Things We Lost in the Fire

So my wife Andrea and I decided to sell up in CT and move to Wildness. As luck would have it, my brother Mark and his partner John Henrick were going to build catamarans. They needed someone to run the show as they were still very involved in the chokka industry. So they asked Jonathan and me to come up and do the honours.

I am the manager. My day deals with the clients and making sure what they have ordered, Jonathan, and the team are building. I also do a lot of the procurement and daily running of the factory. I have a background in composites and working with my hands, so I also get involved in layouts, changes, and improvements. It is crucial to keep the designs current.

The early days were challenging as we were an unknown brand in the yacht industry. Orders were slow when we decided to partner up with Phil Berman from the USA and rebrand the Nexus 600 to the Balance 601. We also introduced the Balance 526 into the range, things became more consistent, and the orders began to flow. The company still remains Nexus yachts cc building the Balance 526, 580 and 620.

The Yacht industry is not an easy business. It comes with lots of hard work, and you need a good product and a good accounting team. We had all, so our company was not really affected. It’s all about getting products out the door and happy clients.

We started with 1000sqm. As we slowly grew, we added another 1000Sqm and today, we have about 5000sqm of floor space. We are looking to streamline the work area and add another factory soon. How many orders are on at any stage, and what is a boat’s average cost? We have 5 boats in build with a 6th in the mould. The 526 fully kitted will cost around $1.8mil USD. When I say fully kitted, upgrade sails, water maker, fully air-conditioned, generators, and home comforts. A full liveaboard boat. The bigger models can reach up to $3mil USD

We were working on 6 boats, and we lost 2 complete boats in the fire and some other damages to the building, but we are back to normal now, and things have continued to escalate. We now have orders through till 2025. So it’s going to be a very busy year ahead.