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Catamaran King
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The Nejedlys were the first in the country to make fibreglass boats. And Joe Nejedly now specialises in catamarans, he tells PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA
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Photo by Vipinchandran
EVER WONDERED what this Englishman living in Kochi is doing? Building catamarans. And the general public got to see him and his boat-making skills at the International Boat Show, just concluded. Born in Coimbatore, educated in England, Joe Nejedly joined his father's fibreglass business in Coimbatore in 1956. They were at that time still into making bathtubs and roof sheets, with this very new material. Fibreglass was yet to explode as an ideal material in boat manufacturing. And though the Nejedlys were the first in the country to make fibreglass boats, Coimbatore, being landlocked, proved an unfit place for building them.
And so young Joe Nejedly moved to Kochi, in 1988, bought land in Aroor and began full time boat building. And it was the Kerala backwaters in which he saw untapped potential. Today, being the first man in the country to build catamarans and locally the most famous being the one that plies in the Periyar, he says, "We started making dinghies, sailing boats, motorboats and now catamarans." He has so far made six of them, the most well known being MV Vrinda, the luxury boat for the Oberoi Group of Hotels. "The latest that we at Praga Marine are making is a sailing catamaran, at Raman Research Centre, Bangalore. Here we are doing ground breaking research on a new type of sail, in the form of a wing, like that of an aircraft."
But to begin with, it was 20 years ago when he got the order for making `Pathiramahal' the first boat in Kerala with cabins and berths to sleep on. " There was a dynamic person who foresaw the future of Kerala in the backwaters and then the whole transformation on them came about. He was the then Tourism Secretary, T. Balakrishnan. Pathiramahal proved to be a turning point in luxury boats. That was 1989-90. Till then there was not a single hotel on the backwaters except Bakers Island, which is now Taj Garden Retreat. After that I made three such boats for Maharashtra Tourism and two for private companies. All these were party boats with discos, bars and dance floors. The last one for KTDC was a 16 m catamaran. What is unique about this 120-seater is that it can be dismantled, put on a trailer and transported. That is how we took it to Thekkady, assembled it on the banks of the lake and it has been doing good service for the past year."
Pollution of backwaters
But it saddens him to see the pollution of the backwaters. "Tourists just love the waters but are put off by the waste being dumped in them. It is not the fault of the Govt. or the Tourism Department for I have seen the small hotels and settlements along side the backwaters dump waste into them. And having lived in Kochi for a long, long time he simply says, "Kochi is home."
And does he subscribe to the much-touted theory of labour problems in the State says, Mr. Nejedly, "From my experience the more skilled the workers they are less likely to cause trouble. I have had no problems. Earlier, I was working from Coimbatore and sub contracting my work here and even today, I have the same workers. Roby, my main contractor has not changed. Yes, Kerala has the advantage of skilled and cheap labour but at the same time we need to fine-tune our skills and productivity. We take too long to do something."
Quality customers
And has the Boat Show generated the much-desired results? "Definitely. More quality customers are coming. Though this industry is in its nascent stage but the Show has put us on the international map. Now we have to live up to the expectations of the visitors but we are not afraid of competition."
With Madhya Pradesh Tourism approaching him for a catamaran to ply on the Bhopal Lake, says Mr. Nejedly. "Catamarans are perfect for inland navigation. They are safe as they have watertight compartments in each hull and with two hulls it does not roll much. They cost anywhere betweenRs.2 to 4 crores upwards." And that is why he builds designer boats for the "rich and the famous", the likes of Vijay Mallya.
The Navy and the Coast Guard too have been his clients for the Rib boats but as of now, he is riding the wave on the catamaran.
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