After taking several years off from boatbuilding, John Whiticar and his team at Whiticar Boat Works have decided to get back into the action. Rather than ramping up with equipment and manpower, Whiticar Boat Works formed a joint venture with Garlington Landeweer to build new custom sport‑fishing yachts.
The discussion between the two iconic builders started during last year’s Custom Shootout in the Bahamas, where Whiticar and Peter Landeweer kicked around the idea of building boats together.
Whiticar describes the partnership: “We talked about and discussed the future of us building boats. I was talking to him about the difficulties of starting back up again after we shut down that division of our company, especially since things aren’t back to where they were before. So he came up with the idea of forming the joint partnership where they would build the boats at their facility. We’d both have ownership in the project, and each of us would sign off on everything before we began construction.”
The new 72-footer, designed by naval architect Erwin Gerard, will feature a beam of 20 feet 6 inches, and it will have a four-stateroom, four-head layout in addition to a full salon, galley and large cockpit with a mezzanine. The new Whiticar will be 100 percent composite, with the traditional Whiticar lines married to a modern hull design. “I really like the styling — it carries the traditional Whiticar look to it,” comments Whiticar. Engineering and design will utilize state-of-the-art 3-D software, enabling parallel production of the hull, superstructure, interior and other components of the boat. This will allow the team to build the boat in as little as 24 months, much faster than building a cold-molded boat one component at a time.
And while the motor package is not yet finalized, Whiticar describes his expectations for the boat: “Whiticar boats have always been known for their ride and seaworthiness. But one of the issues with building a cold-molded boat is being able to maintain panel strengths and meet all of the specifications to make a safe and sturdy boat. This causes the boats to get a little heavy. The composite construction will allow us to build the boat a bit lighter. People are always talking about fuel consumption and, of course, speed, so the composite construction will affect both of those things.”
The team also recently completed the drawings for a 63-footer, which will resemble the same basic design as the 72. It is too early in the design process to give further details of the project, but Peter Landeweer adds: “We are a specialized custom-boat company and will not be limited to just one or two models. If a client comes to us and wants an 82-foot boat, we will be able to accommodate it.”
Whiticar says: “We are joining the best of both companies with this collaboration. Whiticar Boat Works has traditionally built boats on a time-and-materials basis with a cap and a basic price in the contract. There are relatively few clients out there willing to go into a project like this today, but Peter [Landeweer] is used to building on a cost basis. This is an advantage to the client because they will know exactly what the price is going to be with no surprises.”
While still on the drawing board at this point, the new 72 Whiticar is the kind of boat for someone who doesn’t want to look like everyone else. It will retain a look that is loyal to its rich pedigree, with the added benefits of being modern, lighter and faster to meet the needs of today’s boat owners.
