Cottage Industry?

Maybe you would like a Parker Boat,built in N.C. good reputation can buy deep v or modified v hulls. Some folks on this site have bought Seaway boats which I think come out of Maine.
D.D.
 
I've been preoccupied with keeping on our electricity following this disastrous storm we had in the Northeast; one-half of Connecticut is still without power. And with all due respect to some of the comments made, as owner of Marinaut Boat Company Hull #1, my wife and I want to say that we would not hesitate buying this boat again, whether it is Hull #2, Hull #3 or Hull #50. Yes -- it was a pain in the neck to fly 3,000 miles across country to demo this boat, but it was well worth it.

Firstly, we got a chance to see what all the fuss was about Kathy and Les of EQ. Harbor Services (a.k.a., EQ Marine, Marinaut Boat Company,) and found that their reputation for honesty and integrity by the C-Brats group was well founded.

Secondly, a person can't fully appreciate this boat until he or she sees it in person and takes it for a test drive. You would not believe how much space the Marinaut has in its 21.5 foot hull! My wife and I spent 19 straight nights sleeping in comfort in this boat, and we felt there was plenty of space (as well as storage space) in this boat. With respect to performance, it stays relatively flat in high speed turns much like a sports car. Although we could get the boat up to 31 knots, we felt comfortable cruising at 19 knots and getting approximately 5 miles per gallon (with the Honda BF115). I would be very interested to know if anyone knows of any new boat on the East Coast that can yield approximately 5 mpg on a gas engine, with a total weight of approximately 3,000 to 3,500 pounds, with that much space in the interior, and for substantially less than $100,000.

So prior to purchasing the Marinaut, we nearly exhausted all avenues on the East Coast. Either we saw one gas-guzzling deep-vee cruiser after the other -- all clones of one another, or relatively economical and spacious Ranger and Nordic Tugs, which cost significantly more than $100,000. Off to the West Coast we went to pursue the Marinaut, and we remain delighted with the boat in all respects. We can't wait to go back out to Washington to use it this spring for another two weeks prior to shipping it home to Connecticut.

Please feel free to browse our gallery of MBC Marinaut Hull #1 listed below.

Thanks!

Rich and Betty

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Karl":8fqy9tsg said:
Exactly how many Marinauts have actually been built and delivered to customers?
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Hi Karl,

I hope you're still around reading this thread after all the folks came out of the woodwork to a) defend or b) sing our praises. I can't tell you how nice it is as a business person to have such great folks say such nice things but it can be a bit overwhelming! It's sort of like wading into an enthusiastic group of puppies; they're cute, warm, and cuddly but they just come at you non-stop! :)

You're asking totally sane and rational questions and I'd expect no less from someone thinking about a new boat. Thanks for the consideration and for posting on the Marinaut sub-forum. I got a chuckle out of the One Marinaut, All The Time suggestion. You're not far off but we have gained our plurality now. :)

The basic answer is 2 and a half; the first boat owned by Dave Thompson (who helped originate the design), the first production hull owned by Rich and Betty, and the second production hull underway now.

The first boat was built by Dave of Toland Marine as his own boat; that was the prototype. Then my business partner Kathy and I created Marinaut Boat Company in order to purchase the design from Dave and start production. Kathy (and a little bit of me) also have a dealership called E.Q. Harbor Service & Sales that's been around since 1985. We're a dealer for the Rosborough boats, we had C-Dory boats (until they ran into financial problems), and we also were a dealer for Arima boats. We're also a Honda Marine and Tohatsu dealer; about 15 years with Honda and about 12 with Tohatsu. Since Dave's boat was built by his company (Toland Marine) it's doesn't have the same builder code and isn't part of the serial number sequence as the boats were now building (Marinaut Boat Company).

Marinaut Boat Company built and delivered (production) Hull #1, it belongs to Rich and Betty (C-Nile) in Connecticut. That's was hull number A0001 and is documented quite thoroughly on the Marinaut Boat Company Facebook Page, which is open to the public and requires no Facebook account (or information given out) to read.

Hull #2 is in production now and it's the boat we'll show at the Seattle Boat Show in late January.

The MBC hulls are quite different than Dave's boat. While the prototype was laid up with a chopper gun (with a very experienced operator) we've switched to a hand laid up hull with core material for more strength and lighter weight. Also, since the quality of a chopper gun hull is so dependent on the operator we wanted something a little more consistent and we wanted to hit our weight target each and every time. We also wanted to kick it up a notch and deliver a higher quality boat than is the "norm". We ended up with a boat that's lighter (by about 400 pounds) and stronger than the prototype.

Since we've been rigging and outfitting customized boats for years and years I finally had the chance to put my spin on the thing and rig it to a very high standard using all top quality components. I consider it a "no excuses" boat; I don't have to apologize for "the way the factory" did it.

Like I told Rich and Betty when they flew out to look at the boat...I can't promise that you'll love the boat, that's too subjective and is all about looks, feel, and such. I can promise that you'll not leave disappointed in the construction, quality, or fit & finish.

And as many have pointed out there's no "experimental" stuff on the Marinaut. Ben Toland, who designed the hull has been building and designing boats all his life (he's retirement age now), the construction methods are straight-ahead and well known (though on the high-end) and the glass work is being done by Townsend Bay Marine (you can Google them) who build things like a 127' sport fisherman boat (among a lot of others).

All the components that go into the boat are right off the shelf...Motion Windows from Peninsula Glass in Vancouver, WA, Blue Sea Systems electrical components, Ancor marine wire, gear-driven Vetus wiper motors with pantographic arms, and so forth. If I didn't want it on my boat then I wouldn't install it on a customer's boat...and I'm a perfectionist.

So, really, there aren't any "bugs" to be worked out. Each boat is built for the person that orders it so it can be quite customized; we have a professional cabinetmaker building the interiors.

I've written a ton on our website and posted the entire build sequence of hull #1 on our Facebook page so there are no secrets, and I don't want there to be any. I'm happy to send out hull layup samples (taken from real production boats).

The "uniqueness" of the Marinaut 215 comes from a blend of things, none of which are unusual in and of themselves. It's the mix of hand laid hull, all vinylester resin, balance of cabin & cockpit, high-quality molds, outstanding hull design, and quality components that makes it special but it doesn't make it hard to build or "dicey".

I'm terrible at short answers and apologize for this being so lengthy. I'm glad you asked your questions and challenged me to give you honest and upfront answers. I'm pretty well known for "telling it like it is" and I'm happy to share whatever information someone might ask of the Marinaut.

All the best,

Les
 
Well said Les!

" It's sort of like wading into an enthusiastic group of puppies; they're cute, warm, and cuddly but they just come at you non-stop!"

Watch out for those puppies though, when they get too enthusiastic, sometimes they do more than just "come at you"!! :mrgreen:

We will try not to do that to you!

Hope I can get out to SBS12!

Charlie
 
Karl
a good way to see the Marinaut would be to come on out to the Seattle Boat Show/ C-Brat gathering and have some fun meeting some Brats and getting a chance to see the boat up close and personal.
 
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