6 newportbeachindy . com JUNE 9 , 2023
LOCAL FOCUS
New Owner of Newport Model Boats Projects Smooth Sailing in 2023 and Beyond
By Richard Simon | NB Indy Anyone who could grow a beard in 1979 , should remember the oft-repeated advertising slogan by Victor Kiam , then president of Remington electric razors : “ I liked the shaver so much , I bought the company .”
Fast forward to January 2023 : Newport Beach born-and-raised entrepreneur Don Logan liked a small , Newport-based model boat-making business so much that he “ bought the company .”
In large part due to Covid-blamed business slowdowns for the past two years , the 55- year-old , internationally renowned Newport Model Boats Company literally found itself aground , and close to washing into the rocks of bankruptcy .
But like a Coast Guard cutter to a distressed vessel , Logan arrived just in time to rescue the company ( Side note : This writer served in the Coast Guard , and has been waiting decades to incorporate this analogy ).
Started in 1968 by Kenny Gardiner , a former model maker for Douglas Aircraft , Newport Model Boats was known for its exacting attention to detail in all its model recreations — so much so that famed yachtsmen of the day , such as Roy Disney , publishing magnate Nelson Doubleday , Jr ., and oilman / philanthropist Howard Keck , commissioned scale models of their yachts .
One of Gardiner ’ s 1960 ’ s model masterpieces included a 3 / 8th-inch scale replica of the oil tycoon ’ s Sparkman & Stephens-designed , 123-foot ketch , Galileo — crafted for the unheard of price ( at that time ) of $ 58,000 . Logan estimated that to duplicate such a model , he would have to charge at least three times that sum . Recently , Logan quoted $ 40K for a fully-rigged , 46-inch model of a 100-foot sloop owned by a Colorado businessman .
In the few months that Logan has owned the company , he has learned that “” virtually everyone who owns a boat , for whatever reasons , wants to display a model of their boat .”
In the U . S . alone , there are more than 25.4 million registered boats , according to the U . S . Coast Guard . There are more than one million in California alone — not including kayaks , canoes , paddle boards , surf boards and other
Don Logan of Newport Model Boats . Photo credit Larry Parker
watercraft . Who wouldn ’ t want a model of their dinghy on the mantle place ?
Although Logan has been a lifelong , competitive Newport sailor , he had never heard of Newport Model Boats until he decided to have a “ half model ” of a Harbor 20 sailboat made for his lady friend , Newport Radiologist Roxanne Chan — herself a Harbor 20 competitor .
Reaching out to the local fleet , he was referred to electric boat maker Marshall “ Duffy ” Duffield , a lifelong friend — and customer — of the model maker . After Gardiner ’ s passing , Duffield wanted to continue the legacy that Gardiner had established , so since the craft shop was nearby to Duffield ’ s
BOATS Page 11