Новый владелец NAUTICAT — кто он?

At the microphone «Yacht Radio» – Maksim Sputai.

MC: Hello. The second decade of the current century has been marked, unfortunately, with a number of high-profile bankruptcies. Of course, yacht manufactures were also hooked by this process. Family branch, Siltala Yachts, known to sail lovers by yacht models «Nauticat» In two thousand eighteen they announced about the bankruptcy. After three years and today I’m sitting in the office of the new owner of the legendary brand, as they say, I ask you to love and favor. My friend, yachtsman, businessman, founder and head of the sailing school «Sunlight Sailing» Dmitry Muratov.

    MC: — Good afternoon, Dima.
    DM: — Good afternoon.

    MC: — Congratulations with the purchase!

    DM: — Thanks! Thanks for congratulations.

    MC: — Honestly, I don’t really understand yet, whether to be happy for you, or sympathize, therefore, the question immediately arises: — why, what guided you when you made such a decision about buying a shipyard?

    DM: — There are several points, firstly, my main activity, which I have been doing and have been doing for twenty eight years, accounting for production, and it is quite difficult to do the same thing for twenty eight years, and it is necessary to change something, this one moment. The second point is probably already fifteen years ago, I didn’t exactly count, I got carried with sailing yachts, and yachting for me started at a fairly mature age. And I reached my own yacht school, the presence of his own sailing yacht.

     MC: — I will note for our radio listeners: at the time of acquisition of the «Nauticat» brand, you already an experienced yachtsman, the head of school, right?

     DM: — Yes, my growth in yachting happened relatively quickly. And the third moment, the moment of the case, I saw that the brand «Nauticat» and everything that was not disassembled, sold out from the «Nauticat» production, was put up for auction. This is really a moment of chance, because such a case does not happen every year. Everything worked out. Accordingly, having competencies and knowledge in several areas, there is an expectation that it will be possible to raise and launch production.

Plus, another point is that over the past four years, and «Nauticat» went bankrupt in two thousand and eighteen, that due to the coronavirus, the situation with the demand for yachts has changed significantly, the queue for production at many famous yacht shipyards, for years to come. All normal yachts on the secondary market, in normal condition, have been bought for a long time, and an order for a new yacht is accepted with a deadline of two thousand twenty-four.

    MC: — And in which part of the world will production be resumed in Finland, Russia, Latvia, Germany or somewhere else in the European Union.

    DM: — In fact, everything is very simple: first of all, of course, I want to raise production in the country where I live and was born. I was born in Latvia, and Latvia is a priority. Latvia is not the most successful country for production, for various reason: economic, there are problems with available labor resources and etc. But nevertheless, the first attempt will be made here. Most likely, we will not try to do anything in Finland, because Finland is a fairly expensive country and working in a non-native, expensive country we will get expensive product.

Finland could have been considered if the shipyard itself, the production itself, had not been destroyed. Now, there is little left of it, that’s the entrance ticket for the creation of production in Finland or Latvia, they are almost the same. Options are being considered, and options for launching the production of one or two models in Russia are being seriously considered. In Russia, serious import duties on yachts are fifteen percent duty and twenty percent VAT.

Similarly, the cost of labor in Europe and in Russia is different, Plus the cost of energy carriers, that is, the production itself in Russia, it will have a much cheaper cost in production. Another point is the quality. «Nauticat» yachts have always been famous for their quality and production culture. The production culture in Russia and Europe is somewhat different, and moreover, even the Latvian production culture is different from the production culture in Finland. Initially, we are trying to make production in Latvia and I hope that we will launch several models and in parallel we are watching the launch of one-two models in Russia. Perhaps, in the future, the launch of another one-two models into production in some warmer country.

   MC: — Do you already have partners in Russia and in warm countries?

   DM: — Naturally there is, because, well, firstly, the model range is large, secondly, there may be different versions, initially — «Nauticat» is a fiberglass production based on epoxy resins. But no one excludes steel production, no one excludes production on polyester resins.

   MC: — Dima took the question off the tongue, when we announced that we would take an interview, fellow yachtsman sent their questions to the new head of «Nauticat».

   DM: — Ask questions, I will try to answer.

   MC: — I’m happy to ask them to you. I quote: «Is it planned to produce metal, in particular, aluminum «Nauticat». housings, or, as before, will they traditionally be plastic?”

   DM: — You can plan a lot of things, you can plant to make a case of carbon fiber, the question is still – this is real demand, and real technological opportunities.

To launch steel production, we can probably talk about at least a batch of 10 boats of the same dimension. And on the other hand, it is a little easier with steel production because there is a base where steel production of hulls can be opened almost today. It is necessary to prepare only technological documentation for steel production. The equipment itself is already there, it is not loaded today.

For steel «Nauticat»., I see two niches. The first is expeditionary vessels. And now the «Nauticat».  is considered a «marine jeep» or an SUV. On a visit to the penguins on the «Nauticat».  with a steel hull and appropriate equipment, it is quite possible to go and, of course, in the Ketch version. The second option, perhaps, will be some yachts, maybe even without sails, for Holland. To walk on the canals, for inland waters, purely motor or again Ketch, but it is possible with a reduced mainmast. A purely motor yacht, or with a small sailing armament, will air out when the breeze blows. This is if you look at steel vessels. Aluminum is unlikely to be done.

   MC: — Marine Klachkova asks, I quote: «Which models from the «Nauticat» line are going to be produced and consider promising, and which ones, on the contrary, should be deleted from production. Are you going to keep the quality of «Nauticat», at the same time keeping a high price, or to lower the price for the sake of the market, to refuse any options, are there any fundamentally new projects that you are going to implement on the existing base and it’s great that shipyard will be revived. »

We touched on the new project a little, discussed it with you already, but about the rest of the points, what do you say?

   DM: — The question is actually quite long. We will probably go in parts. That is, initially three hundred and thirty-one models will be guaranteed to be produced, which is the most common, it was produced in an amount of more than one thousand three hundred pieces in the entire history of «Nauticat». Then we will look at the models that were the most popular, these were our models: thirty-three the most popular, then thirty- five, forty-four, then thirty-two.

   MC: — Colleagues ask if forty, forty-two point forty-four will be the size of a boat

   DM: — forty-four is likely to be, but forty-two, forty-four they are side by side, but the buildings are different, we will look further.

   That is, I repeat, initially the most popular models that had more demand will be launched.

   The next point, the most important, is quality and price. This is a standard swing in society, if you want to do it qualitatively, then you will not be able to produce it cheaply. We, first of all, will look at the quality, very cheap — it cannot turn out «Nauticat» as such. We will produce «Nauticat», and if it is of high quality, it will be quite expensive in price.

    Another point, we are considering for ourselves, I am not ready to say that this is a «Wow!» idea, that we accepted it and started implementing it today. Maybe there will be a more budget version, that is, there will be the same hulls, but the boats will be more budget in the basic configuration. It is possible that we will have a case based on polyester resin and a more modest basic configuration from more budget manufacturers. But we will look at how much production can be more budget-friendly and while maintaining quality, so I’m not ready to answer today.

    MC: — I have seen examples when in the conditions of pandemic survival. The small-scale shipyard offers customers hulls of various configurations with and without a motor, with a sail armament or only with the ability to install it yourself, with various trim options. A kind of «do it yourself» designer did not think in this direction?

    DM: — We thought about it, but I’m not ready to answer yet. Of course, there are a lot of thoughts, we don’t really know if we will make such hulls, because kits with hulls must come with certification documentation so that the maritime administration can register the yacht and give at least a «B» category, at least. Accordingly, in addition to hull products, there is a deck, mortgages, details, etc. There is an opportunity to produce this, but it is necessary to understand the demand.

We considered the market of just projects. Projects cost very different money, namely, as project documentation. We are thinking about it, but I don’t know yet whether it will be or not. Now I can’t say that yes, we are releasing thirty-three models on Monday in the form of a set of spare parts, or selling a set of documentation for manufacturing. No such decision has been made yet, but we are thinking in this direction.

     MC: — There is a fairly large category of self-builders, among yachtsmen, who have different degrees of qualification: they create boats themselves, although sometimes it is impossible to look without tears at what was soldered in the garage in the backyard. But with all this, it should be noted, a considerable number of very worthy, and even unique boats born by craftsmen. Probably, it is impossible to ignore such a segment of demand, he has a right to be.

     DM: — We won’t ignore anything today, that is, if we have requests, okay, we are ready to make a hull, we are ready to make a deck with a superstructure, we can manufacture using polyester technology or epoxy technology.

     MC: — If continue to fantasize in this direction, we will offer the market a ready-made and certified hull, equipped with the most necessary for safe navigation. Motor, navigation devices, minimal finishing in the budget version, shrouds, steps, i.e. all the necessary components for the installation of the mast and rigging. By analogy with residential real estate, an apartment in a new building with a gray finish, dry, warm, water, sewerage and light are there, but everything else is by myself, with my own pens.

     DM: — There may also be such options, in principle, all this is real. When there is mass production, some kind of semi-finished product, it is quite realistic to pull it out of the workshop.

     MC: — Dima, tell me: do you plan to launch a certain number of boats for free sale, or only upon request, only for a specific client with full prepayment.

     DM: — Something will go to the open market, something will fit our fantasies, now our imagination is limited to the fact that we need to start production. What we have received now is much less than we would like to receive and much less than is necessary for the immediate start of production. Naturally, there are their fantasies, there are their desires. Lately, I’ve been watching boats for fleet change-updates at the yacht school. And it turned out that they are not very satisfied with the existing offers on the market.

     MC: — Change or replenishment, in the school fleet?

     DM: — Initially, the change, and later replenishment, expansion. Most likely, as a result of our fantasies, a version of the «Nauticat» will appear in layout closer to a charter boat. Initially, first of all, «Nauticat» is a family yacht, for family holidays. A more expeditionary version may appear, designed for a comfortable settlement of a large crew. Initially, we will look at such a layout for ourselves, that is, a four- or five-cabin version. If such a version arouses the interest of buyers, then we will put it into mass production, if there are orders, then «Nauticat» can start a charter life.

     MC: — Dima a few words about the school, will you say?

      DM: — The school is called «Sunlight Sailing», in Russian «Solnechniy Yachting», we have a legal entity both in Europe, in Latvia, and in Russia — » Solnechniy Yachting «. Now we have theoretical training online, and practice — only on boats. Our favorite location is Turkey. At the same time, we definitely do several groups in the summer in the Baltic, in Riga, Plus, sometimes we conduct practical training in Alicante.

      MC: — A personal question is possible? I confess I have a certain weakness for Ketch. My next yacht will definitely be a two-masted Ketch. I have not met more than one offer from schools who could retrain, master classes for training for owners of such boats. And there Is its own specifics, right? Are there any plans to organize such training on the basis of your school? There are more and more Kechs, their popularity is growing. Moreover, your own production, you and the cards in your hands, as they say.

     DM: — The specifics of the Cache management are there, but there are several points.

     The first point is that most of our clients are cadets, these are the people who want to charter boats later on. There are practically no charter Ketches, there are single master Ketches that are chartered by their owners, that is, from this point of view, the demand is very small. Another point is that, indeed, as soon as we launch, we will, of course, test all our boats, somehow check. It is natural to develop them, that is, we will have a permanent fleet on the water. These will be demo-boats, these will be training boats, you can call them in different ways. And if we have boats on the water, and with sailing Ketch armament, then we will try to recruit training groups quite normally.

      MC: — Dima, you casually mentioned the charter needs of yachtsmen. Do you think a charter in the Baltic is possible? I understand that the season is short here, and sometimes you can’t wait for heat, in general, all summer. The example of Norway: «space price», booking with 100% prepayment for two or even three years in advance.

      DM: — In the Baltic, if we are talking about a charter fleet, in Riga today, or rather in Latvia, there is not a single charter boat in the booking systems. There were, in the booking systems, two boats from Lithuania, and five boats from Estonia.

      If we look at Sweden- Finland, there are many places in these countries where you can go on yachts. I do not know how much the charter fleet is in demand in Latvia. Now there are a couple of boats that can be chartered in Latvia through local advertisements, but this is all undeveloped. And in Latvia, unlike Estonia, there is nowhere to go on a yacht. There is the Gulf of Riga, and the coastal infrastructure is quite poor. There is the island of Ruhnu, although it is already an Estonian island. In general, this is where we can have time to go from Riga in a week.

      There are more than one thousand islands in Estonia. There’s a lot to walk around. But in Estonia, the bulk of yacht ports have a guaranteed depth of up to two meters. Albin Vega class boats, up to thirty-five feet, can safely enter any port. If we take a classic charter yacht with a length of more than forty feet, then the draft will be two meters or more, which greatly restricts entry into ports.

      MC: — And here comes to the fore, the handsome ketch, because one of its most important advantages in the Baltic is noticeably less sediment, compared to boats of the same length.

      DM: — Of course, ketch comes out, but there is a second point – «Nauticat» has several keels in its assortment. Most likely there will be one of the options with a draft of one point sixty meters. And there will be a yacht fifty-two feet long, capable of entering any Estonian or Swedish port. And we will definitely have such an option in production. Otherwise, it turns out that part of the «home water area» is closed to our «Nauticat». There are limitations of the water area and I want there to be a lot of «Nauticat» in our water area, and not just boats going far beyond the ocean.

      MC: — Dima, thank you for a great conversation. Good luck to you and your team. Good luck to «Nauticat» and all of us. We will follow your progress colleagues and share the news with all radio listeners.

      DM: — Please come again.