Over a casual lunch on the waterfront at the Palm Beach International Boat Show, Release Boatworks founder Jim Turner was asked what advice he would give to someone wanting to get into the boat building industry. “Lay down, take a nap and wait for the thought to go away,” he laughs before delving into a more earnest answer. “If you want to be in the boat building business you have to be driven by a passion, a real passion.”
The 60′ Edeavor: the first Bayliss.
The Viking 40 was the first venture into the world of fiberglass boats.
By Dave Ferrell
To build any boat from scratch is a magical thing. Having the gumption to take a big pile of your own money and turn it into a pile of materials that you intend to turn into a boat goes way beyond my perception or capabilities. Taking another fella’s money and trying to do it for the first time must spin the term “nerve wracking” to incredible new heights. Nevertheless, there’s always a few pioneers who step up and make something new that the boat-building industry just can’t ignore. Here’s an example of a boat that made a difference.
Crew at work on the Knit Wits, the original fiberglass “convertible” from Hatteras Yachts.
Hatteras Yachts, Knit Wits
Nearly 60 years ago, Hatteras Yachts leapt to the forefront of the big-game sportfishing industry with the introduction of the very first fiberglass boat over 40-feet in length. Named Knit Wits, the 41-foot “convertible” was the brain child of textile magnet Willis Slane of Highpoint, North Carolina. She rolled out of the shed in 1960.
