Marlin Magazine--Blog and Photo Gallery of Wanchese Custom Boats Under Construction. Perhaps In Another Life

By Jim Field

Marlin Magazine On-Line today sent me a blast email notice of a feature they just placed on their website having to do with new construction of sportfishing boats in Wanchese, NC. Of course, we drive by Wanchase on our way to Hatteras Village, and we passed right by the boatworks all winter when we took the Sea Ya Bea from Pirate's Cove marina out to (and through) Oregon Inlet enroute to tuna fishing. Because we revere this locale on Planet Earth for its fishing heritage, and we revere the boats--rather, the unbelievable fishing machines, the works of art, that they build here--I thought it would be nice to "borrow" this material for our blog.

Thus, below please enjoy the blog entry posted by Dave Ferrell, one of the mag's staff writers, and photos from his accompanying gallery. Cool stuff.


Monday, July 12, 2010
Wanchese Boatbuilder Tour

It's no secret that Wanchese, North Carolina, hosts one of, if not the largest, concentration of custom boatbuilders on the planet. (South Florida might be a close second, or even first, but who's counting?) These custom builders, and the men who taught them, continue to shape the style and performance of sport-fishing boats the world over. This is the birthplace of many of the innovations that make our sport and its boats safer, more efficient and more fun! From the old-time boat captains and builders like Warren O'Neal, Billy Baum and Omie Tillett, a new breed of Spencers, Manns, Howells and Baylisses have sprung on the scene to make something great even better - the Carolina sport-fisher.

This past week I was lucky to swing by a few of the shops in the Wanchese area with one of the world's best wireman and Outer Banks native, Capt. Charles Perry. Everyone up there knows Perry and more importantly likes and respects him, so there's no better fellow to hang out with while visiting the Outer Banks. (I stayed with Perry and his lovely wife, Jessica, and I have to say it was one of my most pleasant trips away from home. Thanks for all your hospitality and conversation!)

I was pleasantly surprised by the activity and the number of boats I saw under construction, and although the area has been hit pretty hard by the recent recession, most of the fellows I talked to had a project under way and one or two coming down the pike. There were exceptions, however, and some of the bigger names in custom building are out of the game or have reduced their operations considerably. So if you're in the market for a fine Carolina-built boat, you can still find plenty of top-notch builders ready to go to work for you.

I started off my tour at Ritchie Howell's shop, and although he had two boats in the shed, Howell was staying on top of his fishing game as well by working a Bermuda tournament. His boys let me look around the place, however, and I got some pics of the boats. (You'll find a gallery of photos from the trip in our newsletter and online.)

Ricky Scarborough had a 70-some-odd-footer that barely fit in his shed, but it sure was a gorgeous-looking boat. Its low profile and clean lines are going to make it look much smaller than its true size once it's splashed sometime later this year. It' very pretty, and the cockpit is huge!

During my visit with Paul Mann, I probably learned more about what makes a boat ride right in my 10 minutes with him than I've had in my entire career here at Marlin. After a brief tour of his expansive shop, he sat me down in front of a white board and showed me exactly how he (and Mann says, Paul Spencer) designs one of the best-riding hulls on the market. It's always good when you hear one boatbuilder tell you good things about one of his competitors.

After I left Mann's place, I jumped into the whirlwind of activity over at John Bayliss' shop. Bayliss has two monster-size boats well under way, both 80-footers, and one getting ready for delivery later this month. The place is hopping like the ground is on fire!

Freedom Boatworks is staying busy with a cool little 37-footer that it plans to finish this year, and since I've always been partial to the smaller boats, I can't wait to see how it handles when completed.

Take a look at the pics in the gallery and get fired up to start your own build - these fellows can't wait to get you out on the water in your very own Carolina-built sport-fisher.