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Subject: TWL: Re: Willard/Fales Seeker
From: Patrick Gerety at Willard Marine (trawlers@XXX.XXX)
Date: Thu May 02 2002 - 06:27:18 EDT
The following is my understanding of the Fales/Willard venture, but I was
not there and most of the principals involved are deceased. Willard Marine
sold John Fales, the Pearson dealer in Rhode Island, the hull tooling for a
Willard 30 back in the '70's. The agreement was that John Fales would
produce the Willard 30 on the East Coast under license to Willard Marine.
Immediately after acquiring the tooling, John Fales decided that it was in
his best interests to cut up the mold and extend it two feet. He then
refused to pay Willard Marine any royalties since he said he was not
producing any Willard 30's. Willard Marine decided that it was in their
best interests not to pursue the issue and make it a learning experience
about a business deal gone sour.
There is no reluctance on my part to discuss the issue. It is just that I
wasn't there and I am just relating second and third hand information. We
are often contacted by Fales owners for factory support. Although I would
like to help, I can't because we know nothing about the Fales boats, how
they were constructed and what materials were used. As you can understand,
there was not a lot of communication between Fales and Willard after the
tooling was modified. On the other hand, we are able to give support to
Willard owners because some of our crew has been with us for 30 to 40 years.
For example, our Vice President of Production has been with us for over 30
years, starting out at age 17 as a shop boy.
As far as the older model Willard Vega 30's are concerned, I would agree
that the Sedan models probably provided the most interior space. However in
1999 we completely redesigned the deck house tooling for the Willard 30
Pilothouse. The new 30 Pilothouse has the most interior volume of any 30 we
have ever built. Also, the new Pilothouse arrangement allowed us to
increase the size of the fuel tanks under the Pilothouse sole while still
maintaining a desirable amidships/athwartships tank arrangement. Fuel
consumption does not affect trim appreciably, either fore and aft or port
and starboard. All of our 30's are now built with a straight prop shaft
with the engine under the saloon floor. This arrangement provides for a
roomier engine compartment and a huge lazarette in the stern.
Thank you for the opportunity to respond.
Patrick Gerety
PleasureCraft Division
Willard Marine
1250 N. Grove St.
Anaheim, CA 92806
714-666-2150 x 214
www.willardmarine.com
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