Headlines
Calling Top Banana
- Thread starter Geronimo36
- Start date
Top Banana
Icon/Founding Member
Great history......I know that you will especially like it as it comes from a friend of yours. The 39 is a mold that I bought off a friend of mine, who started the brand ****** .....you know we can't even say it anymore without controversy!!!!
Anyway, while he was still on NE 188th St, I stopped by to say hello. I had just finished selling my companies and had moved down to Florida and was looking around for something to do. This mold was sitting outside in his yard and I said, maybe I should go back in the boat business....long story short, before I knew it, he sold me the mold and Banana Boat Co had officially reopened.
So, while I was looking around for the right place for a shop and the right people, etc etc, I had the mold covered and stored on an old triple axle Target Trailer in an outside storage yard. Well, South Florida being South Florida......one day the mold was gone...the yard claimed the guy said he was picking it up for me and moving it. Since the storage bill was paid, they had no reason to hold it. (Maybe a phone call could have helped, BUT!!!)
Fast forward to a couple of years ago.....my oldest son had gone ahead and reopened the boat co and was making new molds for the 24 we made previously from the molds I bought from Cigarette. We were talking about going to bigger sizes, we had 24's and 28's and 35's but were looking for something near 40. He said maybe I can post something on OSO and see if we get any leads on the stolen mold.
He did and we did .....so he along with Opa Lockas finest, showed up at a certain shop right next door to Cigarette and lo and behold, the owner turned the mold right over. He said he always wondered why he bought it at such a good deal considering it had a clear ****** heritage. He built the deck that you see in the photo.....and he made an amazing number of these boats in dark colors, both hulls and decks. Anyway, he must have had a lot of customers who used them for night fishing and didn't want the white relfections off their headlamps.
Our mutual friend and I have been talking about a new deck design that would really incorporate a lot of the old school look of the ****** but also some of the other great boats of that era, like American Eagle. The photo below of American Eagle is from the World Championships in Argentina in 1978. Richie Powers built this boat for Tom Gentry and the boat was unreal when they unsealed it down there. Everything was immaculate (typical Richie) and the lines just flowed. This is what I have in mind for the 39.
So, the heritage is there for the hull, the deck lines will be beautiful if subtle and all we need now, is a customer who knows just what he wants and is willing to work with a couple of old farts, who know a little something about building tough boats that last in the ocean.
Anyway, while he was still on NE 188th St, I stopped by to say hello. I had just finished selling my companies and had moved down to Florida and was looking around for something to do. This mold was sitting outside in his yard and I said, maybe I should go back in the boat business....long story short, before I knew it, he sold me the mold and Banana Boat Co had officially reopened.
So, while I was looking around for the right place for a shop and the right people, etc etc, I had the mold covered and stored on an old triple axle Target Trailer in an outside storage yard. Well, South Florida being South Florida......one day the mold was gone...the yard claimed the guy said he was picking it up for me and moving it. Since the storage bill was paid, they had no reason to hold it. (Maybe a phone call could have helped, BUT!!!)
Fast forward to a couple of years ago.....my oldest son had gone ahead and reopened the boat co and was making new molds for the 24 we made previously from the molds I bought from Cigarette. We were talking about going to bigger sizes, we had 24's and 28's and 35's but were looking for something near 40. He said maybe I can post something on OSO and see if we get any leads on the stolen mold.
He did and we did .....so he along with Opa Lockas finest, showed up at a certain shop right next door to Cigarette and lo and behold, the owner turned the mold right over. He said he always wondered why he bought it at such a good deal considering it had a clear ****** heritage. He built the deck that you see in the photo.....and he made an amazing number of these boats in dark colors, both hulls and decks. Anyway, he must have had a lot of customers who used them for night fishing and didn't want the white relfections off their headlamps.
Our mutual friend and I have been talking about a new deck design that would really incorporate a lot of the old school look of the ****** but also some of the other great boats of that era, like American Eagle. The photo below of American Eagle is from the World Championships in Argentina in 1978. Richie Powers built this boat for Tom Gentry and the boat was unreal when they unsealed it down there. Everything was immaculate (typical Richie) and the lines just flowed. This is what I have in mind for the 39.
So, the heritage is there for the hull, the deck lines will be beautiful if subtle and all we need now, is a customer who knows just what he wants and is willing to work with a couple of old farts, who know a little something about building tough boats that last in the ocean.
Attachments
Geronimo36
Charter Member
That's a cool story Charlie and thanks for sharing!!! I really like it!
Believe me when I say this but if I had the cash I'd be having you "old farts" build me a boat!!
Believe me when I say this but if I had the cash I'd be having you "old farts" build me a boat!!
Geronimo36
Charter Member
Hmmm... you got a point! :seeya::biggrinjester:
Top Banana
Icon/Founding Member
Thanks.....we are all going through a change right now. The old is passing away and the new hasn't been figured out yet. The Apache's were / are great, but what kind of boat is going to be the right one for the future and when will they realize it and start buying?
Whenever anyone buys anything...clothes, a refrigerator, a home, etc etc. they always go through the same ritual of 4 decisions.
First...Is this exactly what I want? If I want a refrigerator, I don't care how good your boat is, it isn't what I want.
Second.....Is the seller, individual or company, easy to deal with.....will it be a smooth transaction or a PIA. If they are a pain, forget it.
Third.....Am I getting true value for what I am paying for. If I give $1.00 for this, will I realize $1.00 in value to me?
And the fourth, last but not least.....if all the other decisions are met to the satisfaction of the buyer, he will then consider price.
A lot of companies think price is the first and foremost....they are wrong...think about your own purchasing decisions.
So in this market..... First, we are attempting to offer the buyer a very unique boat....if this is what he is looking for.
Second, we are very easy to deal with and will work with a buyer to make sure we understand both his experience and preferences. This is going to HIS boat....and that is what we focus on. We can help him to maximize those experiences and combine them with our own experiences to build a great and outstanding boat. A synergistic approach where 2 plus 2 equals 5.
Third....Will he be getting something that will be equal to what he is paying for? First of all it will be unique, something that will have value and retain residual value. For example, if all cars are made equally well right now, why does the Camry have more residual value than a Malibu? Many auto testers feel the Malibu of today is equal to, if not better than the Camry.....BUT, there are fewer Camry's made than Malibus, so they will always be worth more simply because of that. It is the same with boats.....if we all use the same components, Livorsi, Mercury, Kevlar, Carbon Fiber, etc. etc. The boats that are made with the greatest personal attention by the builders, not built on mass production lines, will always have more value. The dollar spent for a custom boat will always be a dollar wisely spent. Add to this the heritage, the bloodlines that only certain builders can claim and the buyer will be getting a very good investment for these times.
Fourth...price. We are more than the production line boats, but less than the really silly numbers that you hear about at the poker runs (And how many of those boats really sold for the quoted number?)
We take the best lessons we have learned, pounding at speed in the heat of battle, over many, many miles of open ocean. We then combine it with the latest technology to produce a boat that would be unique to the owner and a credit to us. (We don't want to build any turkeys) You would not have a look-a-like pull up next to you at the next poker run. You would know that if you were caught offshore in a storm with your family....this boat would get you home safe and sound.
Besides the 39, we also have available the very familiar 41, that now has a stepped bottom. Anybody interested in setting the new standard?
www.bananaboatco.com
Attachments
Top. You are obviously a very wise and experienced man. Your reply is full of boating experience and intelligence. The last photo was a boat built by a true connisuer (sp?). My thoughts and emotions towards architecture are the same as yours towards boat building. The few that truly understand this are few and far between, but still out there, none the less. Frank Lloyd Wright had independent thinkers and businessman seek him out - why not a similar effect with the Apache, etc.?
Geronimo36
Charter Member
You have a great vision and with that mindset I think you'll be really successful!! I wish all of you the best!!!
Frank
Frank
Top Banana
Icon/Founding Member
Thank you Frank and the rest of you guys. All I am is someone who was very lucky to be in the right place at the right time. I got to know and race with some amazing people. That is the past....what you guys need to focus on is the future and what you decide will be the next wave of this great sport.
We seem to have found that there is great interest in open ocean racing again....... when we did the Miami to Bimini run last June.
Now if we can figure out a way to let the average guy actually get in and race...just like the old days, maybe that might take the sport in a whole new direction and reignite the interest of the manufacturers again.
Similar threads
