Southport Boats Resumes Production with New Owners

[LuckyLady]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (3/1/11):
Southport Boats Resumes Production with New Owners

Kenway Corporation (www.kenway.com) is pleased to announce that it recently completed the acquisition of the Southport Boats (www.southport-boatworks.com) tooling and equipment and plans to resume production immediately. Manufacturing operations are in the process of being moved to Kenway’s Augusta, Maine facility and the boats will be manufactured in parallel with the company’s smaller, more utilitarian line of Maritime and Maritime Skiff family fishing boats (www.maritimeboats.com). Sales and marketing will be conducted by Kenway’s sister company Maritime Marine, LLC, though the Southport brand will remain independent in the marketplace.

“Late last fall our partner, Tom Johnson of RothBiltBoats (www.rothbiltboats.com), came to us with the opportunity to purchase Southport”, recalls Kenway Vice President and Maritime President Ian Kopp. “Southport’s reputation for high-quality construction with exceptional performance captured our interest immediately. After that first ride on the legendary Hunt4 Southport hull, I was convinced we had to make this deal work.” Several months have gone by since that first meeting, but thanks to close collaboration with Southport founders, Kenway’s principals have reached an agreement that allows Southport to start anew, this time in Maine, a suitable location given the state’s heritage of world-class boatbuilding.

Asked how Southport Boats will change moving from North Carolina to Maine, Kenway President Kenneth Priest responded, “Not much. The original Southport founders know this business well and with the guidance of Hunt Yacht Design they crafted a truly exceptional product, which has a great reputation. Our focus will be to build on the established standards of excellence the Southport brand represents, by elevating the production quality and efficiency.” Priest further explains, “At Kenway we are focused on high-value-added manufacturing. So for instance, we will immediately transition the Southport hull from traditional open-molding to advanced vacuum infusion closed-molding techniques.” This change not only increases the quality of the hull construction, making it stronger than before, but also makes the manufacturing process more environmentally friendly.

Further discussion with Ian Kopp revealed a few more changes to the Southport line. He explains, “Our intent is to reintroduce the models as the Southport 27 and the Southport 29 for a variety of reasons. Primarily, we intend to draw a clear distinction between the “old” Southport and the “new” Southport. That is important.” Kopp explains that this decision is more than just about drawing a distinction. “As we reviewed the boats with Hunt designers, we acknowledged that the overall length, the class-leading beam and interior space compels this relabeling,” Kopp continues, “At the end of the day, the new Southport owners are not just buying a typical production boat, they are investing in what we believe to be a pure blend of world-class craftsmanship and ultimate performance. They deserve to have that value reflected accurately.”

While Priest and Kopp will be transitioning the manufacturing, with new boats becoming available in early May, Tom Johnson will be partnering with Southport as the face of the company in the marketplace as Director of Sales & Dealer Relations. He is clearly enthusiastic to get going. “The passion for these boats at all levels is what truly impresses me,” comments Johnson. “Talking with former Southport dealers, there was clearly a void in the marketplace while Southport was in limited production. But to source why Southport is special, you really need to talk with a Southport boat owner, to go for a ride. It is underway in a sea you will immediately appreciate the attributes of a Southport.” Johnson explains that he plans to continue reaching out to existing owners, to learn what they appreciate about their boats and to learn areas that can be improved for the future. “We’re going to move very slowly with changes,” Johnson elaborates, “But keep in mind that Kenway is experienced in semi-custom production boatbuilding having collaborated with some of the finest boat builders in Maine for decades.” This highlights one important area where the new Southport will be different from the old. Prospective owners can now customize their boats, adding their own personal touches to their boats. If an owner wants varnished rails, custom helm seating, teak decking, custom rails or systems and various T-top configurations to accommodate their specific needs, the new Southport will be able to accommodate. “With RothBiltBoats, we had great success with this philosophy, but now will be able to deliver on a much broader basis with Kenway as a partner,” says Johnson, but then adds, “Of course, the standard Southport 27 and Southport 29 are a high standard compared to any other boat of its size.”

Finally, we are pleased to announce the first dealer commitment. Smith Yacht Sales of Hingham, MA will be servicing the state of Massachusetts as their geographic territory. You can contact Smith Yacht Sales at www.smithyacht.com or call (781) 749-9989. See Smith Yacht Sales is at the New England Boat Show in booth #141, this week through 3/6/2011 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.
For more information about the new Southport Boats, please contact Tom Johnson by phone at (207) 458-6309 or by email at info@spboats.com. The factory always can be reached at (207) 620-7998 and will be posting transition updates online at www.southport-boats.com, including the dealers and brokers where you can find the new Southport models.

BACKGROUND OF SOUTHPORT BOATS:
In the fall of 2003, an experienced group of boat builders began planning a boat company designed specifically around the unique combination of leading edge technology, offshore racing experience and hours of watching baits. With ideas garnered from experiences with the world’s leading boat brands, the results are striking.

The result was the Southport Boats. Southport boats are designed from the keel up to take advantage of offshore outboard power, the latest in four-stroke engine technology. The economy and quiet power of these new engines is phenomenal, but most offshore boats are still designed around those older outboards. Beamy, with deep vees, Southport hulls are specifically designed around these latest power plants, providing a wide range of planing speeds, and soft, dry ride in rough conditions, all with a sense of style and fishing function unique to Southport.

C. Raymond Hunt Associates created the legendary Southport hull. Continuously-variable deep vee hulls maximize the sharpness of the entry while retaining stability at trolling speeds and at rest. The secret is actually using the heavy weight of four strokes as an advantage in order to allow Southport boats both more beam and deeper vees than comparable competitive models. This combination results in a dry, stable platform with sharp entry and ultra-smooth ride. Best of all, a Southport has a wide range of cruising speeds instead of the more typical all-or-nothing speeds from the competition.

The Southport design is not bound by conventional outboard boat-building thinking. In a Southport, you’ll find electrical systems designed in a yacht-like manner, scuppers that evacuate green water like a custom sport fish, structure learned from attacking six foot seas at three figure velocities, and hull lines that reflect some of the most beautiful boats ever launched.

Perhaps the most important element of a Southport’s design is passion. And it is this passion that Southport has found once again as it moves to Maine where the heritage of boatbuilding craftsmanship and excellence is as long as the rugged coast line. Great boats demand great talent, great materials and a passion for excellence that creates an extraordinary ownership experience. Come visit the new Southport, the perfect blend of the old and the new.


BACKGROUND OF KENWAY CORPORATION:
Founded in 1947 by Kenneth G. Priest, Sr., Kenway Boats originally manufactured wooden boats of its own design. The next two decades of operation realized the evolution of fiberglass boats and other fiberglass recreational and domestic products. Gradually, Kenway Boats’ reputation for excellence spread to industrial customers and requests for repairs and small fabrications interrupted the production of boats. Finally, in 1966, the decision was made to focus exclusively on these industrial clients and Kenway Boats was replaced by Kenway Corporation.

Custom work and custom service are what distinguish Kenway. Specializing in high value added composite manufacturing and field service, Kenway Corporation is strategically positioned to serve its customers by offering complete engineering and design capabilities so that it may bring both standard items as well as “one-off” special molded fabrications from the design phase, through the manufacturing phase, to the final on-site installation at the customer’s facility. Diversification efforts since 2000 have brought Kenway’s to a wide range of industries and has resulted in specialty marine contracts with companies like Brooklin Boatyard, Hodgdon Yachts, Hinckley Yachts, and Derecktor Shipyards, including parts from traditional sail and motor yacht hull and superstructures to waterjet intakes for high speed ferries, along with the formation of sister-company Maritime Marine, LLC (www.maritimeboats.com), manufacturer of 14-25 LOA family fishing boats. More recently, Kenway Corporation has partnered with Brooklin Boatyard, Rockport Marine, and former Lyman Morse President JB Turner to start Front Street Shipyard in Belfast, Maine where the focus will be yacht storage, service and custom builds, with the ability to handle projects exceeding 100’ LOA.

Today, Kenway Corporation, along with Maritime Marine, LLC, is a diversified composites manufacturing company serving a variety of markets but primarily focused on marine, renewable energy, pulp and paper, and the power industry while employing over (75) composite technicians, engineers, and associated staff. What links the company’s various business lines is: technologically advanced manufacturing techniques; products manufactured for exacting service applications; and the highest quality assurance procedures and processes.

At Kenway Corporation, Southport has found a new home, where Kenway’s diversity offers the composite manufacturing and engineering expertise to continue the boat building tradition started by Southport founders but where that diversity also offers the company financial strength long into the future.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

To bad they don't stay here in NC i would bet the quality will suffer.