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Cruisin’ in Luxury by Michael Barrett Boat building has been in the Edson brothers’ blood since they were born. The sons of Bayliner founder J. Orin Edson, Jack and Mark did their penance, working on and selling Bayliners from an early age and learning the business from the keel up. Today, along with partner John Seabeck, they own a La Conner-based company that constructs one of the most prized motor yachts in the industry. Pacific Mariner, which did $8.3 million in sales last year and employs 110 workers in two large buildings north of town, builds 65-foot yachts that come fully loaded in the truest sense. Not only does each operate with state-of-the-art operating equipment including two, quiet, 800-horsepower Caterpillar engines, it also is equipped with furniture, appliances, eight-place flatware and china, stainless-steel cookware, crystal glasses, full-service entertainment center, two sets of linens and towels, comforters — everything a couple needs to enjoy a weekend of cruising. “The only things they (new owners) have to bring on board are groceries,” says Mike Osborne, sales director for the company.
A ‘rock-solid’ product “In five years, we have developed a rock-solid, functional product that is very well respected in the boating community and by the competition,” Seabeck states. “It’s put our name on the map.” The company started in Port Townsend in 1995 but quickly outgrew the plant there. A building was available in La Conner near the boat basin, so the owners packed up and moved. Since, they have occupied an even larger facility next door. Last year, the first full year in the new building, the company turned out eight 65-foot motor yachts at between $1.6 million and $1.7 million each. By 2003, it hopes to add two 80-foot yachts to its yearly output. The 23rd vessel took to the water for the first time April 5. “Ours is what’s sometimes referred to as a Pacific Northwest style of boat,” Osborne says. “It has a raised pilot house, which is relatively new in other parts of the country. It gives you excellent visibility from the lower helm station so the boat can be operated year around; this is a 12-month-a-year boat.” The vessel was designed, for maneuverability and control by as few as two people, by William Garden of Sidney, British Columbia. “He is one of the most respected marine architects, noted for his ‘fine-entry’ design, which moves the water away from the boat rather than in front of it,” Osborne explains. “This allows a smooth, dry ride and it’s very efficient, given the amount of horsepower. It is comfortable cruising at 20-22 knots.” Two other designers were important to construction: Greg Marshal of Victoria did the exterior styling and Sheryl Guyon of Pacific Custom Interiors of Seattle did the décor. “This boat was designed around a very powerful bow thruster, two pilot houses, wide walk-around side decks, and capstan side winches port and starboard at the stern. That allows control and movement fore and aft,” says Osborne. In addition, the vessel uses two five-blade, finely tuned propellers and controls produced by ZF Mathers Controls of Burlington. “So many things are important: space allocation, room size, head height, passageway width. They are critical in the design of the boat,” Osborne continues. “You’re dealing with curves — no straight lines in boat construction. Effort was made throughout the design to make it comfortable to walk around in, to be seated, and to take a shower. Boat safety is really important.”
Sold coast to coast Buyers, Osborne goes on, can be found on both sides of the continent. The sleek, white Pacific Mariners are sold in Olympic Boat Centers on this coast and through Westport Yacht Sales in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., on the east To get a 33-ton boat the size of a double-decker Amtrak passenger coach to Florida takes some doing, he adds. “The easiest way is via Vancouver (B.C.) aboard a yacht-transport vessel, a floating power dry dock, through the Panama Canal. Another way is to sail it up the Columbia and Snake rivers as far as Clarkston (Wash.) and load it on a 148-foot truck trailer for shipment to Corpus Christi, Texas, on the Gulf or Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., for transshipment through the Great Lakes.”These are not Bayliner boats. That company was sold many years ago to U.S. Marine and Orin Edson is now retired, although he gives his sons and Seabeck “a lot of free advice,” they say. “My brother Jack and I were still working at U.S. Marine and were looking for a way to get off the treadmill, if you will,” Mark relates about how Pacific Mariner was born. “We felt we knew enough about the construction of boats and the market place. We started with the idea of a 57-foot boat, but within three months, Bayliner started doing one, so we settled on 65 feet instead. We’ve done only 65-footers since, although we want to do an 80-foot design by 2003.” The factory, at 780 Pearle Jensen Way, has everything it needs except lamination, which is done in a smaller building around the corner. On two levels are departments for wood working, fiberglass, metal working, fabrics, even a special one for the Corian® used for countertops. There is barely room inside for three boats in various stages of completion. On the day they rolled out number 23, number 24 behind had its hull and bridge in place and number 25 in back had a hull. “We’re already bursting at the seams,” Mark Edson admits. “We tried to increase our production rate (a few years ago) but we fell flat on the quality,” Jack Edson recalls. “It was taking longer and longer to build them. We’re actually building more boats with less people now. And we’re building higher-quality boats.” Motor Yacht 24 will be completed in time for the Fleet of Dreams Boat Show on Seattle’s Lake Union this month. They hope to complete number 25 by August to take advantage of the shipping schedule out of Vancouver, which is the cheaper of the two methods of getting the yachts to the East Coast. Number 23, the first to be made with a hard top instead of the canvas-like Bimini top, was sold to a local owner. At present, two boats are available for sale, one on each end of the country. The rest are in the hands of private owners, some of whose names would be known to the general public, the Edsons say, but they keep mum on who they are. The owners are usually couples. “They are fairly widespread in age, with the average between 55 and 65 years of age. I would call most of our owners entrepreneurial, having started their own businesses and worked hard to get them where they could sell them,” says Osborne. “One thing about this boat is that it’s very competitive (with other manufacturers’ motor yachts),” Osborne states, “especially with the equipment, and it’s hands down the best value. It’s made for recreation and enjoyment.”
Puget Sound boys Both Jack, 44, and Mark, 42, grew up in Port Townsend and went to high school there. John Seabeck worked with Mark selling Bayliners in Seattle and then went to work for Orin Edson as the port captain for his own 105-foot cruiser. He also oversaw construction of the elder Edson’s 161-foot Evviva, which is homeported near his sons’ factory in north La Conner. “Dad’s retired, but he comes around and gives us good advice on what we need to do with our product,” Mark says. “He goes boating about nine months of the year. In between, he skis and does flying activities.” He also serves as a board member for a shipyards, he adds. Seabeck, 45, is originally from Seattle and attended the University of Washington. He’s lived in the La Conner area since 1980 and is not married. His job at the company is director of engineering. “What I do is direct all engineering details and documentation and manage all customer orientation with our product and after-sales service,” he explains. He is assisted by draftsman John Rhodes, who “knows everything from the ground up.” Jack Edson, the company’s president, lives in Shelter Bay with his wife, Sheri, and 1-year-old child, with another on the way. He is in charge of day-to-day operations. “I oversee everything,” he avers. Mark Edson, his wife, Carolyn, and their son, Alex, 8, are in the process of moving from Snohomish County to Anacortes. In his role as vice president, “the areas I cover are the purchasing and parts acquisition, safety of the facilities, and also I oversee the accounting department,” he says. Asked if he and his brother were any relation to the dirt-car-racing star Jerry Edson of Bow, Mark says, “No, but I’ve watched him race at Skagit Speedway.” Pacific Mariner is the county’s 38th-largest private business in the county, according to the latest survey by Business Monthly. Like most ventures, it took “lots of money from the bank” to get started, Jack Edson says, but things have been going remarkably well lately. “The last two years, we made pretty good profit,” Jack Edson says. “We’re going in the right direction.”
It Takes a Team to Build a Boat When Pacific Mariner rolled out its 23rd $1.7 million-dollar motor yacht last month, it called upon neighbor La Conner Maritime Service for help. That company sent over a marine travel lift, capable of cradling up to 55 tons in its straps, which carried the 66,000-pound yacht 100 yards or so to the pier and lowered it two stories into the water. Maritime is only one of many local vendors that help or supply Pacific Mariner with products and services. The company listed the following local businesses as part of the team: All Phase Electric Bank of America Blue Seas Boaters Discount Carlson Wagonlit Travel Central Welding CL Projects DeWaarde and Bode Familian Northwest Farmers Equipment Jamie’s Signs La Conner Auto Parts La Conner Landing Marine Services Motor Trucks North Coast Electric Pat’s General Store Port of Skagit County La Conner Maritime Service Skagit River Steel and Recycling Skagit Rural Sanitation Skagit-Whatcom Electronic Supply Williams and Nulle CPAs |
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