Commodore, as he likes to be called,
has been sailing for the better part of his life, starting with a "Vaurien" as a boy, a Hobbie
Cat as a teenager and a Morgan 33´as a mature sailor. He owned several motorboats including the greatest
cruising catamaran ever built, the LAGOON POWER 43. Presently, his main activity is the distribution of LAGOON catamarans
in Latin America and the marketing of WALACRAFT worldwide.
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- To achieve the highest quality
- To provide outstanding service
- To
promote work force pride
- To help the community
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James Laing is the most experienced boatbuilder living in Panama. He is the brain and soul of
the WALACRAFT undertaking. He
started sailing on Wellington harbour, when he was 8 years old. Boats and boating have been part of
his life from then on, which gives him over 55 years in the boating world, both as a boat-builder and a sailor. In 1955, he worked with his cousin, Nicholas Atkinson, in the pioneering of cold molded epoxy glued boats
in York Bay, Wellington, New Zealand. After he went to Europe in 1963
he continued his involvement with the sea. As skipper, he completed numerous off-shore deliveries across the
Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. Throughout, he has repaired and built
boats, developing his skills and knowledge as a professional shipwright in England, Wales, the Azores, California, India and
Panama. Based in Panama for 30 years, he has trained local labor in his skills with the aim of providing
a competent skilled local work force to service the constant flow of small boats visiting Panama. Currently, he is completing the total rebuild of a
1914 gentleman's racing schooner built by Burger Boats in Manitocwoc, Wisconsin and supervises the manufacturing
of the WALACRAFT... A recognised marine expert, he is also a Surveyor of Yachts for American and European
Insurance companies
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