This is a transcript of Mad Mariner's MadCast, the podcast that covers all aspects of boats and boating. In this edition, our guest is Jim Ewing, the president of the newly revived Trumpy Yachts. If you're a boating aficionado, then no doubt you recognize the Trumpy name, which graced many a classic cruiser made of wood from the 1920's through the 1970's. In this Mad Mariner MadCast, Mad Mariner Contributing Editor Diane Byrne finds out how Trumpy plans to start building new models "” and yes, they'll be all wood.

Let's start with Trumpy in general, even though most people do know the Trumpy name, there probably are some people who aren't entirely familiar with it, so why don't you give us some background.

Jim Ewing: Well the original John Trumpy, who is Norwegian, came to the United States in the early part of the 20th century and he started on at a ship builder. He had a naval architects degree that he got in Norway and when he came to the United States he started on as a big ship builder for a firm in New York and after a few years went on to Mathis Boat Building, which at the time was in New Jersey. That was 1909 and from very early on the Mathis Boat Company, which later was to become Trumpy Yachts, built what was called the House Boat. They built in the range from I would say 60 to 120 feet, and the styling and their market was very similar to when they started from when they finished in 1970, which was to be a very comfortable yacht that simulated having a house. It had a large saloon, very comfortable living space. It had a very large afterdeck for sitting on and entertaining and to this day was really a delight to be aboard.

You were previously with Alden Yachts, so how did you learn about the revival of Trumpy and what besides the history convinced you to get involved?

Ewing: I was at Alden Yachts up until the time it closed and that was maybe a year and a half ago. It was actually a very difficult thing for me to go through. As soon as that happened I wasn't sure that I wanted to be involved in boat building again but I hooked up with Jock West who is a marketing PR whiz and a guy that's been involved in the yachting industry for many years and various aspects including that he published a magazine. One of the projects that we did together was to take a Trumpy, it was a 1969 Trumpy, and to refit it and then get sponsorships from I think up to 30 different marine related companies to turn it into something of a floating boat show or hospitality yacht.

The idea was these various industries would have their wares on the boat, whether it was, electronics, engines, bow thruster, just basically every single component in the boat, and then they could use the boat as a showcase at various yacht shows, and then also use the boat for later in the evening for meeting with customers, getting together for cocktail parties and that. So we put that altogether and we travelled boat shows and we just found that the response to a boat like that at a boat show was just really great. I mean people loved the boat, we heard time and time again, you know, it's really a shame that they don't build yachts like this anymore. And I think that's what led to the idea of well let's explore building a new yacht, a new Trumpy and I think that's kind of where we've gotten to today which is we got involved, we contacted John Trumpy, the grandson of the original John Trumpy, to see if he was interested and he was. We talked to Vicem Yachts, which w=is a boat builder in Turkey, to see if they were interested in building the yacht, and they were, and it just came together.

So many people assume these days that most boaters would rather have the so called no-muss, no-fuss ease of a fiberglass boat. But there really are people who still treasure those classic wood boats and like the idea of being able to maintain it and keep it up.

Ewing: There are so many beautiful yachts and people do react to that, especially the kind of people who will be interested in what we're doing are people who know yachts very well and they've been around yachts and I think it's one thing that never gets old is beauty and grace and I think that's what these boats are all about.

Vicem is known for its woodworking both as far as the interior woodwork is concerned but also constructing in wood. It's definitely a natural fit, but I'm wondering if Vicem's management was familiar with Trumpy when you first approached them.

Ewing: Well yes certainly and the person that we spoke to first, Michael Landsberg, certainly had heard of us and heard of the Trumpy name. Also remember Vicem, though they're a Turkish builder, their style of boat which in their express line is really a New England style. I mean they're building to an American audience which, is what their primary target is. So they're well aware of the American styles. Their express cruisers are the down east style. Vicem does not build a European style yacht, they build not only American style but a New England style. So I think they're very well versed in sort of tradition of American boat building and styles here.

Let's talk about the first Trumpy that'll be launched. There are some drawings available that we'll have on madmariner.com but for this podcast purpose it's a 63 flush deck design, the size obviously is similar to Showtime but what are some of the features that the boat will have? I know there will be some things that'll harken back to the old Trumpy but obviously there'll also be some modern conveniences as well.

Ewing: I think first and foremost is what made Trumpy a Trumpy: the concept that you come in and there's the beautiful, large, very comfortable saloon with very large windows so there'll be plenty of natural light, there'll be free standing furniture and then down below the very comfortable and large accommodations. Down below where there's less natural light, one of the things that Trumpys always did was to have the berths, the staterooms fitted out as if you were in a very high end hotel well paneled white bulkheads, carpeting, free standing furniture. So that aspect we want to retain because again it is a Trumpy and I think what will be new about this obviously is for one, the bottom of the boat, the performance will be different, it'll have a more modern bottom which will allow it to be a little more stable and deep V, it'll allow it to go a little bit faster. But again this isn't a go fast boat, this is a boat to be enjoyed, you know, evening cruises and at anchor. And then it'll have modern galley appliances, things like a Viking stove to subzero refrigerator/freezer, modern electronics and of course the heating/air conditioning, air conditioning everywhere and the prerequisite flat screens.

What about the performance of the boat? I know there'll be modern engines obviously but how is the performance going to compare to the old Trumpys? Is it about the same leisurely cruising enjoyment?

Ewing: It is and I think there's sort of two approaches to yachting, one is to use a displacement hull and to sort of trudge through the water to go at a slower rate and to get better fuel efficiency. To go at higher speeds requires going to a planing boat and bigger engines and it just changes sort of what you're after in terms of boating. So what we wanted to do is to improve upon what the Trumpy's performance were in the past, but keep it the same in terms of -- this is meant to be a leisurely yachting experience. So again we're going to modify. It's going to be a semi displacement hull, instead of being totally flat in the aft, it'll have a little bit of a V bottom, it'll come out of the water a little bit, with slightly larger engines. So instead of going eight to 10 knots at cruise, you're gonna go fifteen knots at cruise and maybe a high end of 20. So it'll be more efficient, more quiet, less vibration but, you know, 15 knots it'll still get you where you want to in a very efficient manner.

And the engine package is a MAN package, is that correct?

Ewing: We're looking at various ones. I think what's key is the horsepower range, which I think is going to be the 400 to 500 range but we'll look at MAN, we'll look at Cummins, we'll look at CAT.

What about the price point for this new 63-foot -- you have that determined already?

Ewing: It's going to be just under $3 million. That's another reason that I think our relationship with Vicem is such a good thing. They build a very nice yacht, it's very quality yacht, high end, but it's actually also very good deal. You think that buyers for these types of yachts have unlimited cash reserves and they don't care about money but that's really not true and I do think you have to-- obviously you have to have something that people are attracted to, it's gotta be quality, you know, it's gotta be serviceable but it has to be a reasonably good deal too in terms of value and I think that's one of the things Vicem brings that then allows us to do that too is to bring a yacht like this to the market for under $3 million. When I think for how we're going to build it and how it's going to be outfitted, it'd be difficult to do it in other places for under let's say under $4 million.

So when is construction expected to start?

Ewing: Well it's not a spec boat so we're working with a few different clients right now. It'll begin when we've worked out the details from the first buyer, which we hope to be before this summer, which would mean getting it into the water the following summer, so I think we'll see the first 63 summer of 2010.

As far as these buyers are concerned, are they falling into one sort of personality or character, so to speak? Are they people who remember Trumpys, maybe even as kids, or are they people who saw Showtime and said "Wow what is this, let me learn a little bit more?"

Ewing: Well it's kind of a mix but I'd say for the most part they do know Trumpys and they've seen Trumpys, around but I think too to be attracted to that type of yacht, there's a lot of beauty with the Trumpy. But I think you have to be attracted to that type of yachting or that style of yachting and the people we've talked to so far, I mean a lot of them have extended families and they see it as almost like a summer home where they can have several people on board, you know, it's going be a relaxing summer experience, you know, there was one fellow we were talking to who's selling his home in Martha's Vineyard and wants to have the boat there in Edgartown so that they can have it for a few months during the summer and have the family there, their children and friends. So I think it's a combination of people who know the Trumpy name and love the look of the Trumpy but also there's sort of the Trumpy lifestyle and they fall into that category.