More on President

I have been visiting shipyards in China and Taiwan for the past 9 years, some prospecting for a subcontract yard and others just to visit and see what they do and how they do it. Few yards have impressed me as much as the President yard; so much so that that is why we chose them to build our Northwest Trawlers.
When you first approach the entrance, you realize that President is truly an international company. The flags, which fly every day (not just for visitors), represent the countries where President has done business. Eddie Yeh, the owner, has been building boats for over 40 years, the first 35 or so years at an older shipyard many miles inland. Eddie moved into this facility, right on the water in 2005.
The main building shown above is huge, being over a football field in length and about half that in width with a cavernous overhead that has 2 mezzanine levels. Boats of up to 150' in length are able to be built here with ease.
When your first walk in the offices, you realize that this is not a typical Asian yacht yard. The reception area is very tastefully decorated with modern furniture (comfy black leather). Outside the window, visitors can watch large Coy fish swimming in Eddie's fish pond. He is a collector and I am told he has had a Coy pond at his shipyards for many years. On the walls are pictures of Eddie meeting government and business leaders both at home and abroad. One shows him with President and Mrs. H.W. Bush when they met at the White House. Eddie has been actively involved in Rotary International for many years, serving as chapter president of his local club.
Turning toward the engineering and administration offices, the first person you see in Chief. And beyond Chief's desk is Jack. Chief and Jack are both graduate naval architects with Jack having earned a Master's degree. Both attended the same school, at the same time and joined President over 22 years ago. They are a Chief (pardon the pun) reason that President turns out yachts of such high quality.

The offices are very impressive. You literally feel you could eat off the floor. It is immaculate and well organized.
Above is one of the sample racks where new owners can select wood types, molding shapes, and finishes. Everything is organized and labeled to make selections easy. Our Northwest Trawlers will have a matte finished, medium toned cherry as the standard with other woods to choose from, most with no additional cost.
Another display rack holds samples of granite and Corian. Granite is available as full thickness or honeycomb backed where weight is a consideration. There are many optional patterns and colors to choose from.

Eddie and Me

Before we went out into the manufacturing area, Eddie wanted to show me their training and visitor housing building. This is a 3 story structure across the yard from the main building. The first floor is their training area for classes and company meetings. The upper two floors have apartments where skippers, owner's agents, and owners can stay when they are visiting the yard for extended periods of time.
This is the classroom/meeting room area. Again, it was very well organized and clean as a whistle.
Jack led me on the tour and the first thing that struck me was how voluminous the building was. Here you can see the 2 mezzanine levels. The small boat you see is one of the production boats that President builds for the Japanese market. I believe Eddie said it was a Nissan product.
This is one of the woodworking shops. I think I counted 3 that were strategically placed so that the workers did not have far to go to get components from the shop to the boats.
This is a smaller woodworking shop on the 2nd mezzanine level.

Above is a hull for a President 120 under construction.
This is a completed President 107 mega yacht awaiting the owner's instructions for delivery. This is truly a beautifully finished yacht. Admittedly, I am a trawler lover but I can appreciate the fine workmanship that President did on this boat.
I took a few interior pictures of the President 107. There were some things that were being left to be installed once the boat reached its home port. I am told that there will be 3 Stidd chairs for the helm station.
This is the settee and table located at the back of the pilothouse. The cushions are wrapped in plastic to protect them.
This is what I call the "breakfast nook". It is a dining area just forward of the galley that appears to be for informal dining.
And this is for more formal dining. The amazing thing was that President made the table, chairs, and the buffet table seen in the background.
Here is a shot of the galley. this is just one of the work areas.
And this is the rest of the galley (taken from behind the "breakfast nook")
And the final picture taken of the stairway going up to the pilothouse.

You're probably wondering why I am showing the President 107 pictures because its trawlers that we build. Well, after my tour of the 107, I met with Eddie and he assured me that the quality (not necessarily the styling) of the President 107 is what we can expect on our Northwest Trawlers series. That was the clincher that made the decision to contract with President easy.

Altering Course

Northwest Trawlers is pleased to announce a new strategic partnership with President Boats International, Ltd. (President Yachts). Effective immediately, President Yachts will be the manufacturing arm of Northwest Trawlers.

For over 40 years, President Yachts has been producing high quality yachts up to 150' under their own name and as an OEM supplier. Notable customers include Krogen, Hood Yachts (Whisperjet, Hood 66 Expedition), Marlow, Offshore and many others brands in the US, Europe and Asia.

President Yachts is home to 250 skilled craftsmen, engineers, designers and support staff. Their dedicated teamwork has produced over 1,100 yachts, exporting to markets all over the world. Even in a period of financial difficulty and extraordinary competition for most exporting boat builders, President has maintained continuous growth and quality improvement.

Today, yachts being built by President are recognized by yachtsmen worldwide as a high quality product at an affordable price. Utilizing resident naval architects, designers and engineers, as well as the services of internationally well-known designers and engineers, they are constantly advancing the quality, styling, performance and durability of each President and OEM built yacht product. They are industry leaders in the use of CAD (Computer Aided Design) and ISO 9001 quality control systems; all part of their daily goal of maintaining the highest standards for quality and innovation in the boating industry.

While the current economic downturn has had a devastating effect to many builders in the recreational boating industry, this lull in business has given Northwest Trawlers an opportunity to fine tune our business model in order to give our customers boats with higher value at less cost.

Call or Email now for information on our new pricing and special re-introductory promotions.

Owner Innovation

I am continually amazed at the imaginative innovations our owners come up with. I recently was back at the Annapolis Boat Show, aboard "The Path", NW45, hull #2 and observed the boat deck/ flybridge seating arrangement that the owner designed, had fabricated and then installed.

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. If you had been in Annapolis for the show, you would know that it rained sideways for the entire 4 day event. This was due to a nor'easter that lingered in the area. These pictures were taken at the conclusion of the show with my iPhone shorty after it stopped raining.

The owner had not originally opted for our optional boat deck seating area but once he got the boat back home to Annapolis, he realized how much he would use the upper deck while aboard and almost immediately began thinking about adding a structure there.

The basic structure is constructed in aluminum and is painted with an LPU paint to match the gelcoat of the superstructure. The workmanship is very good and the design extremely functional. Although hard to see, the seating allows for 2-3 people to sit at the upper helm station with good visibility over the pilothouse roof.

The numerous cabinet doors give great access to a large storage area under the structure. The owner kiddingly said that it would serve as another stateroom in a pinch. On the aft portion and on each side are handy shelf areas, the shelves of which being done in a matching Avonite solid surface countertop material.

This shot, taken after dark, shows the profile. Many favorable comments were overheard by visitors aboard during the show. I think the owner may qualify for an honorary appointment to our design team. What do you think?