New President for Gunboat

(January 18, 2016) – Gunboat International, Ltd., the world-renowned American catamaran builder, announced the resignation of its founder and president, Peter Johnstone. A company spokesperson cited ongoing corporate restructuring as the reason for the change; “Mr. Johnstone felt the change would facilitate a successful restructuring and help insure the continuation of the iconic brand and its team of skilled boat builders.” The builder filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection November 18, 2015.

Gunboat International, Ltd. employs 60 highly trained people at its facility in Wanchese, North Carolina. Six vessels are currently under construction at the North Carolina location; a custom Gunboat 78 foot sailing catamaran is nearing completion and five carbon fiber Gunboat 55 foot sailing cats are in process. Work continues and no reduction to the boatbuilding team is anticipated. Gunboat International will be sold at auction to the highest bidder, a bankruptcy court has decided.

Past struggles included the dismasting and abandonment of Rainmaker, problems with the Chinese-built Gunboat 60, a G4 capsize in April 2015, and production costs at the North Carolina yard. Further investigation into filing documents show that Gunboat had over 100 creditors, with unsecured claims totaling $10,133,947.32.

Gunboat does have the ability to entertain a “stalking horse bidder,” which means that if there is a viable initial bid on the business, they can take that as opposed to having to entertain low bids by everyone and their mother

Barry Carroll was named the new president. Mr. Carroll is a long time member of the performance sailing industry. He said, “The Gunboat family owes a debt of gratitude to Peter. Without his creative flair, knowledge, and energy, Gunboat would not exist.”