Click for Glendinning Click for Mulder Click for Westport Click for Perko Click for Furuno

the end of an era for Ocean Yachts

Discussion in 'Ocean Yacht' started by Trinimax, Dec 2, 2015.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    I agree it is a good thing Viking is doing so well but do see it as kind of monopoly. It used to be the big 3, Bertram, Hatteras, Viking. Now you only have Hatteras and Viking and from appearances it seems Viking is spitting out about 10 SF for every 1 Hatteras. But those really are the only 2 production builders. But so many other production built competitors went by the wasteside, that really those are the only 2 left......Gone: Bertram, Post, Egg Harbor, Ocean, Cabo, Davis, Buddy Davis, and on and on. Sure you have all the Carolina builders.....but most of them are spitting out 1-4 a year, MAX. The Carolina custom builders....but customs are in a different league.
  2. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,649
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Not to get into a contest of what a Monopoly is but this is not close IMO.
    Ocean, Bertram, Egg, Post, Pace, Albin, fountain and more all shot themselves in the foot and closed the doors themselves.
    Viking has survived with just a few others.
    Viking pulled no trigger nor bought anybody out.
    They just found a cheap real estate deal. SleRay or OA could of bought the land it if they wanted it.
  3. RER

    RER Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,532
    Location:
    Newport Beach CA
    True, but go to someplace like Sunset Marina in Ocean City, MD and you'll see a couple hundred big time sportfishers and only a handful are production boats. The vast majority are custom. Late model big $$$ custom rigs. My point being that the market is being served.
  4. captholli

    captholli Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2010
    Messages:
    1,164
    Location:
    In The Bilge
    QUOTE="rcrapps, post: 225981, member: 921"]Not to get into a contest of what a Monopoly is but this is not close IMO.
    Ocean, Bertram, Egg, Post, Pace, Albin, fountain and more all shot themselves in the foot and closed the doors themselves.
    Viking has survived with just a few others.
    Viking pulled no trigger nor bought anybody out.
    They just found a cheap real estate deal. SleRay or OA could of bought the land it if they wanted it.[/QUOTE]

    And a really nice chunk of real estate it is! I had a '04 50' Ocean at their plant in 2009 for a soft goods and flooring Amtico install and they couldn't have ben more accommodating. Great job and better pricing than bringing the boat to Lauderdale. (they needed the work) I found that part of N.J. beautiful. The buildings for admin. were in good shape and maybe half of the assembly production bays weren't ancient. It wont take much of a infrastructure investment for Viking to be up and producing. Papa Leek has a gorgeous house on the property at the basin head. Wonder if its part of the transaction?
  5. Gray-Sea

    Gray-Sea Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2013
    Messages:
    52
    Location:
    Virginia Beach
    Yes, that's correct that I don't know whether that's a good thing.

    If Viking sustains the Billfish and Express as rumored, it is. If no one fills Oceans void, then it's bad.

    Viking is awesome. I'd kill for one. But Ocean catered to a different crowd/clientele for 30 years.

    Viking is "semi-custom" in name only. They're no more or less custom than the Wanchese builders, who use molds and build the same Applied Concepts hulls over and over again.

    There's not much left but the used market for anyone who wants an affordable sportfish.
  6. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,649
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL
    Oh, come on....
    Why is anybody carrying on here for????
    Ocean Yacht was the Bayliner of sport fishers. There IS NO GREAT LOSS HERE.....
    They had their hayday long before they cut back and closed.
  7. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Every time we see a shut down like Ocean we here a lot of how they'll be missed. The reality is if they were doing enough business to be missed they wouldn't be leaving. They've been missed since their volume declined. Is there a void left in the marketplace? I believe so. But then part of the reason for that void is buyers haven't been buying in the niche.
  8. Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2004
    Messages:
    12,649
    Location:
    Satsuma, FL

    So; No Niche, No business, No company
    .

    Here in South Georgia; They Lost da pooch and Closed da doors.

    You just type in nicer terms.
  9. Beau

    Beau Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 15, 2010
    Messages:
    2,261
    Location:
    Beaufort, NC
    IMO, not only is it about having a solid boat design, but business acumen. How the heck did Post, which was really a contract builder not a floor plan manufacture, go upside down 5 to 1? I know, everyone will blame it on the gelcoat issue, but Viking survived the same issue on a larger scale. Cash reserves? Insure the risk or create a sinking fund? Wonder what executive comp was?
    Last edited: Dec 8, 2015
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Spend more than they had coming in. Probably a combination of business debt, still have the property/building/factory overhead, employee overhead, a failure to update models, a lot of money sunk into I think it was a new 56' SF that handled horribly and that they couldn't sell. Just because they were'nt building spec boats, doesn't mean the expenses didn't go on. Also it's really hard as a business owner when you have long term employees, that care, and that do a good job, and then the bottom falls out, you try to hang onto them too long rather than laying them off, adding to your expenses.
  11. Yachtguymke

    Yachtguymke Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 8, 2004
    Messages:
    231
    Location:
    Naptown
    Here is the long and short of Ocean - Daddy Leek didn't want to produce boats anymore. Leek Jr wanted to carry on the family legacy but Daddy Leek didn't want to fund it. Daddy Leek wanted out and has since retired with a huge nest egg. The property is worth more money than they could make producing boats. Manufacture Margin on production boats is not what it used to be. There were only two remaining dealers for Ocean as well, one of which tied up the Makaira project. Not naming names here, but all of you can try to come up with scenarios as to why it didn't work. My explanation is simple - And true.
  12. PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 9, 2009
    Messages:
    1,988
    Location:
    Dana Point, Ca
    Thanks for the clarity and lack of speculation - quite refreshing for a change.
  13. Gray-Sea

    Gray-Sea Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2013
    Messages:
    52
    Location:
    Virginia Beach
    I'll buy that, for sure.

    And junior still hangs on and gets to start building boats again, albeit for the former competition. Probably better off for him.

    I hope Tom hangs on too. He was always exceptionally helpful whenever I had questions about older Oceans we were looking at.

    I wish them all the best, it's still just a little sad that yet another NJ builder went tits up.
  14. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Not the first business to find their property was worth more to someone else than it was in operating their business.

    We have very close friends in Myrtle Beach, like parents to us. Their small family run hotel property has for a while now been worth more to major hotel and resort chains than to them. It gets harder every year for them to resist selling. Much like the Leek family, running it is all they've done for decades. It's a difficult decision when you've given your heart and soul to the business.
  15. docjr03

    docjr03 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2014
    Messages:
    24
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    I just saw the other day that the Egg Harbour group bought the name and most of the molds from Ocean Yachts.
  16. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    It appears so. Now whether they'll do anything with it or not, who knows. Not like they're setting the market on fire themselves. I think something indicative of their market role is that if you go to their website and click on "What's New at Egg Harbor" you get that they broke ground on their factory expansion on August 18, 2004. So, I guess only time will tell if this is any different than the purchase of the Post name and molds.
  17. docjr03

    docjr03 New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 1, 2014
    Messages:
    24
    Location:
    Virginia, USA
    I agree, it will be interesting to see where it goes. It seems that the mid-size production sportfisherman market has been replaced by outboard powered cc and express style boats and larger 60 ft plus sf's.
  18. ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

    Joined:
    Aug 20, 2013
    Messages:
    818
    Location:
    Chesapeake Bay, USA
    So, far EHG has built only a few Silvertons. From memory, I think two 36Cs, two 42Cs (renamed 43C), a 410 or 430 Sport bridge (can't remember which), and more recently a 4100 Coupe (hardtop express boat, built on a stretched 36C hull).

    -Chris
  19. willietrojan

    willietrojan New Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    4
    Location:
    Spanish Fort Al
    The good Dr just collects Fiberglass Boat molds. I doubt he'll ever build a Ocean or Egg
  20. baltimore bob

    baltimore bob Member

    Joined:
    Sep 22, 2013
    Messages:
    314
    Location:
    Baltimore, Maryland
    Just like Worton Creek did with Post.