Have you heard the news? Mega Yacht Company, Christensen Yachts is coming to East Tennessee!
Christensen Yachts was established in 1983 in Vancouver Washington. The Company failed in February 2015 and closed. Henry Luken, its major stockholder, purchased it and completed the yard’s workload before selling it to Vigor Industrial and establishing a new facility. That facility is on Tellico Lake in East TN, which began construction in 2007. Construction halted in 2009 for a number of reasons over the years, including he onset of the recession in 2008, a subsequent decline in yacht orders, a temporary suspension of operations in 2014 and the eventual sale of the business in the summer 2015.
Nestled in beautiful eastern Tennessee, Christensen’s new shipyard located in Tellico Lake, Tennessee, will consist of 55-acres with 450,000 square feet of climate-controlled manufacturing space and will offer 13 large manufacturing and assembly bays. This much larger yard will allow the Christensen’s portfolio to expand to include yachts up to 225 ft!
“This move has been in the works for 15 years,” said president of Christensen Shipyards Jim Gilbert.
The company will be looking, to build larger yachts both in length and beam. One of the drawbacks of the old facility in Vancouver is that it was set up in the early 1990s to build yachts up to 45 metres and a maximum 10 metres of beam. The 50-metre class yachts previously built really were difficult to build in the facility, and as you know, the strongest part of the market continues to be in the construction of over-500 GT vessels. The new facility offers unlimited beam and no future limits on length, as there will be plenty of space and ability to expand on the length of yachts we construct spending on market demand. But for starters, expect to see Yachts up to 225’ in length!
What does all this mean for Vonore Tennessee?
The new company will have need for high-quality cabinetmakers and furniture makers. In addition, there are other lake boat industries centred in the same region, offering a workforce experienced in wiring, plumbing and various welding trades. They anticipate being able to staff up the new yard with high-quality craftsmen, artisans and boatbuilders from both current employees and local talent.
The new yard, which is located close to a cluster of boatbuilders in Tennessee, is nearly 90% complete. “One little known fact is that there is more fiberglass work in that area than in the whole country, including the Pacific northwest,” Jim Gilbert said. “They are not building superyachts, but they know their way around boats.”
East Tennessee is known as a sport boat building mecca. Bayliner and Chaparral for instance are located in the area, and Master Craft announced it was starting production there last year, opening a plant in Vonore where center console builder HCB (Hydra-Sports) is also located.
What does all of this mean for Lakefront Homeowners in the area?
Lakefront Homes and properties will be in high demand! Better get your dream lake home before they are all gone!
Posted by Karen Millikan Lakefront Living, On The Lake Realty