The crew at Coastal Craft launched their second multi-million-dollar luxury yacht in Gibsons on Jan. 7 after working for about 11 months to create the specialized 65-foot vessel for a U.S. customer.
The original design for the yacht, described as a “mini mega yacht” by Pacific Yachting magazine, was birthed three years ago through collaboration between Coastal Craft and a client who wanted something special.
That first 65-foot Concord yacht was launched in March 2014, and boating publications and the yachting community in Canada and the U.S. quickly noticed it.
Soon Coastal Craft was hired to build another mini mega yacht, with a few modifications.
“There are two major differences in the two builds,” said Jeff Rhodes, owner of Coastal Craft.
“One is that this has an enclosed upper deck/sky lounge area – the first one had an open fly bridge – and I guess more notably is the fact that this boat has a wheelchair elevator in it because the owner’s wife is in a wheelchair,” he said.
“We did some adjustments on the interior layout as well to make it a little bit more accessible for her in the wheelchair.”
For privacy reasons Rhodes wasn’t able to release the name of the vessel’s new owner but said “we can tell you that the boat will end up on the East Coast. The owners live just outside Boston, Mass., and they will keep the boat in a home port primarily in Maine.”
The custom-made vessel came with a price tag of $4.5 million Canadian.
Coastal Craft is earning a reputation for its handcrafted luxury vessels and recently the local company secured a partnership with East Coast dealer DiMillos Yacht Sales to provide its boats to customers in the states of Maine, New York and Maryland.
That dealer has three vessels on order for 2016 – two 45-foot vessels and one more 65-foot yacht.
“We have hull number three under construction right now. It’s scheduled to be launched in May,” Rhodes said.
He’s excited about the new builds that will be tackled by his team of 50 at Coastal Craft, who handle everything from engineering the vessels to welding them together, wiring them up and installing custom cabinetry and finishing touches.
Rhodes gave a “hats off” to his crew and the community when the latest yacht was launched at Gibsons Marina on Jan. 7, where a crowd of about 60 people gathered for the spectacle.
“The community’s been very supportive,” Rhodes said.
“Gibsons Marina has been very supportive to allow us to be down here taking up their valuable parking lot. Telus, Midway, Coast Cable, Walk the Line, they all helped us. When we transported this boat down here the night before last, we had to lift power lines and it was an all-night affair. Without their support we wouldn’t have been able to do it, so we’d just like to thank them.”
Find out more about Coastal Craft at www.coastalcraft.com
