Dear prospective crew member,
It's about time for General Boats to give up its mom and pop status. Time to move into prime time. Time to let the rest of the world enjoy Rhodes 22s. And all it takes is just a few more good gulls and buoys to help us do it.
But read the warning label first: This business is labor intensive, capital intensive, time intensive and space intensive. And pay is lousy. You have to love sailboats and be a little bit crazy to want to build them for a living.
But it is fun.
At General we have solved one of the 4 intensities. We have 9 industrial acres in the charming little waterfront village of Edenton, North Carolina. That leaves us just 3 intensities to go.
We can solve the time intensive call by just working harder and longer. We don't mind because delivering a Rhodes makes one happy family. And, while no one here has to work more that 40 hours, the time and a half for overtime sure turns around the traditional low pay scale of the boat building industry.
Capital intensity is always a challenge for small capital intensive business - but somehow we have managed for almost 40 years, without ever thinking bankruptcy or closing our doors even temporarily. It is the notion of spreading our sales that now makes more money matter. Maybe we will go public or have a workers' stock offering. We will do something to solve this intensity. We just need the help of few new good friends.
So, if we have not discouraged you and you feel that getting into the boat business is what you really want to do or, at least get out of your system and, if you know what the word parallel means, call, write or better still, visit us and take our tour. And we will talk. With overtime and bonuses per boat delivered for productive contributors, even an equity position for the indispensable, survival is possible.
But there is no free lunch. Just free ping-pong...and a company football.
Stan Spitzer, owner