01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, June 6, 2006

BY PAUL GRIMALDI
Journal Staff Writer

PORTSMOUTH -- Two Rhode Island companies, one tiny, the other about as large as they come, are partners in an effort to sell high-speed utility boats to the U.S. military, government agencies and businesses.

The partnership gives fledgling boat builder Naiad Inflatables of Newport Inc. the chance to land large-scale contracts while providing Providence-based conglomerate Textron Inc. access to Naiad's nimble designs.

Representatives of the two companies talked about their matchup last week as a prototype neared completion at the Melville Boat Basin, off West Main Road.

The boat is on display today at the Multi-Agency Craft Conference, which runs through Thursday in Norfolk, Va. Sponsored by the Navy, the annual conference brings together military personnel, government agencies and commercial vendors for demonstrations of small boats, related gear and technology.

Now in its ninth year, the conference draws interest because small boats are playing a new role in homeland defense and security.

"What we're trying to do is create a new Navy standard boat," said Stephen Connett Jr., who owns Naiad with his father.

Through a license from Naiad New Zealand, the Portsmouth company produces aluminum boats with deep, rigid V-shaped hulls topped by buoyant inflatable fenders -- tubes made of polyurethane. The design provides a smooth ride through choppy seas.

"We get a more complex-shaped hull," Connett said, which helps the boat cut through rough water.

The prototype is built to the standard length for utility boats now in service with the Navy.

At about 39 feet long and 10 feet wide, the prototype is wider, longer and faster than what the Navy uses now, Connett claimed. Twin Cummins engines produce 1,100 horsepower, capable of operating the boat at 48 knots, or 55 mph.

Aside from the standard steering wheel and throttle, the boat is equipped with software that allows it to be steered with a computer mouse, making maneuvering easier in a marina's close quarters or marshy estuaries. The system allows for operation by remote control.

The Navy is testing a Naiad with remote-control steering in Norfolk, before moving it to Panama City, Fla., for further trials.

Textron already is a major supplier for the military, producing helicopters, tilt-wing aircraft, armored vehicles and landing craft for various service branches.

The Army and Navy use thousands of utility boats, which have to be replaced periodically, said Clay Moise, of Textron.

Since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the military and other government agencies have also been using small boats in harbors, rivers and other shallow waters for homeland security.

Moise is vice president of marine and combat vehicles at Textron Marine & Land, a division of Textron Systems Corp., which is a subsidiary of Textron Inc. The Marine & Land unit makes air-cushioned landing craft and armored security vehicles for the military at two plants in Louisiana.

In a telephone interview, Moise said Textron has two boat designs that "are not really ready for prime time. We were looking for a company that had a unique lightweight design."

A consultant told Textron about Naiad Inflatables. Soon after, Textron and Naiad reached a deal to produce the boats.

"It dovetails very nicely with what we're doing in New Orleans," Moise said.

Under the deal, the small Portsmouth company is responsible for the design and initial manufacturing of the boats, as well as producing small lots. When a government agency or private concern places a large order, production will shift to New Orleans.

Connett is a veteran of three America's Cup sailboat racing series, having been a support-team member in 1992, 1995 and 2000, the last in New Zealand. He has more than six years on the water piloting Naiad boats.

His dad, a former faculty member at St. George's School, skippered the Geronimo, a 54-foot yawl that the private school used for research purposes.

The elder Connett incorporated Naiad Inflatables of Newport Inc. in 2003. In classical mythology, a naiad is a nymph, or minor divinity, that lives in and gives life to bodies of water.

The company has built 30 boats since its founding and now employs 12 people, including subcontractors. Three Naiad boats were used in the production of a documentary film about the Titanic that aired on the Discovery Channel.

Unlike fiberglass boats, which are built from a mold, Naiad's aluminum hulls are built in pieces, making production flexible.

"Since we don't build a mold, we can change it on the computer before we build it," Connett said.

His company sends the designs to a subcontractor, which uses a high-pressure water jet to cut out the shapes needed to assemble a hull.

"When we get the boat, it shows up as a big jigsaw puzzle," he said.

In a steel shed about the length of two suburban houses, nine workmen clambered around the shiny-hulled prototype on Friday. Blue plastic sheeting, held down by lime-green tape, protected the boat deck as they moved about, making last-minute adjustments to the hull before it was dropped into the water on the west side of the island.

Valve seals weren't watertight. Some engineering work was left to be done before it was loaded onto a truck destined for Virginia.

Naiad can produce boats ranging in length from 12 1/2 feet to more than 41 feet. One like the prototype would cost about $500,000.

"We can design, engineer and test a boat far better than [Textron] can," Connett said.

The plan is to build 40 to 50 boats a year -- about $10 million worth -- in Portsmouth. At that point, the company would employ about 50 people, including subcontractors.

Large orders, though, would be turned over to Textron.

With Textron producing the hulls, "we won't be overwhelmed," Connett said.

A contract to produce Naiads for the military would be lucrative for Textron.

"In the long term, [the Naiad] has the potential to be a significant portion of our revenue," Textron's Moise said.

pgrimald@projo.com / (401)-277-7356