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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 27 O C T O B E R 1 9 , 2 0 1 5 Today, as the sole owner of the company, Morris focuses on prod- uct development, customer relations and strategic initiatives. By 2014, that resulted in two new products. e X-Type package for the M-Series models off ers the classic topside of the M-Series with a deeper keel and taller rig for people who like to race. "We recently brought a 36X to the Newport boat show and had a tre- mendous number of people interested in that option," Carroll says. e Ocean Series 48 GT (Grande Touring) incorporates hundreds of inno- vations to the interior, rig and cockpit of the award-winning Ocean Series 48. In 2014, the company built four boats. An M29 and M36 went to Mount Desert Island summer resi- dents who hail from East Hampton, N.Y., and Philadelphia, respec- tively. e fi rst M42X was built for a Southwest Harbor customer. And this past May, Hull No. 3 of the M52 line — built for a customer from California who plans to spend summers living on the boat in Newport, R.I. — was the company's most recent launch. Altogether, the company has pro- duced 126 M-Series boats in the 11 years since the series' debut, as well as 203 Ocean Series boats. Total produc- tion since the company's founding is 330 to 340 boats. Prices these days range from $200,000 to more than $1 million, with options adding as much as 50% of the base price. For 2015-16 production schedule, the company recently started construction of an M36. Construction of an Ocean Series 52 is due to begin shortly, once planning for the interior is complete. A contract for an M46 was recently signed; construction will begin once the tooling is complete. At least two M29s and an M42 were considered likely sales. Launches are expected in the spring and summer of 2016. Most of these customers are from New England; one is from California. e Ocean Series 52 and the M36 custom- ers are both from the Brooklin area; as long-experienced sailors, they always dreamed of having a Morris and, hav- ing reached retirement age, decided to make the jump, says Carroll. Several people were laid off last January, but hiring is imminent for up to eight positions, including project manager, in-house engineer and elec- trician, says Carroll. " is time period now is our peak as far as taking orders," Carroll says. "Most people want to buy a boat now and have it ready for the following summer. My prediction is we'll have six boats on the production line this winter. And we plan to build back our workforce to match production. But we're going into this eyes wide open and not growing our overhead too quickly. We want to remain lean and mean." e upswing has been happening without any particular marketing push. "In fact, because of the downturn we experienced in the past two years, we dialed back some of our market- ing," says Carroll. "It's purely word of mouth. ey see a Morris in their har- bor, or this is their fi nal dreamboat, so to speak. So, interestingly, we've dialed back our marketing and increased our sales. at's not very scientifi c, but it's certainly fortuitous." Carroll, who retired earlier this year as commanding offi cer of the U.S. Coast Guard's Civil Engineering Unit in Cleveland after 20 years with the service, came to Morris on July 1. e Carroll and Morris families have been friends since Carroll's father bought one of Tom Morris's fi rst Friendship sloops in 1978. "We looked at a lot of people," Morris says. "We were lucky to fi nd somebody of Pete's caliber, with his skill set, in a relatively short period of time." Carroll started out by instituting a policy of transparency. "I felt the employees may not have had a good idea of what's going on with the company, good or bad," he says. "I think I've brought to them the realities of what we can do in the fi nancial position we're in." What is the company's fi nancial position? "We're in a good state," says Carroll, who declined to cite numbers but says the company is running in the black. Still, he says, "I would say we have a way to go to bring the company back to where it was." Morris expects that to happen. "I think, fi nancially, people are feel- ing more stable," Morris says. "I think people are realizing, 'Let's get back on track.' I hope that's the case, because we love building boats. e last thing we like to do is shrink our business and let all these awesome people go." L S , a w r i t e r b a s e d i n B a s s H a r b o r, c a n b e r e a c h e d a t @ . P H O T O / L A U R I E S C H R E I B E R All of Your Staffing Needs in One Place Comprehensive to meet your many needs, specialized to deliver the quality you want. Call us today! Project Staffing / Project Flagging / Project Flagging / / Direct Personnel / Direct Personnel / 207-854-2422 directpersonnel.net 1-800-639-8802 mainestaff.com Get to your gate quicker and get home faster! www.parknjetportland.com located 100 yards from baGGaGe claim. look for our Green siGn. per day $10 Valet parking at the airport open 4:30 am - 1 am Morris Yachts CEO Pete Carroll, left, and owner Cuyler Morris at the company's Northeast Harbor boatyard.

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