Boat Building Opportunity

I am looking for investors or existing boat builders wishing to expand their current business/product range.

I want to set-up a building yard in Durban South Africa to build a sportsfisher, hopefully a semi-displacement catamaran range for production.

Please post your views or pros and cons between Multihull and Monohull sportfishers.

If you have any other opportunities in boat building be it yachts or anything else I would be interested to discuss possibilities.

Look forward to your interest and views.

Regards

Gordon

 

i voted cat, only sailed small cats and now a sundancer no practise i mean but yes i would try that cat

 

I'm with you Yip

I too voted multihull..

I'd like to see a vortex style tri hull wth hysucat assisted foils between the outside sponsons and centre keel...

Other boat building opportunities?

Heck - maybe you need to go re read the boat builders creedo...

If you wan't to make a small fortune in boatbuilding - you need to start out with a big fortune and you'll get there in no time flat!!

Cheers!

 

Dear Gordon,

I am doing a project semi displacement Catamaran.
My Web Site is: www.m-pcm.com
I am interested to know your capability as a boatbuilder.
We might have a mutual interest. If you can e-mail me your phone number
as well to talk personally.

Best regards,
Nir Egal

 

andrew

something modern?

I designed this 40'Cat last year for one brazil yard. Her speed must be up to 40 kts. If you looking for some similar, email me pitcha@mail.ru for her 3D model.

Best regards,

Andrew

 

My feelings are that the mono hull is better than a cat as a mono hull is easier to manufacture and in smaller length vessels, tend to have better performance. Cats have their place over 30 feet.
I am a boat builder in New Zealand. If I can help in your project ie building products for you and exporting, please let me know.

 

Boatbuilder, Designer located in the South of France at the mo. Should be back in SA in a month or two.
Workshop is in Knysna Locked up but ready to go. Can relocate it if needed. Was thinking of the Eastern Cape not much of a rush hour.
How much research has been done, marketing ext.
email hplotz@hotmail.com
Herbert Lotz

 

Multi hull more stable but not good in the Southern Ocean in the rough.
Mono hull handles better in the rough and I personally think they look a damn side better to.
In the end it all comes down to the design, which in turn depends on the practical requirements of the vessel.

 

aluminium boats

We are a french company that manufacturers aluminium boats that we make in China it is very interesting. If you may find an interest, please contact me at ALUTECH NAUTISME CHRISTINE FROMONT
ALPESPACE VOIE VASCO DE GAMA
73800 ST HELENE DU LAC FRANCE

 

Boat building

Hi Chris
Have picked up a thread suggesting that you are an Aluminium boat building outfit based in France.
Interested, well anything to do with the manufacturing and in particular boats is of interest to me. Chinese seem to know what they are doing when it comes down to ship building so it sounds like you might have that tied up. Coming from South Africa, we have a relatively low cost labour force compared to say France but I'm not sure how we would measure up against China.
We do have tax incentives to attract foreign investors though, and coupled with some form of training program it would be most welcome in a place like South Africa. I Have been working on setting up a training centre coupled with a boatyard to deliver a highly skilled and competent worker which in turn will be available to the boatyard as well as local industry. Skilled labour being one of Africa's biggest short comings.
We have all taken from Africa in one way or the other, be it Human trade to build our so called first world in days long gone and continue to rob them of there resources Aluminium, Iron ore, gold, diamonds or blood diamonds more recently, so I feel strongly that it is time to give something back in the way of training.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will survive in an environment that we have forced upon these people.
So to end this yes, I am interested in bringing opportunities to South Africa
If they could be of benefit to our people and our marine industry alike.

 

Building Cats

Hi Gordon,

If you have a market opportunity in SA for Cat or Mono hull sportfishing or fishing/dive boats we could put a package together. Something along the lines of we build/supply hulls finished or you can fitout/finish bare hulls locally and train staff, the scope of work content depending on your facilities/access to materials etc.

I'm working with a Chinese shipyard building good quality alloy hull Cat and Mono small commercial work boats to 20mt, yachts and fishing/dive boats to 18mt. Bigger builds are currently in planning stage for Swedish and other clients. 90% vessels are for o'seas clients and met EU/UK build standards.

We are looking at expanding our sales in African region for work,leisure and patrol boats. If you wish to discuss futher send me a msg or post a one time emal address.

 

5 to 55 m professional and leisure aluminium boats made with international standards in China
www.aurora-yachts.com

 

Have you found any investors yet ? Building boats is a thankless job lately.

We have the designs that might fit what you want to build. Send detailed request to info@hysucat.co.za

 

Hi Gordon,
Sounds like an interesting project. Building in South Africa is always tricky as it is far from international markets. If your boats do not fit in a container or cannot sail under windpower the shipping costs to anywhere can make the products uncompetative in price. I suggest you consider this carefully in your choice of designs.

You will be able to find suitable designs in South Africa from a variety of different designers:

www.icarusmarine.com
www.navalafrica.co.za
www.dtyd.co.za

 

Even though this is an old thread revived by some opportunistic role players, here are my views on current boatbuilding in SA and should any other SA wannabee consider going this way, read carefully. Hopefully Gordon did not started out and I had not noticed a new S/F builder yet, and I hope he read this by chance if he still have boatbuilding cravings.

For what its worth....

Gordon (and others), you are a brave man if you are going to sink your and others money, time and effort in boats in South Africa - no pun intended.

The market for what you are trying to do just do not exist in SA and there are a few builders of long standing battling to keep doors open. My honest opinion is that most buyers for such expensive toys have left the building over the last 18 years for greener pastures. Who wants to live in such a dangerous country as SA where murder is a given, fraud a way of life etc etc.

SA's largest boatbuilders Robertson in Cape Town had some successes in the past with their catamaran exports to the USA (charter company) but I heard rumours all is not well there and dark clouds forming.
Add to that the current financial turmoil worldwide and the fact that people just do not have money to spend on luxuries anymore does not help either. If money runs short, the first asset to go is a fancy boat costing money sitting at a dock. The current market is flooded with secondhand boats for sale and bargains can be have for boats at a fraction of their new cost. Why would one buy a new boat when you can have a really sorted and "relative new" secondhand boat for monopoly money?

Obviously my arguments wont add to much when you enter the super rich building trophy yacht but that is a different ball game all together. Your product will be aimed at the mainstream buyer and therein lies your dilemma at the current state of affairs. Even exporting will not help much since you will be up in a market with serious role players of long standing also battling to keep their slice of the shrinking market. Over and above that they are established and brandname with goodwill goes much further with clientele than an unknown entity.

Sorry I sounded a bit negative but current boating industry paints a sorrow picture everywhere and one has to consider this taking decisions in this regard.
BTW, I will not touch boatbuilding with a bargepole at this stage, regardless of building medium or type

Oh, nearly forgot to answer you question; for sports fisherman boats I would go mono for all the reasons some posters mentioned