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This is a love story of sorts, and one with a happy ending, but as Shakespeare said, the course of true love never did run smooth.
Bob Conconi was 32 when he got his first boat, a 28-foot lapstrake mahogany runabout with twin gas Chryslers. His second boat was a 42-foot aluminum trawler. But 10 years ago, Conconi’s third boat was his first Nordhavn, a 62.
He loved his 62 but eventually wanted to move up to a larger boat. So, Conconi’s fourth boat was also a Nordhavn, this time a 76.
The terms of his deal with PAE, Nordhavn’s parent company, included delivery of his new 76 from Dana Point, California, to Vancouver, British Columbia, where Conconi lived with his wife and kids. Nordhavn subbed out the delivery of the 76 to a very experienced former employee, and somewhere, somehow, in the middle of Bodega Bay, California — the exact details are fuzzy, or perhaps Conconi is just too nice to dwell on them — his brand spankin’ new Nordhavn 76 collided with the bow of a freighter. The damage was extensive.
It gets worse. PAE’s insurance didn’t cover the collision damage. Conconi rushed to Bodega Bay, and had his new boat brought in for repairs. And that might have been the sad end of the romance. “Sorry. Not our boat, not our problem.” But Nordhavn wanted to make it right. They worked out a deal in which the 76 was made better than new for another buyer and Conconi moved up to a Nordhavn 86.
It’s a good story, right?
It’s not over yet.
Last year, after the world economic crisis had caused all kinds of deals to collapse, the original agreement on Nordhavn’s first 120, which represented a huge step up and a serious investment for the company, fell to pieces. The buyer backed out and Nordhavn was left all dressed up with no place to go.
Enter Bob Conconi.
