Mahogany Boats Carve Out A Presence
It was a weekend when mahogany memories were made.
At the 28th Palm Beach International Boat Show, retro runabouts, commuters and cruisers held a strong presence on the docks. The brightwork on Ramp 9 gleamed from boats by Grand-Craft, O'Neill Craft and Vicem's Windsor Craft.
"It's a little unusual for a contemporary boat show to have this many nice mahogany runabouts and motoryachts, but I think that really speaks to both the venue and the visitors who are attracted to the Palm Beach show,” Soundings Trade Only editor-in-chief Bill Sisson said. "There's an appreciation for that lovely retro styling and everything that goes with it, from varnished teak and mahogany to bronze fittings to a sense of tradition. Maybe it's a micro-trend.”
On Ramp 10, the 54-foot Posh, a RetroModerne Yacht Design commuter yacht designed by Bill Prince and built by the Brooklin (Maine) Boatyard, garnered plenty of jaw-dropping interest.
Posh is "a reimagination of a 1930s art-deco commuter yacht, but bristling with superyacht tech under the surface,” Prince said of the 54-footer.
The emerging wooden boat trend is a result of two converging themes, Prince said.
"One, far fewer [new fiberglass] boats are being produced in today's smaller market and the wooden-boat niche appears larger as a percentage of the total new-boat market,” Prince said. "Two, those who are in the market for a new boat now are relatively wealthier than the typical pre-2008 buyer. Today's buyers represent the wealthiest slice of the pie and tend to seek the highest-quality, most elegant boats available. Modern hand-crafted wood boats fit this description.”
The Palm Beach show is a good place to find those high-end buyers, said Bill Cavanagh, president of Grand-Craft mahogany boats, which is based in Holland, Mich.
O'Neill likes Palm Beach, too. He said he sold two boats at the show and a third buyer expressed high interest.
— Chris Landry
ShowBoats International Article: Bringing Back A Classic
By ShowBoats International
It can be hard to improve upon an original, especially when its POSH, a 52-foot 1937 mahogany commuter designed by John Hacker and built by Huskins Boat Works. Yet this is exactly what POSH’s owner- F. Todd Warner, CEO of RetroModerne Yacht Design- designer Bill Prince and Brooklin Boat Yard are setting out to do as they introduce this venerable classic to a new generation.
When Warner acquired POSH in 2005, she had already had an extensive restoration in the 1980’s and was “strong, but tired.” Since then, her wood has been restored, and she has been rewired and updated with new instrumentation and a new galley. Refreshingly, her leather has been maintained rather than replace and enjoys a beautiful patina. POSH has been making the rounds at boat shows and classic yacht shows, displaying her restored splendor and drumming up interest in the limited production series of the new breed.
POSH, Tempo and Thunderbird are considered the “triple crown” of American classic commuter yachts from the 1930’s- Warner owns both POSH and 44-foot Tempo. Prince says Warner tasked him with “conceiving a new yacht which would bring together the most iconic Art-Deco design elements of these three boats.”
Built in cold-molded mahogany, the new POSH with be “bigger and faster with stronger performance and cutting-edge technology,” says Warner. She is larger at 54 feet, several inches beamier and has more freeboard and displacement than the original.
While most of her proportion is in line with our contemporary understanding of how a hull moves swiftly through the water, we had opportunities to improve the next generation of the hull to achieve speeds the original never accomplished,” says Prince. The new POSH is expected to top out at 45 knots.
RetroModerne Yacht Design has selected Bartram and Brakenhoff as their listing agent. Contact is Eric Dahler: CLOAKING
