Mystic Focusing on Performance Yachts

Caught up with John Cosker, the principal of Mystic Powerboats in DeLand, Fla., earlier today. Cosker said that he currently has four high-performance boats in production—three 50-foot catamarans and a 48-foot V-bottom—and nearing completion. They should be ready for sea trials in the next three to four weeks.

A little more than a year ago, I spoke with Cosker at the Desert Storm event in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. At that time, we discussed his plans for a 36-foot “entry-level” Mystic cat. The preliminary designs for the boat had been completed, but the final design and tooling phases had not begun as Cosker was still looking for buyers.

While the 36-foot remains a project that Cosker said he would like to finish, his focus has shifted to his 60- and 70-foot yachts—the first 70-footer was completed three years ago and is currently at its home port in St. Martens. To this end, Cosker is working with an investor and a Brazil-based yacht dealer. (The plan is for the dealer to sea trial the 70-footer sometime in April.)

“We’ve done our due diligence on the market, and we think we can build and sell three to four yachts a year,” said Cosker. “As you can imagine, the start-up costs for getting into this market are substantial. This (partnership) should give us a good start.”