Covington businessman John Shelton has been aboard some of the finest private boats ever built. And we’re not talking the stuff of dreams for the average mortal. Think super-sized.

Shelton’s Creative Design Group specializes in designing, installing and maintaining custom integration systems on “private luxury yachts” worldwide. That includes electronic systems like home theatres, surround sound, music, entertainment and lighting control systems.

The yachts are like floating mansions. They typically range from about 160 to 200 feet in length, said Shelton. And if you have to look at the price tag, you probably can’t afford one. The least expensive costs around $20 million. Just to rent one for a week can cost $250,000, and when food, beverages, fuel and tips are factored in, the tally is more like $450,000, he said.

John Shelton, owner of Creative Design Group, has learned his way around luxury yachts since he started handling on-board electronics. He fell into the trade basically by accident. Now the Covington-based business is known as one of the best in its field. (Staff Photo by Marcelle Hanemann)

“The boats are spectacular, with the finest of materials and workmanship,” said Shelton. “They’re interesting. A lot are very gaudy, but some are exceptional, very tastefully done.”

One boasts a Picasso in the bathroom, plus rich woods, chandeliers, the finest furniture and, of course, top-of-the-line electronics throughout. The very privileged do not have to leave their luxuries on land.

Creative Design has a “pretty small list of clients,” said Shelton. He wouldn’t name names.

“These guys are the wealthiest men and women in the world,” he said. “They have $30 million toys. They’re not regular old, even executives. They’ve made it. I chase them around the world, wherever they happen to be when they need help.”

In the wintertime, he spends a lot of time in Florida and the Caribbean. In the summertime, it’s Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.

But life is not all sand, surf and champagne. Shelton toils amidst the luxury.

“Only 10 to 20 percent of the work is travel and maintenance,” he said. “Most is in the shipyard in less-than-ideal dusty, dirty, loud, cramped spaces trying to make something fit that doesn’t want to fit in the space.”

Shelton’s path to his current business started in New York, where he lived for a while. He’s a musician, and he worked in a recording studio.

“But when I moved back to New Orleans, there was no recording work,” said Shelton. “So, by a freak accident I landed a job with a company similar to this one that did home and residential systems. I broke into the yacht market with them. And when I left them, the yacht market came with me. I got a couple of jobs, a couple of deposits, and it was off to the races.”

He opened Creative Designs Group with a partner, in 2001. Initially the company dealt with both home and marine systems. Then Hurricane Katrina decimated the area, and the primary focus turned to yachts.

Now Shelton is the sole owner. Creative Designs has about 30 big, fine boats under its belt. And the client list is solid and growing.

“It’s all word of mouth,” said Shelton.

A very select-few mouths…and a limited number of companies that they could recommend, he said.

“There are probably 10 companies worldwide that specialize in the same market, if that many,” he said. “I can think of four. We’re considered one of the best in the industry.”

Shelton plans to keep it that way. The field is constantly advancing.

“I invest a lot of money in training, literature, continuing education and training on-site,” he said. “I’m keeping up and getting paid to do it.”

Shelton happens to own a boat himself.

“I have a small boat, nothing like all the ones we work on, that’s for sure,” he said.

But unlike the average dreamer, Shelton knows just exactly what is possible.