Only a few shipbuilders nationwide specialize in the construction of high-end superyachts, and New Orleans is about to be home to two of them at a time when demand for the luxury watercraft is on the rise.
A Florida company called BoldMar Inc. announced this month plans to begin constructing yachts at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Eastern New Orleans. The company will join Trinity Yachts Inc. as the Crescent City's only other maker of ultra-luxury watercraft.
Analysts do not predict the two companies will become rivals. BoldMar will have a product considered niche even in the elite world of megayachts. The company plans to use space-age technology available at the NASA facility called friction-stir welding, a process that can forge metal without melting it. The technique purportedly eliminates many of the flaws that arise during traditional welding and is conducive to materials such as titanium, which together can yield a lighter, stronger vessel.
NASA has used the relatively new method to create fuel tanks for its space-shuttle program. Few shipbuilders have employed the technique, which BoldMar wants to popularize.
William S. Smith, vice president of Trinity Yachts, thinks BoldMar's plans are ambitious. Titanium ships are rare and expensive, he said.
But Mark Masciarotte, an editor at ShowBoats International magazine, thought the idea was intriguing, particularly at a time when the world's wealthiest customers have shown an increased appetite for the opulent boats that can cost tens of million of dollars.
At the beginning of the year, 777 yachts at least 80 feet long were under construction worldwide, according to data from ShowBoats International. That is 13 percent more yachts than were under construction in early 2006.
"Any time there is a company using new technology, I think it's wonderful," Masciarotte said.
Trinity, one of the world's most prolific yacht builders, said his company is interested in exploring new building technology. But so far, the company has done just fine using its traditional methods.
Trinity has contracts to build 28 yachts, more than double the number of boats it had booked two years ago, Smith said. Not only that, but the average size vessel Trinity produces has grown from 150 feet to 170 feet.
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