Boat International – August 2019

Home comforts

mericansuperyachtyardsare
beingshieldedfromthestingof
EUleviesonUSimportsbya
buoyantmarketathome.
TheEUactedinJune 2018 inresponseto
US-enforcedtariffsonsteelandaluminium.
Thom Dammrich,presidentoftheUS
NationalMarineManufacturersAssociation,
warnsthattherearemoreissuesonthe
horizonregardingimportsintotheUS,and
thatthesecouldaffectshipyards.“Costsare
risingnotonlyforbasicinputslikesteeland
aluminiumbutformanyofthepartsthatare
importedfromChina,”hesays.“Therewill
soonbe 25 percenttariffsoneverything
comingintotheUSfromChina.”
Dammrichisalsoconcernedaboutthe
effectoftheEuropeanlevyonexports,
claimingitishavinga “devastatingeffect”on
yardsthatrelyonEUorders.
ButtwoUSsuperyachtyardssaytheyhave
beenlargelyunaffectedsincethelevycame
intoforce.Bothputthisdowntoahealthy
domesticbuyingmarket,whichhasgrownby
32.5percentinthelastthreeyears,when
combiningthenew-buildandbrokerage
markets.JimGilbert,salesandmarketing
consultantat ChristensenYachts, says
thattheyardhasbeenprotectedbyitslargely
UScustomerbase.“Themeasuresdon’t
haveanyimpactforanAmericanlargeyacht-
builder thatisbuildingforUS clients,
whichisprobablyabout 85 percentofthe
marketforus.”
Meanwhile,Westportmarketingdirector
RonNugentclaimsthebiggestconcernover
theUSmarketwasa“lackofinventory”.
Ashortageofquicklyavailablestock,hesays,
could“stall”theUSboatbuildingmarket,with
clientsreluctanttocommittolong-term
new-builds.“Itpopstheirbubblewhenthey’re
toldthey’llhavetowait 24 months,”Nugent
says.“Theywanttheboatsnow.”

FormoreanalysisoftheUSsuperyachtmarket,
turntopage 118

A

A buoyant domestic market

is helping US yards ride out

theworldwide trade wars,

saysMiranda Blazeby

Infographics Valerio Pellegrini Research Raphael Montigneaux

Access the world’s

best superyacht

intelligence:

boatint.com/

boat-pro

PRO

The 50 largestUS-builtyachts

60-70m

0

35

24

14

9 4

1

1

0

10

2

0

6

5

11

19

9

G

T

LOA

(m

)

50-60m

70-80m

80-90m

90-100m

100m+

<500

500-1000

1000-2000

2000-3000

>3000

1910-1949

1950-1989

1990-1999

2010-20192000-2009

The longest superyacht built in

the US is 91.4m Voyager, built by

Swiftships in 1997 and converted

into a yacht in 2019

The biggest yacht

by gross tonnage

ever built in the US

is 85.6m Aquila,

built by Derecktor

in 2010. She has a

gross tonnage of

2,998.

The oldest yacht ever built

in the US is 78.55m SS

Delphine, which was built by

Great Lakes EW in 1921

34

08 2019