Wisconsin yacht builder, designer make waves in market
A yacht builder in Manitowoc and a naval architect in Port Washington are making waves in the luxury boating market with new vessels, including one with a pseudo-military personality.
Thursday, Burger Boat Co. of Manitowoc launched a 103-foot motor yacht, Northland, for an unnamed client. The luxury vessel, built for long-distance cruising and sport fishing, will soon be headed out the St. Lawrence Seaway for a winter berth in Florida, the Bahamas or the Caribbean.
Burger spent 22 months building Northland, with about 125 people working on the project, according to the company.
Designed to cruise the world, the yacht is headed for sport-fishing hot spots, said Ron Cleveringa, Burger Boat Co. vice president of sales and marketing.
The yacht’s price was not disclosed, but the company has built boats costing millions of dollars for clients in the Middle East and Russia. Sometimes called the Rolls-Royce of boating, Burger’s yachts have been adorned with gold fixtures, marble floors and exotic-wood in-
teriors.
Designer Luiz de Basto of Miami was responsible for Northland’s exterior design and interior décor.
Northland was designed for the durability and range needed for a global expedition and also for luxury, Jim Ruffalo, president and CEO of Burger Boat Co., said in a statement.
In Port Washington, naval architect Bill Prince has several yacht projects in the works, including one vessel that he says has a “pseudo-military personality” and is meant to look a bit menacing.
“The retired-military American client who approached us for this custom project plans to cruise extensively all over the world and would like the look of the boat to fit his persona, and help keep would-be plunderers at bay,” Prince said.
Prince’s designs have been featured in SuperYacht magazine. The yachts are designed in Port Washington and are built at various shipyards around the world.
Among other projects, Prince has plans to bring a 55-year-old yacht back to life.
The Stephens motor yacht was transported by ship from California to Florida, via the Panama Canal, and is now at American Custom Yachts in Stuart, Fla., where it will receive an all-new interior.
Since no architectural plans were available for the boat, “we had the entire vessel laser-scanned inside and out once the original interior was removed. This helps ensure that our new joinery will fit the original hull, even if she has been slightly twisted or hogged over the years,” Prince said.
Prince, a Milwaukee School of Engineering graduate, said the market for yachts has greatly improved from a few years ago, when much of the boating industry was on the rocks.
Last week, he attended the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, advertised as the largest in-water boat show in the world.
The “queen of the show,” according to its promoters, was a 257-foot yacht with eight staterooms, an elevator and a helicopter landing pad.
“I like to say there’s no more efficient form of wealth redistribution than for a billionaire to employ 1,200 people for four years to build a $100 million yacht,” Prince said.
“We picked up several new leads from past clients and also some from brand-new perspective clients,” he said about Fort Lauderdale.
The client seeking the military-style yacht wants it by the end of 2019, “so we are on a bit of a fast track to make that happen,” he said.
The owner of the Stephens motor yacht, from Ohio, has an eye for nostalgia augmented with modern conveniences.
The galley, for instance, is being moved up to the main deck as a social center, and new fixtures and lighting will be installed throughout the vessel. But the yacht will retain its classic wooden interior.
The owner, Prince said, wants to modernize the yacht for cruising weeks at a time on vacation.