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Billy Smith Talks Trinity Yachts at the 2011 FLIBS
Vice President of Trinity Yachts Billy Smith is a man who represents the ethical side of large yacht construction, working to ensure the industry continues to produce jobs, economic stability and more high-quality yachts for the high-net-worth individual. We sat down with Billy Smith to discuss Trinity Yachts' position as a leading American shipyard.
Sitting on the aft of Carpe Diem II, Billy Smith comes across as an amiable and affable character with a real passion and knowledge for the industry and company he has helped shape.
Trinity Yachts are synonymous with American yachting, a side of the superyacht industry which is perfectly encapsulated in the grand layout of the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. We asked what it was that set Trinity Yachts apart from other shipyards. “I really think that our strongest asset is to talk to our client and find out what is the client’s goal for his yacht,” explains Billy. “Once we know that we can come back and say ‘okay, so that’s what you want to do, here’s some different designs that will fit that bill’ and engage the client into the actual design process. Once they get engaged with the design process, it becomes their boat, we’re just the builders.”
Talking at the Future of Superyachts Symposium in Majorca,
Billy Smith highlighted the often undocumented issue of the work the Superyacht Industry provides for thousands and how the recession is affecting them in particular. Billy noted “This industry represents thousands and thousands of jobs, but unfortunately the politicians and the press want to focus on the rich owners. They don’t understand that these rich owners are giving all of these people jobs. There are very few owners at these boat shows but there are thousands of people who make a living as a result of owners building these boats.”
Trinity Yachts will be displaying their fleet of 9 superyachts at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show until the 31st of October.