Gunboat 66 – the ultimate fast cruiser?

I haven't watch this video in some time now, but it really is quite good. Even non-sailors should have a look.

This vessel, or style of vessel, has to be one of the top contenders as world cruiser. Its a shame that they find themselves in financially difficulties at the moment.

Might want to rethink a boat from Gunboat-went into bankruptcy last November, canned its founder, Peter Johnstone in January, and the Court has ordered the company, with about $10M in debt, to be sold at auction. So, if you want to pick up a boat company cheap, look up the Bankruptcy Court in Eastern North Carolina and send in a bid!

Very nice. One of the first things I noticed though is that the helmsman has to do a lot of ducking down to see either past the Genoa or to see the luff, not sure which. It possibly could benefit from twin helms, port and starboard.

dhays said:

Very nice. One of the first things I noticed though is that the helmsman has to do a lot of ducking down to see either past the Genoa or to see the luff, not sure which. It possibly could benefit from twin helms, port and starboard.

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You might have those duel helms at the stern, or maybe even camera devices considering today's cheap electronics (GoPro, etc). There's also 'clear windows' that can be incorporated into the sails.

THD said:

Might want to rethink a boat from Gunboat-went into bankruptcy last November, canned its founder, Peter Johnstone in January, and the Court has ordered the company, with about $10M in debt, to be sold at auction. So, if you want to pick up a boat company cheap, look up the Bankruptcy Court in Eastern North Carolina and send in a bid!

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I think you will find that its all a bit of 'economic maneuvering'; ...restructuring indebtedness to creditors to buy time to get back into positive cash flow situation. And I doubt Peter was 'canned', but rather he stepped down to allow for the restructuring to go proceed.

Brian-They have not been able to come up with a restructuring plan, no lenders will touch them and no new investors have stepped up. That is why the Court ordered the auction to proceed. There is some talk that they may have a "white knight" investor group, but nothing has come before the Court at this point. PJ stepped down because no one would touch the company with him still running it.

There were some who believe Peter will try to purchase it at auction for virtually nothing. Not an unusual strategy if so. Mismanage a company into bankruptcy and liquidation, lose lots of investors and debtors' money, then buy it back for cents on the dollar.

Reality is they raced, but they didn't have a viable business.

Quick Google search shows some pretty serious quality issues too.

boatpoker said:

Quick Google search shows some pretty serious quality issues too.

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Hence the not viable business. They were a disaster, blaming it all on their contractors, but it's their job to design and their job to manage the contractors. Another part of the bankruptcy, to escape all the litigation. It's a business best gone. The way it operated it shouldn't exist.

This didn't help. They were really pushing the high-performance envelope.

https://youtu.be/o3uQOTrJtKw

In general I think the market for large cruising multihulls is relatively strong, and Gunboat has been a bit of a halo brand bringing awareness and attention to some of the benefits. Hope they can continue.

brian eiland said:

I think you will find that its all a bit of 'economic maneuvering'; ...restructuring indebtedness to creditors to buy time to get back into positive cash flow situation. And I doubt Peter was 'canned', but rather he stepped down to allow for the restructuring to go proceed.

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Brian...By chance do you have a dog in this fight somewhere?

mbevins said:

Brian...By chance do you have a dog in this fight somewhere?

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Fair question

mbevins said:

Brian...By chance do you have a dog in this fight somewhere?

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I do not have a vested interest in Gunboat itself, ...just the promotion of large catamaran cruising boats.
RunningTideYachts.com

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/powercat-trawlers-11299.html

brian eiland said:

I do not have a vested interest in Gunboat itself, ...just the promotion of large catamaran cruising boats.
RunningTideYachts.com

http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s3/powercat-trawlers-11299.html

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Checked out your Web site Brian.
Very interesting.

mbevins said:

Checked out your Web site Brian.
Very interesting.

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How about that 'fishing under sail' catamaran