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W
hile every new model of performance boat begins with a vision, the road from conception to completion is a long grind that is destined to cost in excess of six figures, requiring a time investment of anywhere from one to three years before that inspiration finds fiberglass. The process is a constant tug-of- war between cost and creativity in which the drive to be different must find a practical balance with a price that the market will bear.
If you design and buiki a boat from scratch, says Ron Sanchez, half of Essex Perfor mance Boats, the brother-run team (along with Steve) that
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agonized for nearly three years while building the newly released 29-foot Alandra, the process becomes a battlefield. While it’s happening, it’s not something that fills you with joy.
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Interviews with the Sanchez brothers, Dave’s Custom Boats’ Dave Hemmingson and Commander’s Sy Singhal— each of whom recently issued birth announcements for new
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models—revealed firsthand the dues that must be paid between concept drawings and release to market. Although their techniques vary, each of these builders agrees that much more goes into the process than meets the boat- buying public’s eye.
GETTING A NEW
MODEL TO MARKET
The addition of a new boat to a builder’s line can be accomplished in a number of ways. The most common method is to acquire an existing set of molds (bottom and deck), which are often (but not always) modified with the
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