Jan 2012 update and Seattle Boat Show

L

Les Lampman

New member
Sorry for the extended break, sometimes it just happens.

We have hull A002 in the shop for production and we have an order for hull A003. I'll post more once we get further into the process and I'll post photos on Facebook (and probably Google+).

We will not be attending the Seattle Boat Show. That might seem like a bad move for a new boat company trying to get exposure but it's really a matter of how much exposure we can handle.

My final assessment is that I thought we'd do pretty well with the Marinaut 215 at the show and that if we did it would do us in. I don't have the people in place to handle as many boats as we might have sold at the SBS. I also don't have a good feel for how well our suppliers can get us the things we need (custom fuel tanks, custom rails, custom windows, etc) if we get into higher production levels.

I'd rather walk before we try to run and fall flat on our face, so for this year we'll continue our one-on-one sales effort so we can interact with each customer on an individual basis, and I can control the production level more successfully.

I'm sorry if this disappoints some folks that were planning on seeing the boat or just coming by to say hello and hang out for a bit. I just can't risk a really big stumble coming out of the gate, I need to hold things back to a level I know we can support this season.

All the best,

Les
 
Les,

As always, what you say makes good sense. We know how you are about maintaining quality and, for myself, I prefer that route to rush and jumble. It may take a while to get from the crawl to jog stage. It's OK, the M-215 will be better for it. We will miss you at the SBS, and hope to catch you down the line, Friday Harbor or La Conner or Sequim.

Wish you great success for the new year.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
First off: congrats on another order for the M-215. No doubt, this (the SBS) was a tough decision, but one made with "being able to deliver the goods" in mind. From all reports, the Marinaut is a fine design, and it's good to build a solid production foundation and grow in a responsible manner. Wishing you success with the controlled growth.

Jim B.
 
Les, I'm new to C-Brats and we're looking to buy in the near future. I just discovered your gorgeous boat (my husband had seen it and raved about it, but we just can't afford a brand new boat). If we could, it would definately DEFINATELY be a Marinaut.... it is absolutely darling!

The only thing I would change (but I have no solution to the boarding issue), is I would try to change the lines of the bimini top somehow.

Also, I just wanted to say... I work as a consultant and have lots of start up clients that fail... and I do agree about not stretching yourself too thin and making quality a priority. You have a great looking boat and you WILL get more of them out there... which is the best kind of advertising.

The thing I most often see fail is that entrapreneurs are afraid to take on staff for cash flow/capital reasons and its difficult for them to get bank financing without mortgaging their homes... so they end up being short on labor and/or not able to market as well as they should... All of that makes common sense, but it took me 25 years of a career to realize that the hardest thing is not risking your own career and family finances but overcoming the fear of hiring people and having THEIR livlihood also depend on your dream. The most successful client I have took that risk... did the OPPOSITE of what other companies did after the internet bubble burst and took advantage of the bad economy. He's worth at least 60Million today, plus takes out a cool 2-3mil in salary, plus has about 150 very happily working for him.

All I can say is everyone loved the experience of the start up and the chance to make it happen.

So, my longwinded way of saying BE BRAVE and THINK BIG!

Congratulations on boat #2
 
Thanks for the kind words and encouragement everyone.

Mary,

Thank you for your insights, all information is helpful. We're in a bit different situation having been here since 1985. For me now it's about consistent quality and managed growth so that the quality doesn't suffer. I have no desire to be "big", someone that wants to purchase Marinaut Boat Company is going to have to make that happen. I just want to build a few great boats a year and have happy owners.

All the best,

Les
 
Les,
Well, we all want you to get big, really big and give all competitors a run for their money.

BTW the boat on your website that's for sale looks really nice, but I'm stuck on wanting to be able to sit forward on the passenger side, so we are only looking at ones that have that option which we think seems to be around 2005 or so? So, that's why we've been looking so hard... not that many newer boats go on the market... a testimony to how much you all love your boats! I just wish I could go a little higher and get a Marinaut.. but I guess I'm not the only one wishing that.

Mary
 
Mary - it costs very little to modify a C-Dory (pre fiberglass interior) to have a forward facing seat on the port side. So my suggestion is to not let the lack of a forward facing seat prevent you from purchasing a boat. That's easy to change.
 
Good to know! I had no idea that the seat/table could be retrofitted.... do they work the same way? Rob that that the older ones had designs that were part of the mold somehow... so...wow! I need to know more about the retrofitting. Who do I ask?
 
Search above (in the search the C-Brats box) for "Barber Chair". Mike Barber, who made the first conversion, is Tyboo Mike, one of the two founders and administrators of this site.
 
I can still bang out a few more name badges for the Boat Show CBGT if you'll PM or e-mail me tonight. Names, boat name and color, boat model and your home town. See you all tomorrow. :wink
 
rogerbum":w5l5amie said:
Mary - it costs very little to modify a C-Dory (pre fiberglass interior) to have a forward facing seat on the port side. So my suggestion is to not let the lack of a forward facing seat prevent you from purchasing a boat. That's easy to change.
Click to expand...

There are several ways to make a forward facing seat:

The least expensive option is to cut away the port side bulkhead.

Another option is to leave the seat base alone and make the seat bottom move fore and aft. At our place that runs about $600.

Another option is to fit it out as we did the original boats with the Barber Chair (and the factory picked up on). That requires completely pulling the cabinet and floor and rebuilding it. The last one we did ran about $1000 for labor and material.

In addition...if the boat has a refrigerator under the forward passenger seat that must be removed (for any forward facing seat conversion) and dealt with. It would add a fair amount of time and expense to move it to the helm side.

Les
 
My wife and I agree with the comment that the lines of the Bimini top do not look that good in the photo. Actually, we think the boat looks beautiful with the full camper back configuration, which we intend to use year-round. What it comes down to is a balance between form and function. Since 2006, I've owned a Scion XB. I'm entirely truthful about this: I asked 5 woman at random to close their eyes and imagine the most ugly new car offered at that time, and every one of them said it was the Scion XB (good thing I was married, because it is no chick magnet.) At any rate, I was ridiculed until one day I had to help move someone's items from an apartment. We could put a 5-foot long, by 39" wide, by 36" high sofa in the hatch area, along with boxes and other items, and could still close the hatch! We then placed a 9-foot long, by 36" wide, by 36" high sofa on the car rack. The other person was amazed, because he did not have anywhere near that capacity in his Ford Explorer. Incidentally, 97 HP is plenty for the Scion XB, and it can get up to 30 MPG around town -- low maintenance costs, low insurance costs, and approx. $17,000 out of the showroom total cost.

So getting to the Marinaut 215 -- like the Scion XB, the Marinaut is superior at maximiizing space. However, unlike the Scion XB, it looks relatively sleek -- particularly with the Camper Back. Perhaps it does not look as aesthetically pleasing with bimini-only set-up, but my wife and I will take that added space any day over a sleeker alternative. We think that the Marinaut 215 strikes a wonderful balance between from and function.

Please click on the below link to view a picture of my Scion XB, and a side-by-side comparison of the Bimini configuration to the Camper Back.

Thanks!

Rich

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?...ame=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
 
Rich
I have to admit I thought that the Scion XB was the uglyest auto ever made, and that includes the AMC Gremlin, until Nissan came out with their Cube. Now your boat on the other hand looks good both ways.
 
I think the Scion XB is beautiful as well as funtional. When I was volunteering at the VA hospital I drove a van around the vast parking lots to pick up patients who had difficulty walking (and often, remembering where they parked, and sometimes, what kind of car they had). Anyway, they asked me to recommend a vehicle that was inexpensive, efficient, easy to get in and out of, and carried several people. I recommended the Scion XB. They ended up replacing both me and the van with a valet service, which, I have to admit, works well. As for the bimini, I think it looks great, especially in that wheat color with the gold accents on the boat. As a matter of fact I just had a mooring cover made in that color. You're a lucky guy.
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php
 
I have to admit I thought that the Scion XB was the uglyest auto ever made, and that includes the AMC Gremlin, until Nissan came out with their Cube.
Click to expand...

I'm w/ you 100%, Chuck. :lol: But I think both were designed for the genX, Y, Z kids (under 25)....whatever they are called now. Dang I sound old. :wink:
 
what if you put the bimini on the Scion? would it be just to much ugliness concentrated on one vehicle?......the boat, the car, both look fine to me.

any developments on a 25 foot version?
 
Chuck, Ken:
Actually, the open Scion XB hatch serves as a good replacement for a Bimini, and the coup de grâce with respect to setting a new standard for ugliness would be for me to be seated underneath it.

Marty:
Alright, I'll confess: my heart goes pitter patter over the sight of a Scion XB. I've had Ford Mustangs, and an Acura Legend, but the Scion XB is my favorite car. So I'm with you. It may not be sleek, but it is humble and lovable. It can easily comfortably fit four 6 foot men. In contrast, I was a passenger in an Acura MDX, and was extremely uncomfortable in the rear seat. The Scion rear seating was far superior for me. Incidentally, I like the color you chose for your 16 foot Angler. Both my wife and I love our Bimini/Camper Back on our boat, too.

Rich
 
C-Nile":35dhad9y said:
It can easily comfortably fit four 6 foot men. Rich
Click to expand...

Rich, you would be a far better salesmen if you changed your wording to "It can easily comfortably fit four lovely young 6 foot ladies". :mrgreen: (That is if you are trying to sell the auto to men... :lol: )
 
Hi Les. It really is encouraging to hear a businessperson express commitment to basic, honest, old-fashioned quality these days. Someone who doesn't think purely in terms of the almighty dollar,as if a pile of cash justifies whatever it takes to to gather that pile of cash. Keep building your custom quality boats and let someone else ramp up, outsource production, and take over the world. You are a gem, and I wish you all the best.
 
B~C":pxqru9np said:
any developments on a 25 foot version?
Click to expand...

Hi,

Not a lot to report but Dave and I did work out the final configuration and dimensions.

The boat will be called the Marinaut 245. The layout is not dissimilar to the CD25...along with hundreds of other boats. The galley is starboard aft of the helm, and the enclosed head aft of that. Upon entering the cabin, a storage cabinet is on the port side (across from the head compartment) and a dinette forward of that. The details are really what sets a boat apart so they're quite different on the Marinaut from other boats.

I intend to offer the boat a couple of ways. One as a very basic boat with a portable toilet in the head compartment with no shower plumbing, which also means no water heater, etc. This version will have a smaller bow mounted water tank as well. This is the KISS version and meant to be super simple (for folks that really are just after the enclosed toilet and a bit more space) and as light as possible. I've been challenged to make the M245 towable behind a V-6 powered F150 (without the Eco Tech), so that means a max of 6,000 pounds.

Then we'll also offer more of a fully outfitted version with a marine head (Traveler or Air Head), a shower, water heater, shore power, more water capacity, etc.

One thing we did was concentrate a lot on the head compartment, it's not just a box and good luck using it. It's large enough to be comfortable to use (both toilet and shower) but we did it in such a way as to minimize the impact on the cabin interior space. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Now all it's going to take is customers. :) If we get enough interest in the boat we'll move forward with development. I should have an announcement about that fairly soon.

Les
 
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