Yachts International- November 2005

Zak Kadosh
BORN TO DESIGN

Born in Israel in 1959, Zak followed in the footsteps of his father and studied design in Tel Aviv before joining the Israeli Navy. Right after he completed his military duties, Zak headed straight for Fort Lauderdale, where he - like most Florida transplants -was attracted by the tropical weather.

"I've been here for 20 years but I never get sick of the aqua water, sunshine, palm trees and friendly people," Zak says. "The first thing I noticed was all the beautiful waterways and boats down here, and I'm lucky to be now designing interiors for some of the biggest."

Shortly after moving to South Florida he got a job working for a local interior designer and then after a few years Zak landed his first job in the marine industry designing yacht interiors at Jackson Marine in Fort Lauderdale.

"I was doing the interiors for 50' to 60' yachts, including Trojans and many other designs," says Zak, who spent the next four years between Jackson and nearby Billfish Marina before starting out on his own 13 years ago in a small warehouse at the Harbour Towne Marina in Dania Beach.

From his small showroom and workspace Zak tirelessly worked on attracting clientele with fair prices, quality products and a work ethic second to none. All his countless hours of work paid off four years ago, when 10,000 square-feet of warehouse space and 6,000 square-feet of workshop space opened up in Harbour Towne. Zak took over the facility and turned it into an amazing two-story, combination of shipyard and showroom, where a yacht owner can get anything for a yacht interior he might need, or have it made on the premises.

The facility is capable of accommodating yachts up to 120' and grew from a small shop into a one-stop, full-service, drive-through design facility with dockside service directly outside the showroom, where boaters can literally stop, dock & shop.

Zak's list of yacht refit customers numbers over 70, including Azimuts, Lazzaras, Browards, Vikings, Hatteras' and Inace Explorers, all uniquely designed to the owner's wishes.

"Business has been great and I now get to tour the world looking for unique furniture, fabrics and items that yacht owners might need," Zak says. "Traveling worldwide keeps my design concepts fresh, and allows me to meet my client's desires for unique fabrics, artwork, lighting, furniture and other accessories truly fit for a yacht. It never gets dull in the yacht design industry."

Zak also finds time each year to help Yachts Publisher Karlene Pack design the Yachts Pavilion at the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show, where he gets to display his products to our magazine's VIPs.

"The Pavilion is a great place to show off what IK Yacht Design can do, "he says. " It's a great place to gain exposure with an elite clientele."

In his free time Zak spends weekends with his wife Desiree, IK Yacht's Design's graphic designer, on their 31' Fountain, and currently has a 90' Camper & Nicholsons motor yacht that was launched in 1975. When he can find the time Zak is refitting the yacht to become his company's "world showroom," where he can show off his collection to other yacht owners.