Naiad Inflatables USA - building a better boat.

AuthorGay, Joel

This Alaska boat manufacturer builds North America's first aluminum-hull inflatable boats - and may start importing Alaska technology south.

A new breed of inflatable boat is plying Alaska waters these days, earning rave reviews from Kachemak Bay to Bristol Bay, from sport fishermen to state troopers. The distinctive design hails from New Zealand, the materials are barged up from Seattle, but the boats are manufactured in Anchorage.

This unconventional business plan makes perfect sense, given the boat's unique design, says Alan Shaw, the man behind Naiad Inflatables USA. "Alaska is a good proving ground," he says. "If our boats can be successful here, they can be successful anywhere." If he can capitalize on the "proven in Alaska" theme, Shaw hopes to eventually export the boats to the Lower 48.

Inflatable boats are a familiar sight around the state's coastline, with air pontoons that look like huge life preservers encircling their hulls. Naiads are different -- and far superior, according to Shaw -- because the pontoons attach to an aluminum hull. The combination makes for a light, durable and virtually unsinkable boat.

Several companies offer inflatable boats with rigid fiberglass hulls, and a few aluminum-hulled crafts have been custom built in North America. Shaw is the first to use aluminum exclusively, he says. Recreational users have given the smaller Naiad boats (under 16 feet) high marks for their performance, safety and durability. Because they can be easily hauled up a rock or gravel beach -- unlike fiberglass boats -- they have become extremely popular in Kachemak Bay and Homer, where Naiad USA originally opened in 1991.

Shaw is aiming much higher than the recreational market, however. He recently joined forces with Dan Nelson, owner of Alaska Steel, and opened a shop and showroom in Anchorage. Together, the duo hope to create and conquer the commercial market for large inflatables. Shaw says he particularly wants the business of big buyers like the U.S. Coast Guard, the Navy and the state of Alaska.

NEW ZEALAND ORIGINS

The first Naiads were built in New Zealand some 20 years ago by Steven Schmidt, a former commercial shellfish diver, to handle the rough conditions found along his country's wild, rocky coast. After experimenting with plywood and fiberglass, Schmidt settled on aluminum for the hull and then designed pontoons for easy removal and repair.

Shaw also grew up on the New Zealand coast, moving to the United States in...

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