Construction of the Atlantic 57


When a current Atlantic 46 Catamaran owner found that his time was right to contract construction of a new and larger Atlantic 57, preferably within the USA, many of the better choices were in New England. After scanning the possibilities of builders most experienced with epoxy composites it seemed the best fit for this project was Aquidneck Custom Composites, of Bristol, Rhode Island.

If there is a center of custom boatbuilding in the USA it is probably in and around the town of Bristol. Since the heyday of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in 1900 Bristol has been synonymous with the highest quality yacht construction.

Bill Koffler and Scott O'Connell, the founders of Aquidneck Custom, started out on their own in 2001 after many years experience working for Goetz Custom Boats (one of the best regarded composite boat builders in the world- also located in Bristol). At Goetz they built over 40 grand prix racing, including America's Cup, yachts and hi-tech cruising boats.

Most happily for me all of this wonderful construction takes place only an easy 40 minute drive from my office. Not only is it fun to be able to see the birthing process on a weekly basis, it is a great joy to watch some of the most efficient and precise boatbuilders that I have ever seen create a masterwork.

Aquidneck Custom has impressed me from the start with their attention to both construction details and the details of running a project smoothly. Building boats has never been an easy business and doing it well requires a great many different skills beyond just "building the boat". Managing a custom boat project entails finding the right employees and sub-contractors, keeping the shop equipped with the right tools to work efficiently, communicating with the owner, getting all the long lead time items early enough, keeping up with design changes or change orders, etc. Having a boat built should be an enjoyable experience and ACC seems to be able to make that happen. It certainly has been for me.