On the water:Taking luxury to new levels

Business partners Scott Robinson and Jace Kizzier will unveil an enormous surprise on the boating public next week. In fact it’s a 92-foot surprise.

For the last seven years their company, Paragon Motor Yachts, has worked on perfecting a mold sure to blow potential buyers — and hopefully the competition — out of the water.

The pair will unleash their yacht, almost a decade in the making, at the 29th Annual Lido Yacht Expo from Sept. 6 to 9, at Lido Marina Village in Newport Beach.

Theirs will be one of the largest vessels present at the show, which features over 250 yachts between 30 to 125 feet in length.

“We really wanted to put a boat out that would introduce us to the international market,” Kizzier said. “Three 92-foot yachts — that is unheard of in this industry.”

The company has sold its first three examples of that model already. One of those will be on display at the show, and Paragon has already begun construction on a fourth, a process which takes roughly 18 months to complete, Kizzier said.

It takes five months alone to layer the fiberglass into a mold for the hull. Once that is complete builders start crafting the various pieces of furniture for the inside. This is where Paragon stands out from the crowd, Kizzier said.

Carpenters for other crafts build the furniture into the hull of the vessel. Paragon yachts are made with floating floors, bulkheads and furniture. Keeping those components separated from the hull by rubber bonding prevents vibrations from the nose hitting the choppy water and reverberating throughout the craft, Kizzier said.

“Everything is almost floating independently of itself,” Kizzier said. “This way it’s not sending the shock throughout and you’re not chasing noise and vibration around the boat trying to eliminate it.

“So many people spend time sound dampening. We stop it at it’s source.”

How much of a commitment a yacht requires of its owner depends on the size of the craft, said expo founder Duncan McIntosh.

“Each has different requirements and parameters of upkeep and needed resources to do so,” McIntosh said. “Some of the bigger vessels will have professional captains on them so they have [someone who] will be in charge of hiring the maintenance staff, but some owners like more hands-on and a more personal touch.

“Sometimes the bigger boats, though, are more than one person can take care of.”

The larger yachts, those 80-feet and above, require the care of a full-time, paid captain. For a craft the size of Paragon’s yacht, a full-time first mate is also most definitely needed. “And that’s the bare minimum, really, to keep it up to snuff,” Kizzier said.

With a $6 million craft like Robinson and Kizzier’s, everything needs to be continually maintained.

The expo will be open from noon to 7 p.m. Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., through Sept. 9 at 3421 Via Oporto, Newport Beach. Entrance to the show costs $12, children 12 and under are free.