Owner’s rep Inglis: Speed equals more problems
Owner's representative Jack Inglis is the founder of Utimar,
A couple of hours over a lunch break was all he needed. Owner’s representative Jack Inglis was at the yard to discuss his new-build project but after a quick look at the progress of the sister vessel he asked for a copy of her general arrangement. With everyone else at lunch, he sat in the empty boardroom studying the drawings and couldn’t resist the urge to iron out what he saw as the flaws and operational issues that would inevitably haunt the owner.
With a pencil and a highlighter pen, Inglis enhanced multiple aspects of the 50m yacht’s general layout including the crew-guest interaction points, the access to technical spaces and the overall finish of the yacht.
“I could see so many flaws in the useability and adaptability,” the founder of Ultimar, the yacht owner representative business, tells us from his base in Mallorca. “Crew had to go through owner’s areas during operations. But with adjustments, such as moving the captain’s cabin to the starboard side, the areas started to expand and walkways became more fluid.”
It was too late to change that speculative build which was near completion, but Inglis was able to apply his thinking to the project he was there for, hull No.2.
It is this ability to visualise a project, born out of operational experience, and a frustration with what he saw as a lack of support for owners, that led Inglis, a former member of the UK’s Merchant Navy turned superyacht new-build captain, to venture into the realm of an owner’s rep for himself.
“Every yacht, no matter whether it’s 60ft or 60m, is someone’s dream, their passion,” he says. “They have worked hard for that and it’s unfair that something can be delivered and not be what they intended it to be. It’s an investment not just financially, but personally.”
Enough is enough
Too often Inglis had seen or heard of owners assigning people with no maritime experience to look after a build, unknowingly storing up problems for down the line.
Once, when joining as a new-build captain on a semi-custom project, he’d been assured it was running on time with a snag list down to 100 or so items. Inglis, with his own delivery protocol, invited his surveyor on board to check progress. After a few days the pair had compiled a snag list of more than 1,200 items. “Multiple safety and technical items, interior was nowhere near standard, we couldn’t even close the garage door,” he says. “This project clearly had no oversight from concept.”
The nominal owner’s rep was the owner’s chief financial officer, with no maritime knowledge. Inglis says his voice was heard, but he begrudgingly had to watch the vessel being delivered and was left with the responsibility of dealing with the aftermath of a significant warranty period. “This should have been delivered complete, to standard and expectation, and operationally ready to go, not just delivered and unfinished,” he adds. He says the yacht was sold after one season’s use, with a disappointed owner who has not since returned to yachting.
Inglis decided “enough is enough” and set up as an owner’s representative, convinced he could bring a more professional approach to the role than some individuals he had seen. He later enrolled on the inaugural Superyacht Builders’ Association (SYBAss) yacht owner’s representative programme and joined the Superyacht Alliance Yacht Owner Representative register.
Owners are not obliged to employ a representative, but educating prospective clients in the value of a good owner’s rep is key, says Inglis.
“It’s not just buy it, see it in a couple of years,” he says. “The projects are complex and you have to have a full understanding throughout the whole lifecycle. If owners are not willing to immerse themselves in the journey, they need a solid owner’s rep to lead and educate them through it. These are huge investments and you’ve got to reduce that risk.
“You have to be a guardian and a strategist for the project. It’s having lifecycle intelligence. It means thinking beyond the launch date. How will a project evolve technically, operationally, commercially? These projects have to be almost modular. They have to be able to adapt, to be future proofed.”
Speed equals problems
Inglis is worried that the rise in the number of new builds, especially at the smaller, production and semi-custom end of the superyacht market, will lead to significant headwinds with little advocacy on behalf of owners.
“Yards are saying look how big our order books are, but it’s created a huge amount of risk for the industry,” he says. “In my mind, they’re going to be returning back to the yards for warranty works quicker than they are delivered simply because the oversight during construction was not there.
“For me, quantity does not mean quality, speed just equals more problems.”
Inglis sees the role of an owner’s rep as a two-way conduit between the owner and the yard, as well as a liaison with all the other stakeholders in the build, from designers, naval architects and surveyors to classification societies, lawyers and family offices.
“It’s not being a yes man,” he says. “I’m able to translate the language of the shipyard effectively and also negotiate with shipyards to ensure that the client’s vision, investment and intent throughout the whole lifecycle of the projects can be executed efficiently.”
Like other parts of the superyacht industry, building relationships and trust with prospective clients is crucial and often a long-term game. Inglis has had clients with whom he’s pored over numerous specifications and visited multiple shipyards before anything came to fruition. “It’s time consuming, but it’s fun,” he adds.
But while the oversupply of yacht projects might suggest there is work aplenty, with some project managers taking on multiple builds at a time, Inglis is mindful that he needs a more discerning approach to do himself justice as an independent owner’s rep.
“I can’t be doing a load of projects, otherwise I’m being hypocritical of what I believe in,” he says.
At 37, with two decades of maritime experience under his belt, Inglis is keen to emulate the generation of owner’s reps before him, such as Derek Munro of Divergent Yachting, who have acted as mentors.
“Those are the generation of owner’s representatives that have delivered some phenomenal projects,” he says. “They’ve done amazing things for this industry and should be respected. As part of the next generation I will be happy to fill their shoes moving forward.
“Hopefully, I’ll be one of those guys at the end that can say, ‘I played my part.’”
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