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Seaton Yachts Formed...

March 30, 2006

Marine industry veterans Stephen R. Seaton, John Clayman, and L.E. “Nick” Nicholson announce the formation of a new company: Seaton Yachts. The firm will specialize in the design and construction of cruising powerboats and motoryachts. Seaton Yachts will incorporate the Seaton design office, and will continue to produce custom designs for boats up to 200 feet in addition to expanding its fleet of series-produced and semi-custom boats.

Steve Seaton’s name is synonymous with offshore cruising powerboats. In the last 34 years, he has produced more than 400 designs, many of which are long-range cruisers that define the modern trawler yacht. Seaton’s boats are widely valued for their seakindliness, efficiency, and timeless good looks. The “Seaton look” has been widely imitated throughout the industry, but an original Seaton design has a style all its own.

John Clayman spent eight years working with industry legend Ted Hood at Little Harbor Yachts and Portsmouth Marine. At Little Harbor, he oversaw the design and construction of the WhisperJet 44 series of high-performance express cruisers. Most recently, he was General Manager of Ted Hood’s Portsmouth Marine, bringing superbly finished displacement powerboats, including the Selene Ocean Trawlers, to the US market. He has been instrumental in developing US-style efficiency and construction standards among emerging builders in the Far East. A veteran cruiser under both sail and power, he brings decades of experience in the design, construction, and marketing of cruising boats to the new company.

Nick Nicholson was for 25 years an editor of the Practical Sailor, the marine industry’s hard-nosed consumer magazine. During a 15-year involvement in the technical side of the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, he developed unprecedented experience in high-tech composite construction and sophisticated engineering systems. In his “spare time” he built a cruising sailboat and completed a 30,000-mile circumnavigation.

First projects for the company include a 60-foot offshore trawler yacht with trans-ocean range, and a 70-foot expedition yacht for unlimited world cruising. These boats are designed to be owner-operated without the need for professional crew, and are capable of extended voyaging thanks to huge fuel capacity and efficient hull designs. Both will be offered as turn-key world cruisers, complete in every detail.

Seaton Yachts is also developing a line of semi-displacement coastal cruisers to be built on a production-boat basis. Many of the company’s initial projects will be built in yards in the Far East for cost-effective high-quality construction.

For more information, contact

Seaton Yachts
One Washington Street
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 851-2002
www.seatonyachts.com

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