![]() ![]() "So that was our first three boats, which rolled off the press pretty quickly, and the business was born." By that time, the Davidson 40, with the addition of a scoop and some re-measurement, had stretched to a Davidson 42. That first Davidson 40, Teddy Bear, was replaced by a second, Mr Roosevelt, and followed by a third for a buyer who had read an article about Teddy Bear. "John's reaction was 'if you're selling, then you build a replacement, don't you'?" "They went to Laurie, who told them 'what you need is John Stevenson's boat, but he's building it for himself.' Back in the '80's there were tax incentives, for export, plus a good exchange rate." That first boat, for his father, a Laurie Davidson 40, was sold to a Kiwi sailmaker, who was setting up in Seattle and "wanted to take a fast New Zealand boat up there, beat everything up and blame it on the sails," Lloyd recalls. Today, it's grown to 50 staff, plus contractors - taking the numbers to 60 on the floor. That's how Lloyd Stevenson describes the start of the boatbuilding business that bears his name - which commenced in 1985 when he employed the first staff member. "I told them I was just going to finish my dad's boat off and then come back - but didn't return." "I finished my apprenticeship at Vos & Brijs in August '83 and left straightway to finish off a Davidson 40 that I was building with my dad. 78ft expedition ketch - Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders - Launch - SeptemHalf Moon Bay, Auckland © Robert Daly - Lloyd Stevenson Boatbuilders
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