InTheBite

Ritchie Howell Custom Carolina Yachts – TFB

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The Sea Fix, a Ritchie boat splashed in 2019, exemplifies Howell’s modern creations—the heritage of which can be traced to a conversation between two North Carolina charter captains. Photo courtesy Pepper Ailor

There seems to be no end to the boat building talent in Wanchese, North Carolina. Ritchie Howell stands as a fine example of a man that has mastered the fine art of crafting custom, sportfishing machines. Like many others in this area, he learned about boats by using them every day as a hook and line commercial tuna fisherman.

“I fished alongside Paul Spencer and we would always push each other to make the day. We would joke around about quitting all this one day and building boats,” says Howell. “One day, Paul said, ‘I’m going to do it. I’ve got a contract on my boat; I’m going to sell it and put up a boat shop and build a boat.’ So that’s what we did, we built him a boat.”

“We got about three-quarters of the way through the build and the boat sold. That was the Biopsy. Well, since I had put some money into the jig and the building with Paul, the next boat was mine…so we started my boat. I was still charter fishing at the time and my motor blew up. So, I sold that boat rather quickly. That was the Anticipation.”

“After that Paul was all-in and wanted to big,” says Howell. “But I wasn’t ready for that yet. To build one or two at a time was one thing, but I wasn’t ready for 15 at time. Paul offered to buy my piece of the jig and the building and I agreed. He bought me out and we went our separate ways.” But of course, that wasn’t the end of the story.

“I had a trip one day in the Fall, and as I backed into my slip, I saw Paul sitting there in his truck,” says Howell. “As soon as my people hopped off, Paul hopped on. He said ‘I’ve got about five people ready to build a boat right now. I know you have the money to put up a building because I just bought you out. You need to put up a building and do this. You know what you are going to get if you stay here charter fishing…you are going to starve to death.’ He was right. He really talked me into doing my own thing. That’s when I put up the building.”

With a building going up, but no boat on the horizon, Howell continued fishing and on one tournament trip up to New Jersey, he got lucky.

“On the ferry ride home, I met a guy who said he always wanted a Carolina boat, and we just started to talking,” says Howell. “I told him how I just started building a boat shop without a boat to build… and that’s how it all went down. Crazy, right?” “We started in 2000 and the boat was originally called the TFB, a 65-footer,” says Howell. “I’ve got a list of all the things those letters could possibly stand for…but I think I’ll just leave it up to everybody’s imagination. Most of them you probably couldn’t put into a magazine article anyway.”

“I remember on that first one I would lose sleep at night, worry about what was coming down the pike and what we had to do. I used to sweat it big time,” says Howell. “Not anymore…I sleep like a baby. I like to look at the plans and figure out how we are going to attack certain aspects of the build. I’m much more relaxed about it than I used to be.”

Ritchie Howell’s boats are a reflection of his life spent on the water.

With his 32nd boat, a 61-footer, about to come out of the shed, Howell says that there are pretty dramatic differences between hull number 1 and the boats he puts out today. “Our shape has actually changed drastically. It’s pretty much night and day from what we build now compared to back then…there’s nothing remotely similar between the two. Now, everything is computer generated and engineered to the nines. Our first one was a hand-drawn…we cut it by hand.

“That’s a great way to learn about boat building, but you can’t compete with a computer. We have lofted our own boats in the past, if we didn’t have time to get a jig cut or somebody was looking for a bargain basement deal, but you have to use a computer-generated jig now. What we do is a lot more exacting than it used to be. I used to think, ‘If someone would just give me a million dollars, oh man the boat I could build!’ Nowadays a million doesn’t even scratch the surface…it’s just way it’s gotten to be.”

“When I think, and look back at the first boat, I want to look at it with a critical eye…and see how I’d want to change it. If I had to do it over again today it would be a different animal! Those old boats are beautiful with their classic lines and all that stuff, but you have to be a bit more progressive nowadays.”

When asked about what makes Ritchie Howell boats stand out from the crowd, Howell says that,

“I know it sounds weird, but I’m more of a boutique boat builder. I’m not trying to build a bunch of boats at one time. I just want to build one or two boats. The biggest difference here is, if someone calls and wants to know if their oil change pump is installed, I know. I don’t have to call a foreman or whatever. There is a one-on-one relationship with the people I’m building the boat for.” “I also believe that for the quality of product we put out, we are very value-based. I’m not saying I’m cheap, because I’m not…Nothing in this business is cheap. But you do get a lot of bang for your buck here. We don’t have a real fancy facility but it’s really all you need for boatbuilding. I also don’t have a lot of the overhead that other guys have.”

For more information on Ritchie Howell Custom Carolina Yachts, please e-mail info@inthebite.com or fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

Ritchie Howell Splashes Out of the Box 61’

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Ritchie Howell recently completed a 61’ sportfisher and the result was a beautiful vessel that is currently fishing out of Los Sueños. There is, however, an interesting story to how the vessel came about. “I was building the boat for a customer from Venezuela. He was willing to take a chance with me. We wanted to design something exciting, something ultra-modern,” says builder Ritchie Howell.

“I noticed some guys up north were achieving some great performance numbers and had always wanted to try it. This buyer gave me the opportunity. We set out to engineer a stepped bottom. We had the opportunity to perform some CFD analysis – a computerized tank test,” Howell describes. CFD is computational fluid dynamics analysis. CFD is a pretty complicated deal, but simply stated – it is the use of applied mathematics, physics and computational software to view how a gas or liquid flows.

Photo courtesy Pepper Ailor

Howell’s interest in CFD analysis lay in determining the optimal position of the step to minimize friction between the boat’s hull and the surface of the water. “We ran four computerized tank tests. These are pretty expensive. We’d run it and tweak the bottom. The goal was to reduce friction – we go to the point that we achieved 50-knots,” Howell describes.

“The step introduces a break in the suction of the water to the hull. It’s not as much about introducing air as it is to bend the suction of the water,” Ritchie relates, scientifically. “The faster you run, the more water wants to suck the hull down to the water. The steps in the bottom allows you to break the attraction, freeing up the hull.” With reduced suction and decreased friction comes greater speed.

Hull render courtesy Ritchie Howell / Ocean Designs

“It is really awesome. We put a pair of C18As on the boat with four-blade wheels,” Howell says. The boat’s top end is 39.3 knots. “I am building a new 61 with the same hull technology. The next one will be powered with 1800 Manns – we anticipate even more speed. We’ve just started the hull and figure it to be a 20-month build.”

The new step-hulled 61’ now fishes in Los Sueños. Its original buyer sold the boat upon completion, as the situation in Venezuela made it impossible for him to bring the boat there as he originally planned. It is the Sea Fix.

SPECIFICATIONS

LOA: 61’8″
Beam: 18′
Draft: 4′ 6″
Weight: 64,000 lbs
Fuel:1350 gallons
Water: 250 gallons
Engines: Caterpillar C-18As, 1150 HP each
Gears: ZF 1.75:1
Generators: (2) Caterpillar 21 KWs with sound enclosures
Speed: WOT 38.5 knots – faster with 4 blade wheels

Ritchie Howell’s Boat Building Philosophy

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Ritchie Howell is perhaps one of the most interesting builders in sportfishing. While Ritchie is a pleasure to talk to, his boats speak for themselves. In this Dock Talk, Howell breaks down his boat building philosophy and describes all that goes in to making a Ritchie boat.

InTheBite Splash Report: Ritchie Howell 60′ Convertible – “Galatea”

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Builder Ritchie Howell provides a guided walk through of the “Galatea”— a 60′ vessel he built seven years ago. Listed with Michael Rafferty of IYC, the Galatea is a beautiful boat whose story is told by the man who built her.

The Young Guns of Sportfishing: Captain Deane Lambros

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by Capt. Jen Copeland

When the owner of Canyon Runner Charters, Captain Adam LaRosa, sends a message nominating one of his captains be featured in a future Young Guns expose’, it’s quite an endorsement. Rarely does an owner have the time to read such features, but to have him take the time to describe his captain is inspiring. Originally from Westport, Connecticut, Captain Deane Lambros, one of our younger guns, runs and oversees much of the Canyon Runner operations – from maintenance to charter trips. Deane has worked for the company since he was 19.

Six years ago, Lambros was in the middle of an oil change when Mr. LaRosa approached him with an opportunity that changed his life. One of the Runner’s captains was unable to make a scheduled trip and LaRosa asked if 22-year-old Deane was comfortable running the boat.  Without hesitation, his answer was an unequivocal, “Yes.”

With three years of training fresh in his mind, Captain Deane took the helm of his first Canyon Runner charter. Banking on the confidence LaRosa had in him, and remembering the old adage “safety first,” Lambros managed to keep it together enough to produce a successful trip. “Being totally in charge for the first time was a real challenge,” says Lambros. The young captain recalls being a bit out of his comfort zone on his first trip. “I was dealing with fog and trying to keep the anxiety at bay, all the while smiling and producing bites,” he recalls. Lambros’ pep talk to himself that day was a familiar one to anyone who makes a living in this line of work – one that we all have to occasionally remind ourselves of. “We’re just going fishing.”

Today with 300+ giant tunas to his credit, some 15,000 hours of wheel time, and over ten top three tournament finishes under his belt, Captain Deane has put the work in by fishing hard, fishing fast and having fun while doing it. All traits of a great captain… traits he learned at Canyon Runner. At 28, Captain Deane Lambros names nearly all past and present Canyon Runner captains as his professional influences – each bringing certain philosophies and skills to Deane’s attention. From the knowledge he’s gained at Canyon Runner, he is able to understand the needs of his charters and is confident in the critical decisions that must be made day after day. As importantly, Lambros reads between the boss’ lines in order to compliment his personality and smoothly run a business in the aggressive northeast charter industry.

No matter how grateful he may be to the “A” list of qualified professional influences, Deane gives the first and foremost credit to his parents for the example they’ve set. According to Lambros, it was his parents who “rigorously reinforced” a strong and honest work ethic during his childhood.  His father, who still works full-time at age 86, continues to lead by example to this day.

Lambros takes his job very seriously – something all prospective captains should aspire to do.  He believes young men need to prove themselves to others by demonstrating they are polished, conscientious and driven. “It’s refreshing to see a young person wanting to be part of a team and asking questions with a willingness to learn, and if you put in the effort, you will succeed.”

Mates who put safety first and represent themselves in a manner which is non-threatening to the charter guests are an important part of the customer experience. For a charter operation, those who can’t relate with people put themselves out of the running for advancement. Whether charter or private, a young mate’s attitude toward his job is a direct reflection of himself. According to Deane, “There isn’t a single boat owner who wants a reckless, unprofessional captain running their boat.”

Captain Deane Lambros’ professional philosophy is one that sets him well for decades to come. His outlook is characterized by a high level of organizational skill, situational awareness, and an ability to “play well with others.” He executes a meticulous maintenance schedule that ensures tools and spare parts for repairs on the fly are readily available, keeping the program seamless and uninterrupted.

Mature and well-spoken, Lambros’ level-headed personality has allowed him to rise up quickly in LaRosa’s army of Canyon Runners. “I have been able to accomplish in ten years at Canyon Runner what may have taken me 30 years in the private sector,” he says. “Joining a charter program will plain and simply give you a fast learning curve.”

For a young man not yet 30, Lambros’ candid understanding of what it takes to succeed in his line of work is impressive. “Charter fishing is an industry of customer service,” Deane insists. “We are expectation managers. You must know what is expected of you by the owner, the guests, and the crew. You then draw from past experiences when the weather gets dicey, the fish get finicky or the boat breaks down.” Captain Deane fully understands the many facets that go along with charter fishing. There is little doubt that owner Adam LaRosa is thankful for this—perhaps that encouraged Deane’s nomination.

From the Yard: Ritchie Howell Resurrects the Waste Knot

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waste-knot-with-caption

The Waste Knot sank to the bottom about 11 miles out of Oregon Inlet. Thanks to its airing on the show Wicked Tuna, the boat’s sinking became  instantly famous. While companion boats rushed to rescue the captain and crew (thankfully, all aboard were evacuated safely), the boat itself was thought to be a total loss.

Several days later, the vessel washed ashore in the Outer Banks. The hull was intact, but the bridge was knocked off. The vessel sank as a result of hitting something at speed. The collision rammed the boat’s rudders through the hull, creating two large holes. Upon washing up on the beach, the hull was removed using heavy equipment.

Carolina custom boat builder Ritchie Howell purchased the hull with plans to resurrect the vessel into a charter boat. The Waste Knot currently sits at Howell’s facility in Wanchese, North Carolina. He plans to begin the boat’s rebirth in the fall of 2016. When the boat is reborn– considering Ritchie Howell’s standard of quality it should be something to see– it will fish out of North Carolina.  Here are some photos of the vessel in its current form.

Thankfully all aboard were able to depart the vessel without injury. The photos serve as a reminder as to how fast things can go wrong, even for the best, most attentive of crews.  Stay tuned to InTheBite.com for photos and updates as the project develops.