Lear Boats

http://www.lear-electric-boats.com/

Few companies can reach a level of excellence that none can surpass. These corporations are home to innovators of highly coveted products and services, and are constantly improving upon their own ideas. Those of such high levels of distinction maintain a standard of excellence for themselves, and continually imagine new products and services that customers desire. A name that has reached that level of superiority is LEAR, whose name reflects nothing but positive images in the field of innovation and luxury. The name originates from William P. Lear (Bill Lear) whose visionary products include over 110 patents including the automobile radio (Motorola), the ADF Automatic Direction Finder, the Automatic Pilot, the Automatic Landing System, the Learjet and the LearStar which became the eighteen passenger Regional Jet which now is produced by Bombardier. Bill Lear’s business model : “Planned Longevity” – “Built to last”.

Terry Baylor, a renowned creative problem solver has not only been a boat builder of over 180 sailboats and yachts but has been an industrial pattern maker and tooling specialist for forty years including tooling and design for aerospace NASA (building the drop-launch and underwater testing models of the X40 un-manned space shuttle), Rockwell (designing ergonomically comfortable cockpits for their airplanes), Universal Studios (the shark that jumps out of the water to scare you when you tour the studio on the tram), Warner Brothers Studios, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (the robot costumes for the movie Ice Pirates), as well as Disneyland and built all the novelty attractions of TOONTOWN and the Disneyland Orlando Splash Mountain.

In 1995, Terry Baylor, whose business was in Santa Ana California, was asked to manufacture the hulls and decks for a local electric boat building company, who, because of Air Quality Control Zoning issues, was no longer able to manufacture their fiberglass boats in Costa Mesa, California.

Terry Baylor realized, at that time, that there was a need to improve on the basic design of electric boats. He set out to design an electric boat that was safer, that could run (at 5MPH) for ten hours instead of six, that was not tippy – unstable- so that people would not get hurt, that had a swim-step with a ladder (so that people could get back in the boat if they fell overboard.) He felt the boat should also have corrosion proof electrical connectors and high quality wiring (Military grade) to prevent electrical fires! A fiberglass roof that didn’t need to be replaced every three or four years to the tune of three to four thousand dollars (!) … and most of all, it had to be a boat that was more comfortable, with more leg-room and with a bow low enough so that you could see where you are going without having to stand or having to have the steering be on the side of the boat. Terry Baylor wanted to design a boat that he would be happy to have. One that you can count on to operate when you want to go out and enjoy your time on the water… His business model has always been “Planned Longevity”. As a life-long sailor and private pilot, Terry Baylor knows that when you get in your boat or airplane you not only want it to work but you want to be able to get home safely!

At that time, Terry Baylor met Shanda Lear, the daughter of inventor, entrepreneur Bill Lear. When Terry Baylor showed Shanda Lear the boat he was building, Shanda asked if Terry could make the top go down. When asked why, she said, "Because if the top went down, when I went swimming with my kids, my purse would be safe." Realizing the value of that idea, Terry Baylor then envisioned that he could add a sliding aft-hatch over the driver’s seat, so that you could drive the boat with the top down! And THAT was the day the idea for the LEARBOAT was conceived.
Shanda Lear, Bill Lear’s daughter, as a teenager, introduced the 4-track stereo tape player to her father and insisted that he put it in the Learjet. It became the Learjet 8-track stereo. As a young mother, she realized that the multi-national infant formula companies paid for neonatal doctors education in medical schools where the curriculum, regarding breastfeeding, was designed by the infant formula companies to promote their products. The curriculum promoted obligatory hospital policies and had insurance companies demand also that these practices be obligatory ie. suctioning the baby’s mouth at birth. This causes “oral aversion” in infants. This scares the infant from allowing anything else into their mouths and they suck in their lips to prevent further trauma. This prevents them from latching onto the breast’s areola properly. When there is no suctioning, the baby naturally accepts into its mouth the nipple AND areola. It is the baby’s swallowing motion of the tongue that compresses the areola and thereby “cues” the breast to start and continue to produce milk as long as the baby is allowed to go to the breast for either nourishment or comfort. Shanda, a published author and motivational speaker and teacher, helped to write hospital protocols and counseled mothers and taught hospital staff for twenty years. At the time, she lived in Switzerland and was the President of the non-profit organization La Leche League for Italy and Switzerland. Because of her tireless efforts, today 97% of all babies in Switzerland today are breastfed! When she returned to the USA, she wrote and produced an animated 11 minute musical rap called Breastfeed Ya’ Baby that you can see on YouTube to educate inner-city teen-agers about breastfeeding.

In addition, she inspires young people to believe that they, too, can be creative problem solvers, with the motivational talk she produced and presents to audiences all over the USA called “The Secrets to the Success of Moya and Bill Lear and the Learjet” and the accompanying workshop “The Learjet Ride to Success” which helps young people define their Mission Statement: what really sets their heart on fire…. that they really want to do… to bring good to this world.

Shanda Lear’s Mission Statement is “To bring comfort and cheer to those who want to listen.” When asked what Learboats have to do with that Mission Statement, she replies “providing Learboats to people to enjoy gives them an experience of comfort and luxury: from the ergonomic lumbar-support seating, to having a boat that is easy to steer and having everything easy to use and maintain. The gentle rocking subliminally reminds one of being back in the womb and creates a sense of safety and relaxation, the lack of smell and the lack of noise are surprising, refreshing… and comforting. In addition… not having to put on or take off a heavy cover, and… not having to pay for gas is definitely a reason to be cheerful!” But wait there’s more! Because the Learboat, with its retractable hardtop is trailerable and has a porta-potty with privacy curtains, a sink and hookups for a microwave and can even have a barbecue and a shower on the swim-step, the Learboat can qualify for a mortgage as a second home and can be used to travel around the country to different out of doors destinations. So you can park it in front of your garage and take it anywhere… even load it on a ship and take it to far off countries!

By 2006, the Learboat, with the retractable hardtop, was ready to be introduced to the market. The first boat was sold to Destin Florida, and because of the retractable hardtop, it rode out the hurricane Katrina without any damage! In two years, the Learboat’s experienced crew of boatbuilders, with only one set of boat molds, turned out 44 Learboats which were sold as fast as they could be produced!

When the 2008 recession hit, Shanda Lear and Terry Baylor decided to put production of new Learboats on hold because, at that time, 75% of all boat building businesses went bankrupt because people did not have the disposable income to buy luxuries. The Learboat company reluctantly had to lay-off their employees, who fortunately found jobs in other industries. The company maintained their R&D shop in Garden Grove, California and have been able to give part-time work to their key people on weekends and evenings to support customers and to refurbish pre-owned Learboats to like-new quality. In addition, the company has been able to supply specially designed products to other companies and even recently to the new Shanghai Disneyland Amusement Park.