SloopJonB
Super Anarchist
Into the sauce a little early today aren't we Implausible?Plausible said:
It was Reagan's luxury tax that killed them - and the rest of the sailboat builders.
Reagan was a right wing Republican - you fucking fool.
What brands from the 70s/80s would you resurrect?
- Thread starter MauiPunter
- Start date
It was Reagan's luxury tax that killed them - and the rest of the sailboat builders.
Reagan was a right wing Republican - you fucking fool.
Black Jack
Super Anarchist
Humbolt Bay Yachts. Humbolt 30
Was just looking at the layout and cockpit of the neighbor boat a dock down for ideas.
Was just looking at the layout and cockpit of the neighbor boat a dock down for ideas.
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MauiPunter
Will sail for food
- Thread starter
- #43
I love choices. I definitely had a few of the same in mind.
C&C
Sabre
Ericson
Olson
Sanatana/Schock
Ranger
S2
These brands always stood out in my mind and felt like they should have lived on. They had great designs, and quality at their peak.
The resurrection of C&C was a bit disappointing. When I first stepped onto one of the new ones in their second life I instantly felt like something was lost in translation. They some design hints of C&C, but kinda missed the mark. The quality was lacking comparatively. The design looked good and if I recall performed ok. Not sure if they lived up to their ratings but that's a different topic all together.
Sabre is one that I was probably the most surprised at its ending. Jim Taylor always designed great boats. The quality was top notch, you got a lot of boat for the money, and the values were well supported after market. I'm not sure what happened there but was sad to see them go.
Ericson was part of the Pacific Seacraft conglomerate if I recall, which still exists. The brand was discontinued but I believe the same company exists. Bruce King had some innovative designs over the years.
I hope Schock can get their house and in order and be reborn.
I could go on and on....
C&C
Sabre
Ericson
Olson
Sanatana/Schock
Ranger
S2
These brands always stood out in my mind and felt like they should have lived on. They had great designs, and quality at their peak.
The resurrection of C&C was a bit disappointing. When I first stepped onto one of the new ones in their second life I instantly felt like something was lost in translation. They some design hints of C&C, but kinda missed the mark. The quality was lacking comparatively. The design looked good and if I recall performed ok. Not sure if they lived up to their ratings but that's a different topic all together.
Sabre is one that I was probably the most surprised at its ending. Jim Taylor always designed great boats. The quality was top notch, you got a lot of boat for the money, and the values were well supported after market. I'm not sure what happened there but was sad to see them go.
Ericson was part of the Pacific Seacraft conglomerate if I recall, which still exists. The brand was discontinued but I believe the same company exists. Bruce King had some innovative designs over the years.
I hope Schock can get their house and in order and be reborn.
I could go on and on....
Swimsailor
Super Anarchist
Are you referring to the C&C's of 99/110/121 vintage, the 101 vintage or the recent Mills C&C 30 hiccup?
S2.
Sentimental reasons and great boats. I bought a Slickcraft powerboat as a teenager. I know where the Tiara factory is when I go back home.
I'm sure they could go back into the sailboat business if there was a market.
EDIT: Wood powerboat
Sentimental reasons and great boats. I bought a Slickcraft powerboat as a teenager. I know where the Tiara factory is when I go back home.
I'm sure they could go back into the sailboat business if there was a market.
EDIT: Wood powerboat
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bloodshot
Super Anarchist
Evelyn 25Sport
G&S
G&S
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sledracr
Super Anarchist
Ericson was a stand-alone builder until late 80s.
When the SoCal boating industry cratered in the early 90s, Ericson went bankrupt and in 1991 PSC bought the molds, a handful of in-progress hulls/decks and trademark rights.
J28
Super Anarchist
- 2,307
- 109
Into the meth a little early eh Sloppy? That tax increase was wriitten into the Democrat tax bill that Bush the First signed, breaking his “No New Taxes” pledge and effectively killing his chance at reelection. Best you stick to Canuckistani politics.
sledracr
Super Anarchist
...and effectively killing the US boat-building industry.
November 1991
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luxury_tax#United_States
onepointfivethumbs
Anarchist
Bill Lee's chicken coop
kent_island_sailor
Super Anarchist
The 99/101/121 series IMHO were not quite C&Cs. Mostly got it, but there was a little something missing. It was very obvious the best carpenters were over on the Tartan side of the shop. The very latest bunch had no relationship to C&C *at all* other than buying the name.
Speaking of......the old Tartan made some solid boats. They could make 37s again.
MauiPunter
Will sail for food
- Thread starter
- #53
Yup. That was going to be my response. When you look at the C&C 121 and compare it to the C&C37+, 41 or 44, there is just no comparison on build quality and value there. 121 had the right look, but its execution was kind of a miss. I wanted to like it sooooo badly and just remember that sinking feeling when I first stepped below and started to poke around.
I agree with you on the Tartan as well. They seemed to get the most skilled guys on the floor. I think Tartan still makes a sailboat or two. Not quite the volume and range that they were.
Thanks for the update on Ericson. For some reason I had thought they were coming out of the same factory as Pearson, and owned by PSC. I guess that was later on in life after they had folded.
Any fans of Seidelmanns in here?
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Keith
Super Anarchist
Thai Stick......
sledracr
Super Anarchist
Seems like a million years ago, but it was a great time to be a kid growing up in the sailing world.
A bunch of the "majors" (Islander, DownEast, Jensen/Cal, Ranger, Columbia, Pacific Seacraft, others) all clustered in the same industrial park in Irvine, Schock out in Santa Ana, P-squared in the middle of a bean-field off Dyer Road, Westerly a few blocks up the road, a few other semi-custom builders sprinkled around (Tradewinds, etc) and Choate up in Long Beach. Add in Catalina down off Newport Boulevard, Morse, WestSail, and Venture/MacGregor somewhere in the mix... plus all the powerboat builders (Wellcraft, etc)... plus all the brokerages, boatyards, rigging shops and chandleries along Pacific Coast Highway.... it was hard *not* to have a job around boats.
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MauiPunter
Will sail for food
- Thread starter
- #56
sledracr
Super Anarchist
It really was. Not to mention a thriving ecosystem.
Case in point - my job in high-school was driving a delivery truck for a fastener company. The company founder had identified a cool little niche - the boat builders had to use "US-sourced" fasteners in order to meet some esoteric corner of the Jones Act. So my job was to drive up to Santa Fe Springs, pick up 55-gallon drums of stainless 1/4-20 nuts (or whatever) fresh off the boat from Somewhere Else, package them up in little poly bags of 50 or 100 nuts, and then deliver the packages to the boatbuilders, the marine hardware stores, the rigging shops, whatever..... having marked them up 1000% or so, in return for the fact that they were now from a "US source".
Great way to get an "in" with the production manager at Ericson, which became a gig at Pacific Rigging, which had the contract for all the new-boat commissioning at the Ericson brokerage, which grew into my own rigging business, etc, etc.
It was great... until they all went under.
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VWAP
Super Anarchist
fufkin
Super Anarchist
I'm definitely dropping names here, but I was lucky enough to be seated beside George Cuthbertson at a luncheon a couple of years ago before his passing. He said something about 'brands' that stuck with me.
I picked his brains about a few things. Then I asked him about the hot new C&C30 which, being retired, he didn't really seem to know much about (or did he?). Anyway, I'll never forget his quip...'you mean they're still trading that name around?'
