What's up 2010

Due to the difficult market condition, the company had to make some painful changes towards the end of 2009. Some of the staff were made redundant. Some were asked to take leave due to insufficient work. It was definitely a painful period for all.

The dreadful 2009 was finally over. So far, things seemed to be looking up after a busy Jan. We have a leaner but by no means less capable team, ready to tackle new challenges. Emphasis will be on productivity. We will continue to work on improving our core competency. We will continue to establish ourselves as a leader in the service and repair business for RIB; diesel engine for leisure boating; and yacht services for privately owned boats.

However, the recovery of our business depends very much on the economic condition. We hope that market will improve and more people will take up boating.

Where Do Old Boats Go

Have you ever wondered what happens to boats that nobody wants. When you are tired of your existing boat or done with boating as a whole, what do you do with your boat if you couldn't sell?

If the hull is made of steel or aluminium, there is a chance of selling the hull for scrape. If the hull is made of composite material such as fibreglass, the material of choice for most pleasure boats these days, you might end up paying some one to chop her into pieces before throwing into the city dump.

Alternatively, you could follow irresponsible owners by abandoning your boat at the marina and left for the marina staff to deal with. Just go around SAFYC and MCC and you will know what I mean.

If your boat has a classic look, its always much easier to find a buyer who appreciates its design. With some restoration, it is possible to make her look new again. My favourites are trawler and sailing yachts. They never look dated. Also, being in the RIB business, I naturally like RIB too. We do a lot of restoration work lately, putting new tubes on old RIBs and make them new again.

So before you make the choice of buying your dream boat, think about the environmental impact that your decision will bring.

Review 2009

2009 has been a very difficult year for all in the boating industry and Gemini Marine was not spared from the economic down turn. RIB project had come to a complete halt as customers across the board cut back on spending. Many shipyards we dealt with were in the verge of collapse. Whatever little enquires we received were treated with up most caution, fearing that subsequent collection might be a problem. Of all the business segments, leisure business was the hardest hit. New boats were not coming in and existing boat owners were not spending or using their boats as often.

Despite the slow down, we have achieved significant improvements in a few selected fields within our core businesses. Instead of building RIB, we responded to customers' demand to re-build their old RIB by making new tubes to replace worn out ones. Tube manufacturing was something unique that we were really good at. It became a viable business during the crisis due to the number of re-tubing jobs we got. It has greater export potential than building RIB so it has become our main engine of growth for the coming years.

Another area that we have done well was diesel engine servicing. Due to falling number of servicing assignments for Volvo Penta engines, we were forced to take on engines of other brands. We did a few Cummins, a few Yanmars and a lot of Kohler gensets. The experience we gained in these jobs were invaluable and definitely helpful in making us better mechanics in the long run.

The economic crisis had forced us to focus on things we do really well and we will work on being the market leader in these areas. The changes we made to cope with the hard times will make us emerge stronger than before. Fortunately, the worst seemed to be over and we should have a better year next.

We wish everyone a happy and better New Year ahead!

Our favourite projects

Through the years, we have built various RIBs from as small as 3.8m to 13m. Of all the RIBs that we have built, our favourite has to be this 8.6m that we did in semi luxury form.

Designed for chaser and support craft role for mega yachts and sailing regattas, she was fitted with single Volvo Penta D6-350hp duo prop diesel stern drive and managed a top speed of 38kts during sea trial. The fuel efficieny of the Volvo Penta engine was phenomenon. At cruising speed, fuel consumption was only 25 litre per hour.

The RIB was equipped for day and night ops. She has a Garmin GSP/chartplotter, ICOM marine VHF, a pair of search lights and lots of rescue equipment. She is the boat you want to be if you are working at sea.