Listen up, "Baywatch" fans (we know you're out there even if you won't admit it), the lifeguards of your favorite surfing soap opera will soon be hauling people out of the big briny courtesy of the Utah connection.
AeroTrans Corp., the Salt Lake-based manufacturer of WindJet watercraft, shipped on Tuesday two new "Baywatch" boats to California that will be used in future episodes of the top-rated show.The bright yellow boats are trimmed in black and have the words "Baywatch Lifeguard" in large red letters down each side. The WindJets are powered by two Sea-Doo XPs personal watercraft (PWCs), which may be detached from the boat and used individually.
Scott LeFevre, marketing and sales manager for Aerotrans, said company sales representatives met with Baywatch producers several months ago when they were considering adding a new boat to the Baywatch fleet.
"Our timing could not have been better," said LeFevre. "They dropped their plans on the craft they were going to use and approved the WindJet as their newest rescue vehicle."
The Baywatch deal will give the innovative WindJet massive exposure, said LeFevre. The show is seen in more than 100 countries, including 98 percent of the United States, and is the top syndicated TV program in the world.
He said the WindJet will be featured in at least two episodes of the show during the 1996-97 season and possibly in the spinoff "Baywatch Nights."
LeFevre said a story line has been written around the boat for a future Baywatch episode: A lifeguard is frustrated that he couldn't save a group of people because he didn't have the right kind of watercraft. He goes to work in his garage designing a new rescue boat and, voila! the WindJet is born.
In reality, Windjet was "born" four years ago when Dennis Talbot, now an employee of Aero-Trans, built a prototype of a boat that could be powered by two personal watercraft. Talbot took it to Lake Powell, where the interest it generated got him thinking.
When he told his father-in-law, G. O'Brien Garrett, also now an AeroTrans executive, about the excitement the boat caused at the lake, Garrett didn't hesitate: "Let's park it where people can't see it and apply for a patent," he advised.
They did just that and then formed a company to build it, called Hydrodynamics. They constructed a dozen or so prototypes - some of which, including the first, admittedly crude example, now reside in AeroTrans' back lot - and then Garrett had a long talk with Norman J. Van Skyhawk, president and CEO of AeroTrans.
The result was Hydrodynamics being acquired by AeroTrans last August. Van Skyhawk, a graduate of the Art Center in Pasadena, Calif., used his skill and experience in designing fiberglass people movers and train car modules to completely redesign the WindJet. The current version is a sleek dart, capable of speeds up to 40 mph.
By itself, the WindJet is a shell. Power comes from the two PWCs (although it will run on just one) that are literally driven into a pair of slots at the rear of the boat. Attaching the steering gear, accelerator and electrical connections takes from one to two minutes.
Once accomplished, the PWCs then act as engines for the boat, which is driven from an onboard console and steering wheel that is nearly identical to that of a standard boat with inboard or outboard motors. Detaching the PWCs to ride them individually requires reversing the attachment process.
AeroTrans is located in a 56,000-square-foot facility at 2001 N. 900 West, just off I-15. The company has 70 employees and sales last year of some $6 million. Garrett, general manager for the WindJet project, said he expects sales to top $7 million this year and soar as high as $25 million in two years.
Why the anticipated big jump? One word, says Garrett: WindJet.