Hacker boats

1 summer 2010 SUCCESS $5.95 Who’s Who of Success Saratoga Polo Club Hannah’s Hope Polo Match Benet Entrepreneur of the Month Lynn Wagemann 27 summer 2010 SUCCESS Hacker Boats have been a part of American innovation since the turn of the twentieth century. John Hacker, who began the company and is still the namesake today, was a forward thinking designer whose creations are still unrivaled almost exactly a century later. John Ludwig Hacker was born on May 24th, 1877. In 1903, five years before the Hacker Boat Company was founded, John L. Hacker made a considerable step forward in becoming a prolific designer. Au Revior, a boat he designed for Willard Murray Smith of Detroit, repeatedly outperformed the seventy-five-footers built by Herreshoff (a well noted and respected East Coast naval architectural and building firm). Described in the October 10th issue of Motor Boat Magazine as “the fastest boat of her size and power in this country,” John L. Hacker had designed and built the beginning of his legend. With many close friends like Henry Ford, the Dodge brothers, and Henry Leland, John Hacker was in the right company of forward thinkers, as he would soon become their maritime equivalent. In 1908, the Hacker Boat Company was officially born. With the purchase of the Detroit Launch and Power Company, Hacker renamed the company and the stage was set for making history. e first craft to be built by the new company was named the Van Blerck. After being put into the water, the Van Blerck refused to plane. Upon a closer inspection of the craft, Hacker realized that in lofting the design, the sides of the boat had been raised by nine inches. In a time of many large bets being placed on such crafts and the races they took part in, it is widely believed that this was done by sabotage rather than careless building and design. Hacker was, from that point forward, a constant presence supervising the builds and thus avoiding such mishaps. e Van Blerck was rebuilt and became the racer she was always meant to be. During the next three years, Hacker produced approximately thirty boats. Hacker became an even bigger part of our history in 1911. In October of that same year, he built and installed two floats on the Wright Brothers biplane. is was the first use of twin floats on an aircraft. ese floats enabled the biplane to take off or land on water as well as terra firma. Perhaps as a prelude to the twin floats, Hacker constructed the “Kitty Hawk II.” In September 1911, the Kitty Hawk II defeated the Sand Blur II on its own hometown waters off the coast of Atlantic City. With “western” boats not thought much of by the East Coasters, the Kitty Hawk II shocked the boating world and was crowned the fastest twenty-six foot boat in the country. Sadly, however, the Kitty Hawk II sank due to a fire in the Chicago Regatta in August of 1912. She was reported to be traveling at almost fifty mph when she sank about a mile and a half from shore. Unfortunately, the famed John L. Hacker stepped out of the company due to a breakdown. Doctor’s orders had him take a much needed vacation. John Hacker eventually decided to sell the company and become a freelance designer. Since that time, a handful of businessmen have bought and sold the company. Since 2004, almost one-hundred years after the company’s inception, Hacker Boat is once again in the hands of a visionary. Robert Lynn Wagemann is now at the helm. Still hand built right here in Lake George by American workers and craftsmen, Hacker boats continue to uphold their reputation as the finest crafts in the world. Robert Lynn Wagemann is keeping the torch lit and is taking Hacker Boat Company into yet another century. Success Magazine: How do you define success? Lynn Wagemann: I would best define success as being able to do something you love. Having passion for your job turns your work into play. Making a Hacker Boat Company Lynn Wagemann - Owner • • • • • 28 SUCCESS summer 2010 living doing something you take pleasure in is a special gift. SM: When did you discover your passion for boats? LW: I have always lived near water and boating became a big part of my life at a very young age. Later on I had the privilege of racing offshore power boats and captaining a wide variety of sport fishing boats, all of which gave me a well-rounded exposure to many types of boating opportunities. Since then I have continually owned and enjoyed all types of boats. SM: Where did you go to college? LW: I went to the University of Colorado on a full paid scholarship, but decided after a short while that I wanted to return directly to pursuing some business ventures that I envisioned would be more rewarding. I think the education I received in the real working world better prepared me for the challenges I would face. SM: How did your early work experiences prepare you for success as an entrepreneur? LW: I started working for a local automobile business when I was just twelve. e owner of the company was an accomplished offshore racer himself and was largely responsible for the first exposure I had to performance boating. I always worked hard and acquired a good work ethic. is allowed me to learn a lot about the many sides of business— both hands-on in the shops and later in the office, running the administrative responsibilities. I stayed with the company until my early twenties, when I went into business for myself. I started with an auto body shop and towing service, which grew into a limousine and exotic car rental service. But, boating was in my blood and I always knew, in the back of my mind, I wanted to be in the boating and marina business. In 2003 the opportunity came for me to purchase the Hacker Boat Company, a 28 summer 2010 SUCCESS 29 summer 2010 SUCCESS famous hundred-year-old brand, and I jumped at the opportunity. SM: What makes Hacker-Craft different from fiberglass boats? LW: Our boats are made entirely by hand out of mahogany, one piece at a time, requiring some 1,500 hours to make one model. e craftsmanship is incredible from the mahogany to the fittings to the upholstery. e designs are classic; most are from plans drawn by the company founder, John Hacker, one of the world’s most renown naval architects. We have taken that premise and expanded our operations to include the ability to customize our boats to the owner’s specifications; in fact most of our boats are made with many customized elements in conjunction with customer input and our design team. We have even included the phrase “If you can dream it, we can build it” in our marketing campaigns. SM: Has the recession affected the company? LW: Yes it did. Sales were down last year, but YTD 2010 sales are up 250% over 2009 thanks to aggressive marketing strategies and some new distributor alliances. We also opened a new 32,000 square foot production facility in Ticonderoga, New York. e new facility was opened to meet increased demand for the beautiful mahogany boats, and will centralize all manufacturing elements for our products under one roof. Twelve employees were hired for the new location, bringing the total work force to forty-six at five locations. Sixteen boats are currently in production. e boats were previously manufactured at the company’s Silver Bay location on Lake George. e Silver Bay site now operates as a full-service boatyard and showroom. e company has also signed an agreement with Hacker Boat International, Ltd. (HBIL), a company formed specifically to introduce our brand to Europe and the Middle East. is brings us the exciting opportunity to introduce our product line to a virtually untapped market for this type of specialty product. e agreement advances Hacker-Craft’s goal of creating dealership relationships to introduce these beautiful boats 30 SUCCESS summer 2010 worldwide, to further position the brand as an industry leader. SM: Are wooden boats more difficult to maintain than fiberglass boats? LW: Striking as they are, wooden boats have, in the past, been considered more difficult to maintain. is is no longer the case. At Hacker we have devoted thousands of hours of research and development into fully meeting the needs of exacting owners. Today the beauty of our boats is balanced with the benefits of superb strength, reliability, and minimal maintenance. We have developed a comprehensive approach to construction and finishing which affords superb strength and protection, Hacker’s protective system uses advanced epoxies designed specifically for extreme climatic conditions. The boats are still built of solid mahogany and our system ensures that the mahogany used to build our boats will be just as resilient as fiberglass, and in many respects more so. Such is Hacker’s confidence in our build-quality, construction techniques and materials that we offer a ten-year hull warranty on all our new boats. is is three to four times longer than the normal guarantee-period for a fiberglass or metal boat, which is typically a maximum of two to three years. SM: What does the future look like for Hacker? LW: We recently introduced our first new model since 1995, the STERLING, which has been well received. We have put together a first class team to take the company into the 21st century. We have repositioned the company as a whole to be well equipped for what we believe to be an exciting new chapter in the company’s history. 52 SUCCESS summer 2010 . wooden boats more difficult to maintain than fiberglass boats? LW: Striking as they are, wooden boats have, in the past, been considered more difficult to maintain. is is no longer the case. At Hacker. almost exactly a century later. John Ludwig Hacker was born on May 24th, 1877. In 1903, five years before the Hacker Boat Company was founded, John L. Hacker made a considerable step forward. became the racer she was always meant to be. During the next three years, Hacker produced approximately thirty boats. Hacker became an even bigger part of our history in 1911. In October of