SEATON YACHTS - Key Persons


Captain John Clayman - President

Job Titles:
  • President
  • Principal
Born in Marblehead, Massachusetts John Clayman was a water rat from an early age; quickly progressing from small boats to CCA Ocean Racers at a time when the offshore superboats of the day were such classics as TICONDEROGA, BOLERO and ONDINE. Fortunate to sail with some of the best in his youth, he was schooled in the arts of seamanship, proper maintenance and navigation before electronics. After graduating from Dartmouth College, where he was a member of a National Intercollegiate Sailing Championship team, John chose to follow his passion and he studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at M.I.T. During this period, he also learned hands-on how to build and repair all sorts of yachts. When a death in his family required him to jump into a family business, he set aside his ambitions for the next sixteen years to manage the manufacturing firm with 300 employees and sales in 46 countries. John managed time to cruise and race extensively aboard his 1937 classic 57' sloop built in the UK and to acquire an interest in a full-service yacht yard, which he still owns today. Beginning in 1996, it was only natural for John to return to his roots in the boating industry where he rejoined the legendary Ted Hood at Little Harbor first in the design office and eventually as General Manager. As the East Coast distributor for Selene Ocean Trawlers, he was instrumental in introducing and refining these displacement powerboats. In 2005, John teamed with Marine industry veterans Stephen R. Seaton and L.E. "Nick" Nicholson to form Seaton Yachts to specialize in the design, construction and sales of new and brokerage seagoing sail and motoryachts. A veteran cruiser under both sail and power with countless sea miles, John brings decades of experience in the design, construction, and marketing of cruising boats to Seaton Yachts. He is a licensed Florida Yacht Broker, a YBAA Certified Professional Yacht Broker, serves on the board of the United States Superyacht Association and is a longtime member of the New York Yacht Club. He has a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of most of the high quality seagoing sailing and power yachts worldwide and he prides himself on providing Seaton Yacht's clients with unsurpassed service.

Harry van Bommel

Captain Harry van Bommel has professional experience that covers many facets of the marine industry, both private and commercial. A USCG licensed captain who's delivered vessels internationally, he's also acted as consultant on new and used vessel brokerage as well as new build management. He's worked on an oil platform dismantling project and in tugboat and crew operations. He's also served as a charter yacht captain for personal and corporate use. Professional credentials include sailing and towing endorsements, certified diving, FCC radio license, current TWIC credentials.

Nick Nicholson - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
  • Editor of the Practical Sailor
Nick Nicholson was for 25 years an editor of the Practical Sailor, the marine industry's hard-nosed consumer magazine. During a 15-year involvement in the technical side of the America's Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race, he developed unprecedented experience in high-tech composite construction and sophisticated engineering systems. In his "spare time" he built a cruising sailboat and completed a 30,000-mile circumnavigation. Nick's know-how and insight will be especially valuable to our clients interested in new construction projects.

Stephen R. Seaton - Founder

Job Titles:
  • Founder
Steve Seaton's name is synonymous with offshore cruising powerboats. In the last 40 years, he has produced more than 400 designs, many of which are long-range cruisers that define the modern trawler yacht. Seaton's boats are widely valued for their seakindliness, efficiency, and timeless good looks. The "Seaton look" has been widely imitated throughout the industry, but an original Seaton design has a style and ability all its own.