hp outboard to fish Broom in WA and waters all over Australia, including the NT's Daly and Mary rivers and Queensland's Dawson and Fitzroy rivers.

"Having the boat on top of the Patrol puts up the fuel consumption and holds you back a little ... but that's a small price to pay for all the pleasure you get when out on the water," Graham added.

Victorian caravanner Frank Howard, 64, said a tinnie was now a 'must have' for many travellers.

"Bobbing about on crystal clear waters with a fishing line over the side is sheer paradise," Frank, one the thousands of southerners who migrate north for Queensland's winter sunshine, added.