- November 19, 2024
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The 51-foot Sundancer sport yacht did a slow 360-spin on its axis as a Sea Ray operator at the controls showed off the boat’s maneuverability for county leaders and reporters gathered on Sea Ray’s new water test ramp on the Intracoastal Waterway Friday.
“It’s dancing,” someone said. There were “oohs” and “aahs” in the audience as the boat slipped straight sideways, and then back the other way. Attendees joked that the yacht — which retails for about $1.4 million, Sea Ray Quality Control Supervisor Stan Ksyniak said — would be a step up from the dinghies and kayaks in their backyards.
Friday’s demonstration, complete with a ribbon-cutting at the new test ramp, comes as Sea Ray has announced plans to expand its local plant and hire more workers.
Sea Ray's Palm Coast plant is expanding in part because it will be producing new Sea Ray models like the yacht showed off at Friday’s demonstration, the 33rd production of an upgraded Sundancer 510 model.
“This is an exciting time for Sea Ray," Sea Ray President Tim Schiek said. "Just this month, we introduced our groundbreaking new L-Class series of yachts and the flagship L650 Fly at the Miami Boat Show, to great acclaim. We have already seen tremendous demand for the L650 Fly, which is produced here at the Palm Coast facility.”
The new test ramp is critical for production of the L650 Fly, a 65-foot motor yacht so large it can only be delivered to customers by water. The ramp lets Sea Ray move the boat straight from production to the water for testing and delivery.
“The addition is a crucial one, and the impact will be great," Schiek said. "Because of the yachts that can now be manufactured and quality tested here, we anticipate more than 100 jobs will be added to the facility.”
County Administrator Craig Coffey and commissioners George Hanns, Barbara Revels and Frank Meeker toured the Sundancer yacht with Sea Ray staff Friday, and Ksyniak took them out for a spin on the Intracoastal Waterway.
He pushed the yacht, which is driven by two 710-horsepower engines, up to 37 mph, and showed off the controls, including a joystick steering option and a GPS system that can hold the boat in one location which the captain leaves the wheel to grab a drink or ready dock lines.
Sea Ray, part of the Brunswick Corp., is one of the Flagler County's largest employers, and the Palm Coast plant has had cycles of cutbacks and hires over the past few years.
It cut 65 Flagler County employees in May 2012, but then stopped production at a plant on Merritt Island to consolidate at the Palm Coast plant, telling the Palm Coast Observer at the time that the move would add local jobs.
