October 2016

Photo By: @JimSmithBoats

Although he didn’t have an education past 6th grade, Jim Smith was extremely intuitive when it came to designing. After dropping out of school in 6th grade, Jim fiddled with a number of different jobs such as cutting wood, distributing liquor, and campaigning in motorcycle racing and outboard boat racing. Jim became very successful in the boat racing industry and it led him to a Johnson outboard distributorship. A short while after that, Jim decided he wanted to start building his own boats.

In 1959, Jim had constructed his first boat and named it the Boca Jima as he was living in Boca Raton, Florida. His astonishing project showed his passion for innovation and diverse background. The boat was cold molded with double

Photo By: Crystal Coast Interiors

In the early 1980’s, Richard Garlington was not a fan of the boats available so he decided to construct his own. He knew he could not do it by himself so he went to a longtime friend, U.S. Navy submarine designer Dan McCarthy, to ask for help. Richard and Dan combined their efforts and ideas to build a soft-riding hull with a running surface that could slice through rough seas while maintaining great tractability, safety, and comfort. It was from that point on that Garlington boats became a force in the sportfishing industry.

By 1987, the Landeweer family came along and noticed the opportunity of a successful company in building high quality, fast, custom convertible fishing boats. At that point, the Landeweer

Photo By: @ScarboroughBoatworks

Growing up in the small town of Wanchese, North Carolina, Ricky Scarborough was a natural when it came to commercial fishing and working on boats. Fishing and boating were a way of life for Ricky throughout the vast part of his childhood and early adult years. By the time Ricky was 30 years old, he was in desperate need of a worthy commercial fishing boat but didn’t have the money to buy one. The only option he had was to build his own. That was exactly what he did and by 1978, Ricky had built his first shop on the water and started the company, Scarborough Boatworks.

Over the past 40+ years, Scarborough has built and delivered over eighty custom boats ranging from 25 feet to 85 feet. Carrying on the illustrious

Photo By: @HatterasYachts

The Hatteras tradition all began back in 1959 when Willis Slane envisioned building a boat that could conquer the waters of Diamond Shoals and surmount the weather of Cape Hatteras. Diamond Shoals is home to some of the most violent and unstable waters in the Atlantic but is also home to some of the best sportfishing on the planet. To be able to fish and survive in these conditions, Slane’s boat would have to be very powerful and rugged. He knew that he had to do something different to achieve his dream so he chose a new material known as fiberglass to build his boat. The result was a 41-foot fiberglass sportfisherman that revolutionized the industry.

Soon after, the market was in demand for bigger boats so Hatteras

Photo By: Jarret Bay Boatworks

As a youngster, Randy Ramsey had always dreamt of running his own fishing boat off of the sometimes-tricky southern Outer Banks. In 1986, he achieved his dream when he constructed a single 52-foot charter boat known as the “Sensation”. That is when Jarrett Bay Boatworks was all started. Today, Jarrett Bay is a premier builder of custom sportfishing boats that over the years has constructed over 90 sportfishing vessels as well as serviced over ten thousand others.

Jarrett Bay prides itself in the rugged construction of their boats and it all starts by using every eye of the entire design team. After the design and layout are presented, the full force of manpower combined with top quality materials begin to construct

Photo By: @FortLauderdaleBoatShow

Known as the “Yachting Capital of the World”, Fort Lauderdale is the absolute perfect place for an enormous boat show. On November 3rd to November 7th, Fort Lauderdale will host its 57th annual International Boat Show.

Show exhibits will include yacht builders and designers as well as exotic cars and brokerage yachts. The show will feature a wide variety of boats and sea vessels such as sportfishers, high performance boats, center consoles, cabin cruisers, flats boats, skiffs, sailing yachts, motor yachts, catamaran, ski boats, jet boats, inflatables, canoes, and unimaginable superyachts.
Covering six locations and over three million square feet of space, the show’s transportation arrangement of bus shuttles, water

Since Buddy Davis founded Buddy Davis Yachts in the mid 1980’s, they have been recognized around the world for the legendary ride they produce. The Davis hull is designed to slice through large seas and sit still while fishing in harsh conditions due to its deep narrow entry and its admirable flair. Outside of its incredible ride and exceptional handling, the Davis brand is laid out to accommodate the die-hard fisherman with superior fishing amenities from bow to stern. Each and every Davis boat is methodically planned out and engineered to ensure an unprecedented fishing experience while providing passengers with luxurious cabins to comfort the entire crew.

Davis boats has mastered the technology and world-class engineering and production

 Photo By: @BertramYachts

In the 1950’s, Dick Bertram was a well-established blue-water sailing yacht racer, powerboat racer, and yacht broker. In 1960, Bertram founded Bertram Yachts and built the first ever Bertram, the 31-foot Glass Moppie. The Bertram 31 initiated the launch of a line of performance and sportfishing boats that would be known for their exceptional ride and seakeeping in harsh conditions. Over its many years in the boating industry, the company has grown increasingly thanks to many remarkable models such as the Bertram 28, 46, and 54 that all left their footprint in the fishing world. In 2015, Bertram Yachts was acquired by the Ferretti Group and now operates as a subsidiary.

Today, Bertram is based out of Miami, Florida and

Photo By: @BaylissBoatworks

Bayliss Boatworks has been meticulously building custom sportfishing yachts in Wanchese, North Carolina since 2002. They maintain a state of the art facility laid out to manufacture the best boats in the most efficient manner. The Bayliss facility is dedicated to enhancing productivity and achieving world-class quality by paying close attention to detail.

The Bayliss Boatworks facility features four construction bays, a 100-ton marine travel lift, a 45-foot tall paint shop, a 4,000 square foot woodworking shop for building custom interiors, a complete metal shop for producing stainless steel and aluminum, full service mechanical shop, a three level workshop smartly designed to enable workers to devote more time to the

Photo By: @AmericanCustomYachts

American Custom Yachts was started by Dominick LaCombe in 1991 and is based out of Stuart, FL. By the time he founded ACY, Dominick was already well-established in the marine industry as he had supervised the construction of the world’s fastest diesel powered sportfisherman that reached speeds of 48 knots.

American Custom Yachts maintains a 63-acre marine facility that accommodates the manufacturing of their world-famous custom sportfisherman along with providing an array of marine services such as yacht repair, repowering and refitting, full painting services, and storage for over 300 boats with around the clock security.

In 1993, ACY launched its first custom sportfisherman that featured an exclusive water