Has anyone here started a boat building business from scratch?

[aqualoco]

RealityBoatCo,
Yes, those molds were on Ebay a while back. I bought the molds and the boat. I feel very fortunate to have come upon this deal. It is absoutely unbelievable how well this small boat performs. Still have not decided on engine and jet pump supplier as of yet. This boat brings a big smile to all that see her in the water and plenty of questions follow, like.... I have never seen one of those, who makes it? How fast? Where can I get one? and How much?

What type of boat are you building? Please post some or send me a few pics. How far along are you with the business or when will you start making boats? Have you ever worked for or toured the BAJA boat plant in Bucyrus Ohio.

Thanks for the reply.
-Aqualoco

[aqualoco]

Hey rob1966, yes I would love to see some pics of your boat. What year was it made and what kind of power does it have. Hard to believe, but this design was ahead of its time back when they were made, as it does not look outdated at all, or at least not to me. It was actually made back before the 80's mini boat craze and the pwc rage of the 90's. The boat's deck will be slightly redesigned in a more contemporary look along with a molded swim platform but will also be offered in the current configuration as a "classic model".
-Aqualoco

[RealityBoatCo]

Aqualoco,
Here is my website, www.realityboatcompany.com there are some pics in there and in the photo album. I have worked at Baja but not for very long could not stand it. Checkmate is also in Bucyrus and I've worked there at least 4 times. I also worked at Lyman in Sandusky, OH and Sea Raider in Huron, Oh and Imperial Boat Company in Stow OH and then again for them when they moved to Barbarton OH. Have decided I would rather be the guy in charge.
The website is very much under construction so some things dont work yet. But it will soon. I make changes and add things every few days.
Good luck and keep me updated on your progress. Thanks
Barry
RealityBoatCo

[RealityBoatCo]

Oh yea, My next door neighbor was one of the founders at Baja, and my cousin was a founder at Checkmate.

[aqualoco]

Hey Gonzo, I am a bit confused... Forgive me if I am missing something but are you referring to the design of the boat that I posted pics of, that has been tried over the years without success or are you refering to Eisa Hasan's boat, as Eisa replied as if you were giving advice to him. No problem if you were, I just want to clarifiy.

If it was my boat that you were speaking of, what examples can you give me of other boat builders failed attempts to market such a boat. Any of the small jet powered craft that I have seen in the past such as the ultranautics, FunJet or the like, handled and or rode very poor for this size offering, but nonetheless, thay still enjoyed limited success. Most all of the others in this size range are, outboard powered boats like the Addictor, Invader, Mini Hawk, Wooster, etc., which had a higher center of gravity and not near as safe to operate as the jet powered boats. The closest thing to my boat, in size and looks, is the Mercury "WaterMouse" but is also an outboard powered boat. The Watermouse is used in the Disney theme parks and other rental places. There is also a Mercury sponsored racing event for young children

My boat probally won't sell to the masses like the SeaDoos, but can still fill a niche market, as it's not considered a pwc.
Thanks for your reply.
-Aqualoco

[gonzo]

Companies like Yamaha, OMC, Baja and Bombardier

[aqualoco]

Gonzo, I would love to see some examples of those boats you are talking about, as I dont recall any of them. I only remember Baja having a scat cat in the early 80's, which was a small air entrapment hull, but it was in the 13'+ range, which is 4' larger than mine. Baja also had the splash and blast, both were v hulls in the 15' range, also well above the 9'. There are many boats as such like the Bayliner "Jazz", Searay's "Searayder", Four Winns "Fling", Regal's "Rush", Seadoo's "Speedster" the list gos on but they are all in the 15' size range and $12k+ when new.
Thanks for the reply.
-Aqualoco

[RealityBoatCo]

Sea Ray squashed the Splash and the Blast for Baja because they saw no reason to build them and compete with their own mini jet boat.
Yes there are alot of small jetboat builders that failed but there are also alot of builders that succeded. Like Sugarsand, Polaris, and many others.

[RealityBoatCo]

Hey aqualoco, hows the project going?

[Stephen Gray]

Aqualoco,
Yes we did it,and lived to talk about it. You will get a lot of information from people,and most of it is good. The one thing I would suggest,is to do a cost of sales study. It costs a lot more to sell a boat,than most people think.
Steve Gray
www.rainforestboats.com

[keystonesteve]

aqualoco,
is your boat the predecessor to the mercury water mouse once called the aqua lark? in the early 80's I was at disney in florida and rented one of these. I had the greatest time with it. There also was a small boat ( 10' I'd guess) that may have been made by baja. I had a friend with a big boat and they used the little boat for just running around the marina. I think it mounted on the back of the big boat somehow. I'd be interested to see any pictures of the small boats you have or are planning to build.
thanks,
Steve

Hi Hasan,
I want to build aluminium power boat also a sailling catamaran , with not much money, but I do have a buyer! That's me! And I do have tha boat plans.
Not clear? I do have a buisines for this boat already, and not only for one boat, for five boats.
What I need is a partner to invest money, and work together with those boats. Place is Croatia.
Any interested?
Neno Babic
E-mail:neno@nenodiving.com

Originally Posted by Eisa Hasan

hi Gonzo

thanks for the advice , u r 100% right

i have studied the market for 3 yrs and make some kind of survey on more the 200 boat owners and listen to their complain on each type of boat.

most of the boats here (in United Arab Emirates) are locally manufactured, they have a very limited designs and it will cost them alot of maney to buy a design

They bring a very educated engineer from overseas whose salary is more than $12,000 a month.

they pay at least $70,000 annually for rent the land for the bussiness

we have about 5 boat bussiness in UAE ( which can be recognized)
For me i dont pay all this maney, i have the land for free ( government gave me the land)
im a a naval archetict and my partner is a captine

we will start small bussiness hoping that it become big

but offcourse we will pay alot of money for marketing

thanks

[wet-foot]

A new boat biz "can" be a fun and exciting thing. Is the wife on-board? If not this could be a sure way to sink more than just a new Company. My line of thought on this is find something you like, than see if others not only like it but will buy it. Couldn't you do this from a garage or small rental shop? You should be able to get going on the cheap this way. If it works, go from there and do all neceassry things to run a legitimate boat building business. I have seen too many people study and plan things to death only to see the obvious shut them down. So build the bloody thing and see if you can sell a few!!!!!! Probably all it will take are a few mods to make it more user friendly. By the way ........ HOW MUCH?

[Karsten]

Hi guys!
Before you start a new business you should read "The New Business Road Test" by John W. Mullins. It gives you a check list to determine if the business has a chance of survival. First you have to ask yourself if there is a "market pain". Does anybody need your boat? Why wouldn't you just buy one of the PWC's currently on the market? They come form big businesses with advertising budgets etc. So you have to compete against them. If nobody wants your boat and it's not better than current products there is no point making it.

Anyway. Read the book. You might also come up with a few ideas to improve the concept and make it work.

Cheers,
Karsten

[wet-foot]

Yes you are right but, with the molds in hand and a sample boat to boot why not just try sell it to see if there's any interest. If yes build another, if no sell cheap and try again. Not much time or money wasted this way.