It is with great pleasure that we welcome our old friend Franklin Taylor to the SeaBoats Team. Franklin says: For the past 40+ years I have been involved in many aspects of the international marine industry. My introduction to the marine industry started as a cadet on square rigged ships where, from 1974 – ’77, I learned the arts of the traditional seaman sailing in the North Sea and the Mediterranean.  From 1980 to 1996, I was involved in the international superyacht community captaining numerous ocean going sailing and motor yachts travelling over 300.000 nautical miles cruising in the Eastern and South Pacific, the Australian Great Barrier Reef, Indian Ocean, Arabian and Red Sea, Mediterranean, Caribbean, Baltic and North Seas. During that time I also represented the owners in the construction of the 38m sailing yacht Aquel II and the 38m Christiansen motor yacht Fifty One. I retired from the sea at the end of 1996 when I went to work with Geoff selling both power and sailing yachts in Auckland New Zealand. After 2 years working at the brokerage I receive the opportunity to project manage the build of a 50 m superyacht “Aria” at the Sensation Yachts ship yard in Auckland. That project evolved into New Zealand Yacht Projects Ltd., my company, specializing in superyacht construction project management, project assessment and client representation.  For 10 years I managed six 50 m super yacht projects at the Sensation yard. In 2007 I received my accreditation as a marine surveyor from the International Institute of Marine Surveying in England and since then I have been conducting marine surveys on sail and power yachts under 500 gross tons. As a new member of the SeaBoats Brokerage team I will draw on my years of experience as a yacht captain, a construction project manager and a marine surveyor to assist in your search for the right vessel.