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Shaping a grand vision…
or just tweaking the edges?
The lifeblood of most design offices is the client disappointed by the
boats available in the yachting marketplace. I’m talking about that
special buyer who can’t find the perfect boat: the one with the
destroyer bow, fantail stern, and tugboat heft. Did I mention shallow
draft, and the nuclear power. Okay, I exaggerated that last point. In
today’s TV lexicon that owner demands a clean sheet of paper and an
Extreme Makeover. Trust me, such clients are great fun. They are ready,
willing and able to challenge the usual thinking. The result is often a
very special boat for a well informed owner.
Then there are the rest of us. I say us, because I truly believe I more
often fall into a second category. If I may speak for us all, we don’t
need to break new ground. We simply want to adjust reality a bit,
aligning it with our own preferences.
The boat’s layout may be fine, but the galley is challenged relative to
our own culinary goals. Our ideas of equipment and propulsion often
differ from what the norm seems to be amongst the production boat
community. The design may be delightful, but problematic considering
your 6’4” frame. Hence the problem and direction to a solution. Few
buyers understand that custom boats are a realistic option. It is no
wonder that “semi-custom boats” fall even farther below their radar.
There are, however, a number of boat builders who produce
semi-production boats. They embrace the challenges of meeting
requirements that the production guys often walk away from. From minor
adjustments to significant refits, semi-custom may be your best option
for getting the boat of your dreams with the dollars available in you
wallet. Our office and others are there to assist no matter the size of
the project. Don’t feel you have to reinvent the wheel to ask for help.
But that’s just my opinion. |
