What started as a fun family project trying to design the “perfect” boat culminated in the formation of North Pacific Yachts in January 2004, when the first NP43 arrived in Seattle for the boat show. At the time, John and Trevor Brice had been boating together in the Pacific Northwest for 23 years. They had owned several different boats ranging from 12–44′, of all types, from trawlers to fast planing hulls. However, the two had never come across a boat that fully met their expectations — they found themselves dissatisfied with the way things were installed, the lack of storage, the poor layout and the equally poor overall quality. So, to address all these issues, John and Trevor put their experience and love of sailing to work and created North Pacific Yachts. Over the years, their boats have steadily evolved into our Next Generation.
North Pacific Yachts are built with a focus on achieving the highest level of quality so that your time on the water is safer and more enjoyable. Our vessels are built to ABYC standards and our construction techniques are both proven and modern. For example:
Our boats have proven themselves all over the world in all types of different conditions from the freezing waters of Alaska to the tropics of SE Asia. This experience has translated directly into the creation of the Next Generation designs, which preserve everything our customers loved and improved on the rest.
North Pacific Yachts are beautifully detailed inside and are built with world-class, warm and inviting interiors that exude quality. The soft wood finish, perfectly book-matched cabinetry and bent lamination techniques employed are sure to impress. We focus on proper direct and indirect lighting, giving the interiors a warm and inviting feel. Best of all, NP owners are able to customize their vessel to perfectly reflect their needs and style from major interior layout changes to the smaller details like grain orientation.
With features that allow for a long load waterline length (LWL) relative to the length over all (LOA), our yachts are designed to maximize usable living and storage space. We focus on high ceilings, large windows and materials that add to the comfort and feeling of spaciousness in our vessels. North Pacific Yachts are often compared to vessels 20% longer, giving owners the comfort they seek in a more manageable length.
We have made our ordering and commissioning process stress-free. Before we begin construction on any vessel, we have detailed conversations to understand your goals and requirements to ensure your vessel is equipped for an exceptional cruising experience.
You are welcome to customize your equipment list, but if you choose not to, the standard package we offer is equipped and ready to operate, except for a dinghy and personal items. In fact, you’ll find that many quality and often very expensive equipment/features that are standard on all North Pacific Yachts are optional on other offerings.
Most importantly North Pacific Yachts is dedicated to total owner satisfaction. Since 2004, we have delivered well over 150 fine vessels to happy owners. We see our customers as our friends and best advocates, and we stay in contact and take feedback and advice seriously, incorporating much of that input into our new vessels. Working with our customers has greatly helped us to improve and evolve our product over the years and has lead many NP owners to order their second or third new North Pacific. New NP owners and owners moving up within the line benefit from this vast collective experience and you can, too.
At NPY, we don’t operate through a 3rd-party dealer network, which means that we are able to ensure your experience from pre-order to post-delivery.
Contact us today to learn more about our vessels and how we can customize your perfect boat.
Set sail for your dream life…
When John went in search of a factory to build North Pacific Yachts, he knew exactly what to look for, as he has been dealing with the nuances of business in Asia for more than 35 years, even operating a factory in Taiwan for three years in the 1970s. In 1984, he founded Quality Craft Ltd; a company that has grown from one office and one employee to 10 offices and more than 70 employees throughout North America and China. Quality Craft Ltd. supplies hundreds of retailers around North America, from companies with just one store to the largest multinational retailers with a wide range of over 2,000 different products. John has imported billions of dollars worth of products and his extensive experience in dealing with manufacturers has been critical to the success of North Pacific Yachts.
After touring many different yards, in 2002 John met the owners of the factory that would become NPY and knew right away that they were the right partners. As the years progress, their relationship and product flourishes.
John currently enjoys boating in the Pacific Northwest but spent 5 years cruising Southeast Asia on his North Pacific 49’ Pilothouse. See this link for an article on his trip.
I’m told that I started boating when I was 6 weeks old, and I’ve been passionate about it since I can remember. We spent most summers on our boat cruising the BC coast and I formed some of my best memories here. Now that I have my own kids, it’s important to me that I give them the same experience. Having this experience is what drove me to start North Pacific Yachts and is what drives us all today. We aim to build the highest quality, most comfortable and capable boats that we can, so that you can enjoy your precious time on the water. A positive customer experience is our mission and at NPY your total satisfaction is our promise. I look forward to hearing from you with any questions, comments, or feedback.
Andrea Viacava graduated as a naval engineer and architect from the prestigious University of Genoa in 2001. During his time at university, Andrea worked as a designer of mega yachts, cruise ships and ferries for Bitex, an Italian design company. After graduating, for seven years, he worked in the technical department for Fincantieri, the biggest Italian ship building company. He was later promoted to manager of the structural department and then to head of the Research and Production Engineering department. In 2009, he and his family moved to Taiwan and since then, he has been doing design work for Corsican Design.
Andrea has designed all North Pacific Next Generation models and continues to work on improvements and new designs.
Bill Nieman
With more than a decade of experience in the marine industry, Bill joined North Pacific in 2018 as Build Manager. He works with clients to create their dream boat, coordinates the custom build with the factory, and helps with after-sale support. A lifelong boater, Bill is passionate about his craft and is a full-time liveaboard. His wealth of experience and knowledge, as well as his easy-going personality, make the customization process smooth and enjoyable.
Malcolm Ellison has been commissioning and working on North Pacific Yachts since 2006. Since then, he has commissioned dozens of new boats and handling the warranty work in British Columbia. Malcolm knows our vessels inside out and is here to help customers at any time. North Pacific owners see the value in Malcolm’s service, with nearly the entire Canadian fleet bringing their boats back to him for yearly maintenance.
Rick Bunting joined the North Pacific team in 2007 when he took delivery of his own NP43. At the time, Rick mentioned that he wanted to commission the boat himself and did a great job in the process. Naturally, NP saw the value in Rick’s knowledge of his own boat and skills as a mechanic and welcomed him aboard. Since then, he has commissioned or helped commission every East Coast delivery in addition to providing excellent warranty work and after-sale support.
Dave Rasmussen has been in the boating business for 20 years. Since 2012, he has been commissioning the new NPs that arrive in Washington as well as providing outstanding service and warranty work. NP first met Dave through a customer referral, of which he gets many. Dave’s work is first class; he gets the job done and has a reputation to back this up.
Evan Adams
Evan’s passion for the maritime industry started at a young age, and his obsession for all things boats continues to grow with each new North Pacific delivery. Evan started his professional career as an accountant, and his close attention to every detail is valued in a business where accuracy and communication is critical to a smooth process for the customer. Evan’s goal is to make the North Pacific experience enjoyable and to build long-term relationships with happy owners. In between boat shows and working with clients, Evan enjoys spending time with his family and cruising the endless paradise that is the Pacific Northwest cruising grounds.
Laurel Anderson
Laurel joined North Pacific Yachts in 2019 with over 2 decades of import experience. Laurel works with a wide variety of coordinates to ensure the sales team, clients, vendors, photographers and the factory are well taken care of. Laurel started her career working in a dental office, for an oral surgeon. Although, she found her love of buying would take her on a different path, and soon chose a career in purchasing. Laurel is passionate about her work and takes to heart the processes that are needed to keep contented relationships with everyone involved. Laurel enjoys taking walks in the mountains and strolling along the water. Besides work, the love for her family is foremost.
The stunning factory contains over 200,000 square ft of covered workspace. On site, there are buildings dedicated to lamination, woodworking and metalworking. There is also a dust-free paint shop. Our yachts then near completion in our production area before reaching perfection in the final finishing area.
The factory also houses a well-organized and well-equipped storage facility, a large kitchen and beautiful offices for CAD design and production management. The riverfront factory has a travel lift, allowing boats to launch and become sea-trialed before shipping. They also have a large pool that allows for extended time testing the vessels in water.
Critically, management understands the need to produce quality vessels and to constantly improve. Their experience goes as far back as 1967 in Taiwan, constructing over 3,000 yachts in the process.
