Power Catamaran World

PDQ goes SCRIMP

No, SCRIMP isn't the southern pronunciation of shrimp. It stands for Seemann Composites Resin Infusion Molding Process.

Here's the official announcement from Pearson Composites about the future of PDQ power catamarans:

Warren, RI, USA -- Pearson Composites, LLC announced today (February 11, 2008) that it has acquired the power catamaran business of PDQ Yachts, Whitby, Ontario, Canada. PDQ has been building catamarans since 1987 and their boats are widely recognized as superb in design, quality and performance.

"We are extremely excited about bringing PDQ into our organization.” said Patrick Burke, CEO of Pearson Composites. “PDQ boats align perfectly with Pearson’s strategy of designing, manufacturing, selling and servicing premium luxury branded products for niche markets. PDQ is a wonderful complement to our Alerion Express sailboat and True North powerboat products. All of these boats compliment the unique yachting interests and lifestyles of our customers”.

Pearson’s experience in building multihulls is not new.  For many years they were the exclusive builder of Lagoon Catamarans in the United States.  Under Pearson, PDQs will be built using SCRIMP construction which will make the boats even lighter and stronger, and this building process is less harmful to the environment. These factors, combined with the proven low fuel consumption of PDQ’s extremely efficient power catamarans, will give Pearson one of the most environmentally friendly cruising boats available on the market this year.  The first Pearson-built PDQs are expected to launch in August 2008.

Burke noted, “The benefits of owning a PDQ Powercat are nothing short of remarkable.  These boats deliver approximately 50% more living space than similarly sized monohulls.  Draft on both models is well under 3’ so they can safely cruise in waters where other powerboats cannot.  Stability is second-to-none, and their overall underway performance spectacular. We are very enthusiastic about how well these boats meet the evolving demands of boating customers.”

The PDQ 34 is equipped with twin Yanmar 110 HP diesels and, while cruising at 15 knots, burns only 4 gallons of fuel per hour - total for both engines!  The PDQ 41 is equipped with twin Yanmar 260’s and at a cruising speed of 18 knots burns less than 10 gallons per hour total!

PDQ finds savior

Molds sitting in the fiberglass shop at insolvent PDQ Yachts in Whitby, Ontario, will be transported to the new owners in Warren, Rhode Island.

True North Yachts/Pearson Composites has acquired the tooling and molds for PDQ power catamarans and the rights to the well-known name.

Production of the PDQ 34 and 41 could start as early as this summer at the Pearson plant on Narragansett Bay in Warren, the smallest town in the smallest county in the smallest state in the U.S.

PDQ's 44-foot sailing catamaran will also continue. A new company, Antares Yachts, will build the luxury cat in Whitby. Rob Poirier, for many years the face of PDQ at boat shows everywhere, will serve as president of Antares Yachts.

Dick Tuschick of Rhumb Line Yacht Sales, the largest dealer of PDQ powercats, issued the following statement this morning:

Remember the cliché “in every cloud, there’s a silver lining”?  With that in mind, here is some great news on the status of PDQ Powercats!

Wednesday it was “official”!  Pearson Composites LLC of Warren, RI has acquired all the powercat assets of PDQ Yachts of Canada.

This is an extremely exciting change for several reasons.  First and foremost, Pearson Composites is regarded as the most advanced, hi-tech boat builder in the US and is infinitely capable of continuing - and even improving -  the quality, performance and functionality of the PDQ 34 and 41 Powercats.

Pearson Composites is probably best known for their on-going production of the J/Boat line of sailboats, and their own product lines:  True North yachts and Alerion Express sailboats.  They are also the inventors of the SCRIMP® fiberglass construction technology and have been leaders in advanced composite technology for over 20 years.  We anticipate that with a much larger technical and engineering staff to focus on the PDQ models that numerous product enhancement will be forthcoming in future production.

We encourage you to visit Pearson’s website:   www.pearsoncomposites.com to learn more about the new ownership.

In our initial discussions with the Pearson management team, it is apparent that they share the same values that “we” have enjoyed with the former PDQ company and staff.  Namely:  pride in the product, commitment to quality, a strong sense of responsibility to the client and a corporate goal of making the yacht-purchasing experience a truly enjoyable one for the buyer.

Pearson plans to move the PDQ Powercat production to their Warren plant as soon as possible. They will be building the 34 and the 41 to the same exacting standards that we have grown to expect, but now there will be the added advantage of being able to deliver yachts year-around. Production at the new location is planned to start within 60 days, with new boat deliveries anticipated in late August.  We understand that the tradition of PDQ University will continue and PDQ Flotillas to all points of the world will be planned, as well.

To ensure a smooth transition in both production and marketing, Pearson has retained several of the key management staff, of the former PDQ company, as consultants for start-up assuredness. 

Rhumb Line will have both the PDQ 34 and the PDQ 41 on display at the Miami Boat Show, starting February 14th.   See us at the Sea Isle Marina, Pier 5, slip 566.

What does all this mean for owners? Well, there will certainly be a great hi-tech company reinforcing the brand and that should quell any doubt that there might have been about the future of PDQ products.  In the long run, more advertising and expanded sales will increase the popularity of the 34 and the 41 and a strong customer service network will all enhance the value of existing PDQs.  In addition, we anticipate that the first few hulls ordered will continue at the current all-inclusive price of $379,000 but then another sizable price increase will be implemented.

The closing of the Whitby, Canada PDQ factory was truly a disappointment and Rhumb Line will sorely miss the great people who made PDQ what it is today. I’m sure we all would agree that the closure was not a reflection on the products or the skilled professionals that built the yachts but rather on the difficulties of the economic times and the current boating industry, in general.

Merry Christmas from PDQ 34 Sno' Dog!

Christmas greetings from Henry and Nancy Clews in New Hampshire.

Insuring boat buyers against calamity

Aventure Power Catamarans provides insurance coverage to protect the deposits and payments of buyers in the event of financial collapse, fire or theft, or acts of God.

Aventure, which is based in Monaco with boats built in South Africa, offered the insurance plan before the recent insolvency at PDQ Yachts.

Tim Jordaan, Aventure’s managing director, explains:

In the case of most boatbuilding contracts, the client signs a builder’s contract and a payment schedule. The boat does not leave the yard until the client has paid in full and, in fact, the boat still belongs to the shipyard in those conditions.

We insure and register our clients boat in his or her name from Day 1. They are the owners of the boat and equipment through the different stages until completion day.

This method was mainly put in place in the event of a natural disaster, which, in the case of boatbuilding companies, usually is a fire. In the event of liquidation, the owner can remove his boat as it is in his name solely, and insured as such.

The insurance company would be the first in line as the major creditor and usually the assets of the company could cover any payout, that is, of course, if the moulds and tooling have not been hived away.

The insurance is costly but well worth it to protect our reputation.

Power Catamaran World will be pleased to list any other powercat boatbuilders who offer similar insurance protection to buyers.

PDQ unsecured creditors out of luck

Andy Fisher, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the auction of PDQ assets, has indicated there is only one secured creditor--albeit a major one. "The secured creditor is owed somewhere between $800,000 and $2,000,000," Fisher said, noting that the $130,000 in proceeds from the auction would not be enough to pay down the debt.

Anyone with an unsecured claim, such as a $10,000 deposit, is out of luck. As Fisher noted, "You could pursue the company, however, because the company does not have any assets, and/or does not have any assets available for the unsecured creditors, you would likely be wasting your time and money."

No word yet as to the identity of the secured creditor--It could be the Town of Whitby which leased factory space to PDQ--or the business or individual who owns the tooling and molds for PDQ catamarans.

The image is the final production schedule p[osted in the fibreglass shop before the company closed its doors.

PDQ in receivership

Andy Fisher, the court-appointed trustee overseeing the auction of PDQ assets, told Power Catamaran World that PDQ Yachts is not bankrupt, rather it is in receivership. Fisher is a chartered insolvency and restructuring professional (CIRP) who owns Lawson Fisher which bills itself as Trustee in Bankruptcy on its home page.

Fisher said the proceeds of the auction would be shared by the company's creditors. He said the list of creditors is not public information.

We asked Fisher about the tooling and molds for the PDQ 34 and 41 and a PDQ sailboat model. He said the molds are being dealt with separately, that it's another issue not handled by him.

We have been unable to substantiate rumors that a company other than PDQ Yachts has ownership of the tooling and molds.

In an earlier post, we reported that one PDQ customer was pleased that the company refunded his deposit on a PDQ 34. Not everyone was as fortunate:

          "I also had ordered a PDQ and my hull was number 116. I received a portion of my deposit back but not the entire amount. I was told by a PDQ lawyer that it's too bad but I've lost the balance of my deposit. That amount is a five figure total and my hull is sitting in the factory waiting to be completed. I was shocked beyond belief that I was not informed earlier that there were possible problems with the production of the boat in regards to not being able to produce because of financial constraints. I had already gotten hit with a $20,00.00 increase in the selling price but never was I told there could be problems. It's another sad story of the boat manufacturing business."

Another customer told us:

"I sent PDQ a check for $10,000.00 earlier this year to hold the price of a PDQ 34 or 41 through January 2008. PDQ has not returned my e-mails and not responded to a letter I sent them last month. I phoned them and was told that [xxx] would get back to me "next week" but that has not happened."

What exactly does "receivership" mean? Investment Canada, a federal government agency, says:

A business has not gone defunct by reason only that its assets have been placed in the hands of a Trustee in Bankruptcy pursuant to the Bankruptcy Act, or that its assets have been placed in receivership. Provided the Trustee or Receiver is carrying on the operations with a view to disposing of the business as a going concern, or to reorganizing its affairs, it is still considered a "business". However, where circumstances have degenerated to the extent that the business is incapable of being carried on or of being sold as a going concern, and the Trustee or Receiver takes steps to liquidate the assets on a piecemeal basis, it is no longer considered to be a "business" as defined in the Act.

Bankrupt or in receivership, PDQ Yachts, sadly, is out of business.

Click here if you want to read a backgrounder on business bankruptcy in Canada and how it differs from Chapter 11 in the United States.

 

PDQ assets auctioned

The assets of insolvent PDQ Yachts, builders of the striking new PDQ 41 (left) and the popular PDQ 34 (below), will be auctioned tomorrow at its manufacturing plant in Whitby, Ontario, where the company began business 20 years ago.

But a PDQ dealer is holding out hope that the brand--the most popular cruising catamaran in North America--will eventually continue, albeit not in its original structure or location.

Here's what's being sold at the auction: manufacturing equipment, including cranes, forklifts, vehicles, routers, planers, joiners et al, office equipment, parts and components such as compasses, lights, seats, air conditioners, inverters and one catamaran hull, model unspecified.

Click here for the 47-page catalog in PDF.

Click here for details about the auction being conducted by Danbury Sales.

Here's how one PDQ dealer explained the business failure to customers:

". . . we were notified by PDQ management that they were "closing their doors" until a buyout by new investors can be finalized.

In spite of the PDQ's popularity and success in the market, it appears that a number of factors have all combined at the same time to force PDQ into this action.

PDQ's profitability has been eroding rapidly due to the significant increases in material costs, the historic devaluation of the US dollar (vs the Canadian dollar) and the recent slowdown in the entire recreational boating market has effectively dried up new orders. As you know, pricing on the new PDQ's has escalated in the last twelve months, but has not kept up with their costs and has left them with insufficient cash to continue operating.

This is obviously a very sad day for [us], but more so for the outstanding PDQ employees with which we have had the opportunity to work. For those of you who have had contact with the PDQ staff, I think you will agree that we could not find a more professional or dedicated group of people in the industry! The PDQ team developed an outstanding product and they were very proud to deliver and support it.

The good news is that [xx] is leading a buyout of the company by a group of private investors. It will take some time for the details of this buyout to be completed, but [we are] optimistic that PDQ will be back in operation, with adequate capital to continue producing the PDQ product line."

A PDQ customer who had ordered a PDQ 34 and paid a deposit reported on Power Catamaran List:

"I had committed for #115 of the PDQ 34 power cats. It is sitting in the plant partially completed and they have stopped their production. They have refunded my money as they did not want it to become tied up in their financial difficulties. I am extremely disappointed but very much appreciate their respect for my financial integrity."

If you have any other information to share on the demise and possible resurrection of PDQ, please use the comment function below or send the Editor a private message.

The PDQ site is still up on the Web--without any mention of the financial sinking.