Logbook: Behind the Build
An inside look at how some of your favorite boats and their systems are built offers newfound perspective.
One of the greatest perks of this job, and there are many, is the access we’re granted to go behind the scenes with different boatbuilders and manufacturers. It’s always telling to see how someone reacts when I ask: “Can we set up a date to come out to your factory and see how your boats/components are made?”
Most of the major builders you regularly find within these pages build a product they’re proud of and can’t wait to show off. Pursuit comes to mind; they invited me with open arms to their Ft. Pierce facility and allowed me to see every inch of their build process. It was a fascinating blend of manual labor combined with cutting-edge robotics.
There have been numerous others however, that always seem to squirm out of showing us how the sausage is made. “Ahh, we would, of course, but we’re just so busy right now, the kid’s got the flu, it was sure nice talking to you, maybe next year,” are common refrains. I’m not going to name names (today) but I’ll give you a hint: they generally do not appear in our pages.
After testing the Formula 457 off Miami, I listened as Product Specialist Abe Haines spoke passionately about the Decatur, Indiana plant where all Formulas are built. When I mentioned how I’d like to make a visit out there, I was told emphatically, “Any time you want.”
Watching some of the most modern, most “Miami-ready” boats on the water being built in the center of the Heartland left a lasting impression on me. I saw how a single boatbuilder can be a pillar of an entire community; 500 families, most with deep pride for the work they do, pay their mortgages and raise their families off what they earn building boats. Boaters often get a bad rap from outsiders because of the fuel we consume or the high cost to play aboard the upper echelon of boats and yachts. I wish those who turn their noses up at high-quality boats could have walked through the Decatur factory with me.
Another builder that has given us a truly “open-door policy” has been Scout. That builder has invited Senior Editor Chris Dixon to see their record-breaking new 67 in-build multiple times. I hear Chris has even earned himself am employee parking pass and is on a first-name basis with many in the break room. It’s this level of transparency that gives us confidence in a brand that is almost always then backed up on the water.
On the smaller side of things, I was recently invited behind the scenes at Imtra Corp. in Massachusetts. As the U.S. distributor for countless companies and products, from LED lighting and Zipwake interceptors to bow thrusters and windshield wipers, they seem to have a hand in everything (stay tuned for some interesting innovation in fin stabilizers from Sleipner). My visit with that mid-sized, employee-owned company reminded me of just how many components go into a single boat and, therefore, how many people this industry employees. It’s not an exaggeration to say that thousands of hands touch every boat.
The issue you’re holding in your hands aims to take you along and provide you with the same backstage access we enjoy. You can join me in rural Decatur for a look inside Formula in my story “The Family Factor” and you can join my colleague, and Editor-in-Chief of Trade Only Gary Reich, for a look behind the curtain at Perko, a 100-year-old company that builds smaller components that make a big impact in our industry. If that name sounds familiar, but you can’t quite place it, it’s probably because you have flipped their battery switches a thousand times.
I hope this issue leaves you with a better appreciation for all the heart and hard work that goes into fueling the world’s greatest pastime. Boatbuilding, as it is with boating, is all about the people.
See you on the water, Dan
[email protected]
@danhardingboating
This article originally appeared in the August/September 2024 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
View the original article to see embedded media.
