Pacific Seacraft Boats to Be Built on East Coast

[poopdeckpappy]

http://thelog.com/news/newsview.asp?c=226620

[TrueBlue]

That's great news for the uncommissioned boat owners, prospective buyers, resale value, and continuing heritage of a fine boat legacy.

[camaraderie]

That's been a rumour ever since he bought the molds. Glad to see it confirmed!!

[PBzeer]

They have boats at the Boat Show.

[SailorMitch]

That is great news, and I also saw the boats at the show today. Good news that the PSC name will carry on, and that Bill Crealock, one of the finest gentlemen you would ever want to meet, will continue to be involved. I also hope the 38 with Bob Perry will come to fruition.

[camaraderie]

Any evidence of Saga at the show Beez?
Anyone heard anything about those molds and what is going to be done with them?

[Sapperwhite]

Cam,
Saga had been sold to a Canadian buyer before they ever went to auction.

[Sapperwhite]

Here is a message from Brodie:

Dear loyal Pacific Seacraft customer,
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself
as the new owner of Pacific Seacraft Yachts. My name is
Stephen Brodie and I live in Washington, North Carolina
with my wife Barbara and my three children Madeleine
(age 7), Reid (4), and Jacob (3). Washington is a
beautiful small historic sailing community that
actually predates the nation's capital. We live in the
country in a restored historic plantation home that we share with
three great danes. I come
from a fairly diverse background having worked as a University
Scientific Diving Officer,
Marine Archeologist, and Commercial Construction Project Manager.
While I very much
enjoy sailing, most of my time at sea has been spent aboard research
vessels searching for,
documenting, and sometimes recovering some of the most famous
historic
shipwrecks in the
world. These have included the Queen Anne's Revenge (Blackbeard's's
ship) off Beaufort, NC
and the CSS Alabama (Confederate Raider) off Cherbourg, France. I
have
long been a
student of boat building and Naval Architecture and during a stint
with the International
Institute for Maritime Research had opportunity to assist with
historic vessel restorations.
During this time I developed a keen appreciation for fine lines and
well crafted boats. It was
also during this time that I became enamored with the designs of
William Crealock. I have
long admired his artistry and consider it a rare privilege to be able
to carry on such a fine
tradition of exceptional vessels.
So where are we now? I am currently in the process of moving all of
the Pacific Seacraft
molds and tooling to North Carolina. Our new production facility will
be located in
Washington, North Carolina, an area with a fine boat building
tradition. I plan to bring to
North Carolina a core group of key employees from the Fullerton, CA
facility. I pledge to
continue to uphold the quality, craftsmanship, fine detailing, and
seakeeping ability that
has made Pacific Seacraft such a household name in the sailing
community for 30 years. I
have a true passion for these boats and will put my heart into every
one that leaves our
facility. Thank you for your loyalty and support and I look forward
to
providing you with
the most beautiful and seaworthy yachts available for many years to
come.
Sincerely,
Stephen Brodie

[sailingdeacon]

Bargain hunter buys boat business

Pacific Seacraft moves to Beaufort


Tim Simmons, Staff Writer
When Steve Brodie flew to a bankruptcy auction last month in California, he hoped to buy enough equipment to start a small business that would build sailboats in Beaufort County.He returned instead with an entire sailboat company, Pacific Seacraft.
"We loaded it onto 21 tractor-trailers and all but two have arrived at this point," Brodie said. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."
Brodie spent $85,000 at the auction to buy the company name, boat molds, tools and five sailboat hulls.
The sailboats, which measure 31 feet to 44 feet, cost $250,000 to $1 million each. The company also makes a 38-foot trawler.
"He got a darn good deal," said Mike Bradley, who leads the state's effort to recruit boat makers. "It's a darn good situation."
Brodie said he was surprised to win the rights to the company and suspects that it had something to do with the terms of the deal: The winning bidder had eight days to clear everything from the premises.
"I guess that thinned the crowd a little bit," he said.
It cost more to move Pacific Seacraft than it did to buy it, but Brodie used a Beaufort County company -- Deep Water Transport of Washington -- and got started right away. He didn't make the eight-day deadline, but a few negotiations took care of that issue.
At its peak, Brodie said, the sailboat company had about 140 employees producing 120 boats a year. He would like to reach that point again but will start much smaller, with about 12 people.
"I think we'll grow back up pretty rapidly," he said.
Some of the early jobs could be filled by people transferring from the Fullerton, Calif., plant.
Brodie is talking with local economic development officials about building a permanent location in Beaufort County. For now, the company will operate out of a former textile mill in Washington, N.C.
Pacific Seacraft will be North Carolina's 108th boat-building company. If it reaches 140 employees, it would be a mid-size player in the market, said Bradley, who is director of the state's division for Boating Industry Services, part of the Small Business and Technology Development Center in Beaufort.
Despite its name, Pacific Seacraft sells most of its boats to owners along the East Coast. That makes a location near the Pamlico Sound a logical home.
But Brodie, 36, had other reasons for moving the company more than 2,500 miles: He, his wife and three children live in Washington.
"But I am very much aware that this is a friendly place to build boats, for a number of reasons," he said.
North Carolina has worked hard to increase the boat-building industry, tapping deeply into its coastal history and desire to replace manufacturing jobs lost in the past decade. Officials promised Brunswick Corp., for example, as much as $4.6 million over 10 years in exchange for opening a plant near Wilmington that will employ 858 people.
Brodie said he loves to sail and at one point worked with the International Institute for Maritime Research on historic vessel restorations. He is a marine archaeologist who spends most of his time on the water, working aboard research vessels that search and document shipwrecks.
Some of that work includes recovery efforts on Queen Anne's Revenge -- better known as the pirate Blackbeard's ship -- and the Confederate ship CSS Alabama off the coast of France.
He expects to spend a lot more time around sailboats in the future -- but probably less time on the water.
"I think I pretty much just filled up what used to be my free time," he said.

[john232]

The real reason he left California is because the Commie Government is NOT Bussiness friendly, and property and Taxes our sky rocketing out of contrl and enviremental regulations are rediculous. I wish PC all the luck in the World.