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The collaboration proved
an immediate success, so much so that Carver began investigating the possibility
of incorporating European construction techniques, European-sourced equipment
like door and plumbing hardware, and fine joinery detail into the boat.
At the same time, Van told the design firm to begin work on a larger version
and asked for suggestions on how existing models—not just the Voyagers
but all Carvers—could be upgraded.
Seeing how eager Carver
was to learn from Italian boatbuilders, Nuvolari & Lenard made a bold
proposal. Mochi Craft, for whom it had designed 19-, 22.5-, and 25-meter
yachts (about 63, 75, and 85 feet, respectively), was about to be purchased
by the Ferretti Group, which was interested in Mochi’s boatbuilding
plants. Why not buy the designs and related tooling and manufacture boats
in Italy for the European market? Such a move would make Carver unique
among American production boatbuilders, give it ready access to Italian
suppliers and craftsmen, and establish a foothold in Europe. Indeed, it
would represent a reversal of the current trend of Europeans bringing
boats to U.S. shores.
Despite the fact that
that the three boats’ proportions and layouts (i.e., galley down,
large Med-style aft deck, comparatively small crew quarters) made them
less than ideal for the U.S. market, Carver felt the arrangement offered
so many advantages that it made the deal and shortly thereafter constructed
a plant just outside Fano, Italy, which today it shares with Dominator,
another Italian builder. Van is quick to point out that the operation
bears little resemblance to Carver’s home facility in Wisconsin.
“This is a totally different culture over here,” he says.
“It’s not mass production like we do, but true semicustom
work, which we’re not used to. We’re here to learn how to
do it.” The first of the new Nuvari line, the 19-meter, has successfully
completed sea trials in the Mediterranean, and production models are being
displayed at major European boat shows. Nuvaris will be sold in Europe
through Carver’s existing sales network.
The acquisition and
the collaboration with Nuvolari & Lenard have created true cross-fertilization,
with knowledge and expertise traveling in both directions. Take the molds
for the 59, for example. To accommodate the complex curves and shapes
specified by Nuvolari & Lenard, they involve a number of bolt-on components
that can be removed so the final piece can be extracted. The Italians
showed Carver how to make such molds, and Carver showed the Italians how
to attach those components to an external framework so that when removed,
they wouldn’t simply drop onto the shop floor and have to be realigned
later. Instead, the mold now opens like a multidimensional mechanical
eggshell.
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