Burger Boat Expands with New Facilities, New Contracts

By Larry Pearson

Burger Boat, Manitowoc, Wisc. has been in business since 1863, building a variety of commercial vessels and military vessels over the past 141 years. They have also built a sterling reputation in the construction of 80-95-foot luxury yachts.

Today Burger Boats is building bigger yachts and recently completed a new 36,000 square foot state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with two 210-foot by 100-foot building bays. The new building has 70-foot high ceiling, a heated concrete floor, overhead cranes and a mezzanine area that is level with the main deck of their yachts.

Workers can literally walk onto the vessel with their tools and materials without walking up and down ladders to reach the main deck of the vessel.

Burger Boat is now building tri-deck yachts, a larger, more luxurious vessel than the smaller boats in which the company has specialized. Their first tri-deck yacht was the Lady Grace Marie, a 122-foot vessel for Tom Benson, owner of the New Orleans Saints NFL team.

Charles F. Walgreen saw that vessel, and it seemed to be just the prescription for the multimillionaire drug store chain owner.

Walgreen, 95, and recuperating from a stroke, took an active role in the design of the boat, which included five feet of extra length, a piano, a fireplace and complete handicap accessibility.

The Sis W. is the fourth "Burger" Mr. & Mrs. Walgreen have owned. The 127-foot vessel has a 20-foot beam and a six-foot draft. Power is via a pair of Caterpillar 3508B engines developing 1300 hp at 1835 RPM.

A Quantum bow thruster is a part of the package as are two 65 kW Northern Lights gensets. One of the unique mechanical systems is the fire/bilge pump. It is a jet pump. Water flowing from the sea chest creates a suction in the bilge lines keeping the bilges dry. There are also backup hydraulic and electric pumps in the system.

The three-deck vessel has seven staterooms for the Walgreen's and their guests and five staterooms in the hull for the crew. The vessel was delivered late in 2003. Burger also has under construction a 144-foot trideck yacht for a Kuwaiti family to be called Mirgab V. The vessel will be based in the French Riviera. One of the unique features of this vessel is that the side bulwarks fold into a verandah that converts to a grand staircase to the sea. It is scheduled for delivery in the summer of 2006.

The largest trideck Burger is building is a 155-foot vessel for an American family. Work started this past March and it is scheduled for a summer 2006 delivery.

As noted, Burger has built over 70 vessels in the 65-90-ft. range through 1990. They are bringing this vessel back with a semi-custom series called the 70-foot Timeless Cruiser. Series. Since these vessels were the most popular and prolific yachts of their time, Burger feels they will be very popular and sell well in the new Millennium. The first of this series of vessels will be production this winter.