InTheBite

  • Home
  • News
    • All News
    • Featured Stories
    • General News
    • Captain of the Year
    • Tournament Results
    • First Builds
    • Splash Reports
    • Old Salts Rule
    • Tackle Tips
    • Dock Talk
    • Crew Records
    • Conservation
  • Tournaments
    • Calendar
    • Captain of the Year
    • Champion’s Cup
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Subscriptions
    • Back Issues
    • Shirts
    • Hats & Visors
    • Miscellaneous
    • Release Rulers
  • Classifieds
  • Job Board
  • Contact
    • Contact InTheBite
    • InTheBite Media Kit
  • Log in

Meet the Owners: Bill Wallace of Willy Vac

January 8, 2020 By InTheBite Editor

Photo courtesy Bill Wallace

InTheBite chats with Bill Wallace, of Wallace Marine and creator of the Willy Vac. 

Bill Wallace is the founder of Willy Vac. An ingenious product that today is found in the engine rooms of all manner of sportfisher, Wallace provides some background on the Willy Vac. He was nice enough to take a bit of time to describe his inspiration for the Willy Vac and all that is happening with the company today. With testimonials from some top of the line captains and an ever-expanding list of satisfied customers, Wallace’s brain child is keeping bilges clean and dry around the world.

More than all of that, however, Bill Wallace is an awfully nice guy.

What’s new with your business?

“I’m spending my efforts and time making the [Willy Vac] machines as small as possible and as easy to service as possible,” Wallace relates. When the intended of home a piece of equipment is the engine room, size matters. “Real estate in the engine room of a boat is hard to come by so the smaller you can make something the easier it is to get into the engine room and to work around it once it’s in there. Owners that buy a boat want as much equipment as they can get into the boat and most of the time that equipment goes in the engine room.”

Bill Wallace. Photo courtesy Bill Wallace

How was the business started?

“I grew up in the auto industry with a family that owned a business. After I graduated from that, I moved to smaller boats and from those to heavy equipment. Then I opened my own marine repair business in ’98.”

Before long, Wallace’s marine repair business was working with new boats. At one point, some 90 percent of the business consisted of working with boats one year old or newer. This customer base led Wallace to the idea for the Willy Vac.

“I spent a lot of time in engine rooms that were perfectly clean. Keeping them perfectly clean was how this machine was developed,” Wallace explains. “I figured out that something is constantly breaking in a boat. There’s so much water that runs through that equipment. Most of the time, this water ends up in bilge. If you are constantly managing the bilge and keeping it perfectly clean (as Wallace found himself doing), you get a pretty good eyeball on everything in the engine room. If the bilge stays clean there’s not going to be too many problems going on with the boat.”

It took three years to perfect that first bilge machine.

“If you can make it big, it’s not difficult,” Wallace says of designing a machine capable of sucking water out of a dirty bilge. “The problem was making it small and finding a pump that would overcome the vacuuming when the machine was running.” Since that initial Willy Vac model, Wallace has continued to modify the pump to be even more efficient. Today’s Willy Vacs are not only efficient enough to do the job, but they are small and compact.  Not only that, they are nice to look at.

Willy Vac. Photo courtesy Bill Wallace

What do you like to do outside of work?

“I would say boating would be my biggest hobby. My wife and I do a lot of boating when we can. “

Wallace and his wife live near a wildlife refuge in South Carolina. They can be found out on the boat for the day, heading north or south, enjoying the barrier islands and beaches. It doesn’t hurt that the waterways around them are usually devoid of too much boat traffic. Of course, he still has a passion for motor sports and his love for the spirit of competition still burns strong.

What do you like about the sportfishing industry?

“I deal with captains more than boat owners. The coolest thing for me is that most of the captains are extremely particular people,” Wallace says, describing how meticulous they are in caring for their boats. “Many captains are highly competitive people with sportfishing boats who enjoy competing in tournaments. I think the thing I enjoy most is following the people that have my machines on their boats and watching them do well and succeed at what they do.”

Photo courtesy Bill Wallace

What do you enjoy about InTheBite?

“The personal attention I get from everybody at InTheBite.”

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Email

Do you have any comments or questions for us? We’d love to hear from you.

    Filed Under: Auxiliary, Equipment, Featured Stories, News, People Tagged With: Bilge, bill wallace, boat hardware, business owner, clean engine room, willy vac

    Recent News

    Colombia To Ban Recreational Fishing

    On May 2, the Supreme Court of Colombia ruled that recreational fishing was unconstitutional. As a result, Colombians expect a ban on recreational fishing to take effect within one year. The decision comes after the Court’s 2019 ban on r … [Read More...]

    lines

    Superlines

    Modern dredge fishing has evolved tremendously, with multi-tiered teasers complementing intricate pulley systems mounted to towering outriggers. Mono has been a reliable choice for dredge line and outrigger halyards for years and is still popular … [Read More...]

    I Always Like A Red Head—Is Lure Color Important?

    By Peter B Wright How important is the color of a lure to a billfish, a tuna or any other large pelagic game fish? For many fish, including everything from small bait fish to giant marlin and tuna, color vision can be hugely … [Read More...]

    blue marlin fishing

    Blue Marlin Blast Fishing Tournament

    By Toine van Ierland, Tournament Director Cape Verde on fire! In both 2020 and 2021, we were forced to postpone the tournament thanks to COVID-19, but on the night of April 24, 2022, we finally kicked off the 2022 EFSA European Championship Big … [Read More...]

    New State Record for Dolphin Fish

    Georgia DNR, Brunswick, Ga., May 5, 2022—A 53-year-old Midway man is the new state record holder for dolphin fish (Coryphaena hippurus), also known as mahi mahi, after the Georgia Department of Natural Resources certified his catch Friday. James … [Read More...]

    Leave a Reply

    Connect With InTheBite

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Subscribe to InTheBite Magazine Today!

    InTheBite Magazine Current Cover

    Our latest issue is hitting the docks now! Be sure to subscribe to the hottest bluewater mag on the market. Purchase or Subscribe »

    InTheBite Champion’s Cup

    InTheBite Champions Cup Logo

    New for 2022, the Champion’s Cup is an optional paid entry with a winner-takes-all prize format for teams who want to up the stakes in each division utilizing our longstanding tournament scoring formula.

    Captain of the Year Cup Standings

    COTY / ITB Cup Logo

    News

    • Colombia To Ban Recreational Fishing

      Colombia To Ban Recreational Fishing

      On May 2, the Supreme Court of Colombia ruled that recreational fishing was unconstitutional. As a result, Colombians expect a ban on recreational fishing to take effect within one year. The decision comes after the Court’s 2019 ban on recreational hunting. Then, the Court held that recreational hunting was animal cruelty and a threat to the environment. It has made... [Read More...]

    • Blue Marlin Blast Fishing Tournament

      Blue Marlin Blast Fishing Tournament

      By Toine van Ierland, Tournament Director Cape Verde on fire! In both 2020 and 2021, we were forced to postpone the tournament thanks to COVID-19, but on the night of April 24, 2022, we finally kicked off the 2022 EFSA European Championship Big Game Fishing Tournament, AKA The PENN Challenge. And what a tournament it was. Expectations Two weeks prior... [Read More...]

    • New State Record for Dolphin Fish

      New State Record for Dolphin Fish

      Georgia DNR, Brunswick, Ga., May 5, 2022—A 53-year-old Midway man is the new state record holder for dolphin fish (Coryphaena hippurus), also known as mahi mahi, after the Georgia Department of Natural Resources certified his catch Friday. James Roberts of Midway landed the 68-pound, 1.6-ounce dolphin on April 26. He was fishing over Deli Ledge approximately 80 miles east of... [Read More...]

    • Capt. Patrick Price Memorial

      Capt. Patrick Price Memorial

      By Dave Powell, Captain Patrick Price Reef Project Manager On Sept. 6, 2021, Capt. Patrick Price passed away from COVID-19. Soon thereafter, a group of about 100 boat owners, captains, and fishermen, all friends of Pat’s, got together for afternoon beer in front of Fish Heads Tackle Shop. Their goal was to come up with a memorial to honor their good... [Read More...]

    • Contender One/Costa Wins the Quest For The Crest & Still Right Wins Final Sail

      Contender One/Costa Wins the Quest For The Crest & Still Right Wins Final Sail

      Bluewater Movements, April 14—Record Breaking. That’s the best way to describe the 2022 Final Sail tournament weekend in Miami on April 6-9, 2022. 479 releases across a 41 boat fleet and the top 5 teams combined released 121 fish! Going into Final Sail, all eyes were on the five teams in contention to win the coveted burgundy jacket and this... [Read More...]

    Search InTheBite

    Copyright © 2022 InTheBite, LLC · All Rights Reserved.

    loading Cancel
    Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
    Email check failed, please try again
    Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.