GUNBOAT ENDLESS SUMMER NEWS

GUNBOAT G4 

 

GUNBOAT expects to announce the new 40' GUNBOAT G4 imminently. Aimed at coastal cruising, weekends, daysailing and racing, the GUNBOAT G4 breaks new ground and redefines what sailing can be. Included will be everything you need, and set aside, will be everything you don't need. Innovations abound. We are thrilled to be nearing announcement with all details soon!  Please contact Meg Minetree if you would like to be included in future notifications on this series: meg@gunboat.com.

 

GUNBOAT WEATHER SEMINAR

This past weekend, GUNBOAT hosted a Weather Seminar for GUNBOAT 55 Owners and families at the College of the Ablemare in Manteo, NC. Bill Biewenga, a four time Whitbread/Volvo Race veteran (and winner) led the two-day session. Bill is one of the foremost weather gurus in the offshore world with his own book, DVD, and North U courses. With 400,000 miles offshore, Bill has seen just about everything. Eighteen attendees were immersed in advanced offshore weather teaching. GUNBOAT held a Friday evening welcome dinner at La Dolce Vita, and the gang gathered at Peter Johnstone's home for a Wanchese tuna cookout on Saturday. "Keeping our owners safe, and giving them confidence is critical. We will be offering these advanced weather seminars every 6-8 months. Every owner will receive advanced boat handling training as we have always done during sea trials," stated Meg Minetree, Director of Sales.  www.gunboat.com
 

FLOW TESTING

 William Jelbert, the GUNBOAT 60 project manager, announced the 'soft launch' of FLOW into the test pool at the yard. "We like to test all systems while afloat in the yard's pool before launching. Results look excellent and we expect to launch FLOW this coming week." Once again, the GUNBOAT Team at Hudson Yachts has delivered a gorgeous result. We look forward to reporting on sea trials in the coming weeks.   www.gunboat.com
 

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Bruce Hopkins joins GUNBOAT as Chief Financial Officer. "It was time to bring in someone of Bruce's caliber," remarked founder Peter Johnstone. For the past 15 years, Bruce has been an industry leading CFO at two renown Maine boat builders, Lyman Morse and Hodgkin Yachts. After 30 years in Maine, Bruce and his wife Kate have made the move to North Carolina. "We're excited to be here. GUNBOAT is thriving, and we're looking forward to being able to sail in warm weather for six months out of the year, rather than six weeks!"  www.gunboat.com


 

GUNBOAT MARINA AND SERVICE YARD

GUNBOAT expects to close a deal to purchase the marina and yard a few hundred yards South of the GUNBOAT facility in Wanchese, NC. Included in the purchase are two piers and development rights to a third pier. When completed, the GUNBOAT marina will have dockage for up to 14 Gunboats. The gravel yard enables up to six hauled GUNBOATs, and features the brand new 40' wide ramp for launching and hauling via hydraulic trailer. The GUNBOAT Marina will be the base for all service activities, commissioning and sea trials. www.gunboat.com
 

ART GUNBOAT

Meredith and Nils Erickson's painting of the GUNBOAT 62 ZENYATTA on the Horta harbor wall deserves special mention. Many GUNBOATS have celebrated their successful Trans-Atlantic passages with a stopover at Horta in the Azores with a beautiful painting on the wall. The creativity of the ZENYATTA painting stands above all. Few people realize that the GUNBOAT logo is based on an aerial photo of TRIBE's bows. The ZENYATTA painting perfectly captures the spirit of the logo. Well done Meredith and Nils!  www.gunboat.com

 

 

HIRED GUN!

There must something in the water at GUNBOAT these days, as it continues to attract top industry talent. Frank Edwards joins GUNBOAT as our Production Engineer. Operations Manager Dan Bottjen remarked, "This is a real coup for GUNBOAT. Frank is the best I have seen at production engineering. He comes across from Hattaras Yachts, where he was a key person for 20 years, most recently running their design and engineering teams." Frank will be a key asset in further refining the Gunboat production set-up and organization.

 

FALCOR: FIRST GUNBOAT CUSTOMER!

   RED BULL extreme snowboarder Travis Rice arrives this week on his GUNBOAT 48 FALCOR. Her GUNBOAT service stop will prepare her for an intended circuit of the Pacific in 2014 that will include film work for Travis' next movie production, MIGRATIONS, to follow up on his epic snowboard movie FLIGHT.

  
 

GUNBOAT HALL INSPECTION  

  

Henry Maxwell, along with assistance from owners Eric and Ben Hall, gave GUNBOAT the full tour of Hall Spars at their flagship Bristol, RI facility last week. With the first two GUNBOAT 55 spar packages nearly complete, the tour, of course, featured GUNBOAT work in every area. We are really happy to welcome Hall to our team, and to have such a world-class vendor so close to our NC production facility!  

GUNBOAT FALL 2012 NEWS

Coming to America

 

The owners of GUNBOAT 78-01 have hit the re-set button. After being stored for two years as a carbon shell with bulkheads, she is loading on a ship in Cape Town for her first Ocean crossing to Baltimore, USA. In early December she will off-load and be towed to GUNBOAT's new yard in Wanchese, NC for completion.  She is available for purchase and the sooner we hear from you, the more input you will have in customizing her finish.

 

GUNBOAT Expands Facility   GUNBOAT USA recently acquired the adjacent 10,000 sq ft waterfront building in Wanchese, NC. With renovations underway and the GUNBOAT 78 arriving later this year, we now have room for the GUNBOAT 78 series, additional larger projects, and GUNBOAT servicing on site.

SUGAR DADDY Sells at Annapolis Show  Thank you for visiting the Annapolis Sailboat Show. We had more onboard traffic, and serious buyers, during those five days than at any prior show. Four buyers for SUGAR DADDY emerged from the show and she went under contract soon after. The new owners plan her second circumnavigation!

Development of GUNBOAT G4 begins Our founder, Peter Johnstone, has been refining the concept for a radical new smaller GUNBOAT at about 40' since 2004. "I can't wait to present this series! We are going to tip over some sacred cows in this segment." Nigel Irens' first concept drawings are now complete. If you are a serious candidate for a Gunboat at about 40', please contact meg@gunboat.com to be included in the process.

GUNBOAT at Ft Lauderdale Boat Show   GUNBOAT will show the GUNBOAT 66 'SUGAR DADDY' at the Ft Lauderdale Boat Show October 25-29. Please make an appointment if you plan to visit meg@gunboat.com. The lines to board a Gunboat are typically 30-60 minutes long. We would like to get our dedicated GUNBOAT family aboard without the wait!

GUNBOAT 55-01 Furniture Completes The new GUNBOAT 55 furniture is likely our best yet. We have reduced the weight of the construction to amply beat our weight calculations. A proprietary new construction method has reduced weight by nearly 40%. The degree of fit and finish takes Gunboat to a new level of achievement. While the rest of the cruising cat market seems to be headed towards cheaper plastic interiors, we are celebrating a significant jump in quality and light weight. The teak veneers are simply stunning.              Kind regards, Meg Minetree Skype: gunboat_meg meg@gunboat.com 252 305 8700

Many thanks to our dear friend, Whitey Russell of PURE Yachting, who served as our water taxi in Annapolis!