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"Ladies were coming!" Drysdale recalls with horror. Following another skipper's suggestion, Drysdale radioed a small business that specialized in pumping out marine-toilet holding tanks. The experience got him thinking about other work that needed to be done on the boat; asking around led him to Aqualube Inc., a local business that the two Wests ran out of a boat they'd outfitted to drain system fluids without mess or environmental damage. Impressed, Drysdale persuaded them to franchise their concept. (Drafting the business agreement and dealing with a traveling and often-unreachable fourth partner delayed the launch until 1998.)

WHAT'S TO LOVE: The market Naut-a-Care seeks to navigate is stable and underserved, according to Caroline Ajootian, director of consumer affairs for the Boat Owners Association of the United States. There are about 17 million registered inboard boats in this country, and most of their owners hate wasting precious sailing hours on such un-fun activities as oil changes. Naut-a-Care customers don't even have to pull into a dock: the company's ocean-going monohull crafts are equipped with two 90-horsepower outboard engines, portable holding tanks, vacuums, and other mounted tools and can pull alongside other vessels to perform their services.

"Boats require more maintenance than automobiles do, but there's nothing like a Jiffy-Lube that can be found in harbors across the country," Ajootian says. "Marine dealers provide most of the service, and their industry has been mom-and-pop for years. They get really busy, and that leaves owners pretty annoyed." Those moms and pops are potential customers, points out Harry West, since they can outsource the service component of their business to the local Naut-a-Care franchise.

In addition, "the marine industry requires a considerable amount of overhead for the equipment and seasonal labor," she says. "Franchising might take away a lot of difficulties for the entrepreneur." One start-up expense Drysdale's scheme eliminates is land. "A really good marine business has always had to be by the water, where real estate is expensive," Ajootian says. "Since this business is on a boat, an entrepreneur could easily rent space at a marina or contract for dock space."

To date, Naut-a-Care has signed up three franchisees covering 12 California harbors. Plans call for the company to enter Florida and other U.S. markets this fall, then sell two $500,000 master licenses for international markets in 2000.

FLIES IN THE OINTMENT: Naut-a-Care expects to do a large part of its business overseas, which will make it difficult to ensure that franchisees are happy and adhering to their contracts. Drysdale is addressing the problem by selling international master licenses that will involve providing foreign franchises with company-trained local management. Also, one thing that Michael Seid, a franchise consultant based in West Hartford, Conn., isn't crazy about is Naut-a-Care's decision to charge licensees a flat monthly fee of $500 instead of a percentage of income. "I'm not a fan of flat fees in domestic operations," Seid says. "I think it's better to deal with the accounting issues than to walk away from them. The purpose of a franchise is for both sides to make money and for both sides to think that the deal is fair."

THE "HORATIO HORNBLOWER" FACTOR: It takes an old salt to know an old salt, and all three principals served in the U.S. Navy. Those credentials "make it very easy for us to talk to customers," says the elder West. "They give us a lot of respect." --M. H.

8. A Winning Exit Strategy

COMPANY: X-It Products LLC, San Francisco
YEAR FOUNDED: 1997
CONCEPT: Make and sell home-safety products--an escape ladder that folds up to the size of a two-liter soda bottle and a fire extinguisher as light as a can of hair spray--that are easy to use and store
PRINCIPALS: Andrew Ive, 31, cofounder and CEO; Aldo DiBelardino, 30, cofounder and chief technology officer; Kevin Dodge, 29, chief financial officer
PROJECTIONS: Growing from just over $1 million in sales in 1998 to about $3 million this year
FUNDING: A little more than $500,000 from 10 investors

BIRTH LEGEND: As a Harvard Business School student, Ive hated it when the fire alarms in his dorm were set off accidentally. He figured an escape ladder would restore his peace of mind, but the two he bought turned out to be difficult to unfold and seemingly too flimsy to support his 215 pounds. Certain that he could do better, Ive enlisted DiBelardino, who was in his product-development course, and they built a ladder as a class project. The aluminum-runged result of their labors, which supports twice as much weight as steel-runged competitors, hit Super Kmart less than six months later.

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