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By Jeffrey J. Zeigler
When Nags Head resident Patrick Harrison was a senior art student at East Carolina University, he built a 15-foot skiff, which he never completed. As he described it, the project was meant to be a “functional thing turned into a non-functional thing that could be appreciated as art.” Little did Harrison know that years later he would become a builder of recreational boats, crafting them from the ground up, on the Outer Banks.
In the village of Wanchese on Roanoke Island and in nearby Mann’s Harbor on the mainland there are a wealth of boat builders, and Harrison’s boat shop is located in this atmosphere steeped in tradition. The doors swing open to reveal the shell of a 39-foot boat Harrison is building for a sport fisherman in Maryland.
When you enter his shop, you can tell right away how complicated it is to build a custom boat. Drawings, body plans, jigs for the planking, and bottom drawings are all transferred into two-foot intervals, which are all magically formed into a structure, from mind to hand, using a cold-molded sandwich method of building. Harrison learned all of this from his mentor, the Wanchese boat builder, Robin Smith. After Harrison graduated from ECU with a major in wood design and sculpture, he came to the Outer Banks, where his extended family lived and he often visited as a child, to build decks and work as a carpenter. Eventually, he became interested in boat building as a trade.
“Robin Smith took me under his wing and taught me everything he knows,” Harrison said.
The “Carolina hull” style of boat building is legendary and began right here in Dare County. The traditional wood plank on frame construction with plywood overlay provides the core of the boat. The design of the hull makes it especially sea worthy.
“A Carolina custom boat is designed for your lifestyle and the type of fishing and traveling you want to do,” said Robin Mann of Paul Mann Custom Boats. “The Carolina boat is known for having the ability to handle rough seas without compromising a comfortable ride; they are designed to handle seas such as those we experience off of Oregon Inlet. The plank on frame is the way they were built many years ago. We build with juniper plank stripping on a juniper frame with okoume plywood overlay. Every builder in Dare County has their unique way of building. A Carolina style hull has a broken sheer-line and flare.”
Typically, a first time boat buyer will purchase a boat from a production boat builder. Harrison said that customers who come to him are already seasoned production boat owners who are seeking custom designs.
“People that come to me want to have a say in the end product. There are plenty of variables on a boat depending on the user and the use intended,” he said. “This boat here is for marlin and tuna fishing. Not only does he get to have a say in the design of the interior of the boat, but also the bridge, where his helm is, the engine room design, and the design of his fuel tank.”
With more powerful motors today, compared to the 1960s and 1970s, the Carolina style boats are more popular.
“When manufacturers of motors increased their horsepower, this made it necessary to modify the design of the hull.” Mann said. “Also, boat owners wanted to travel, have more staterooms and specialized amenities. The Carolina boat became more exposed and it has become more and more in demand.”
With the increase in demand and the use of technology, more and more Dare County boat builders have sprung up over the years and boat building has developed into one of the area’s top industries. Some of the large builders, such as Spencer Yachts, Bayliss Boats, Paul Mann Custom Boats, Sculley Boatbuilders, and Ricky Scarborough are nationally recognized.
“In the mid 1980s, there were probably five boat builders on the Outer Banks,” Mann said. “With the industry being stronger because of no luxury tax, along with the assistance of computer design, the market changed in the 1990s and this area grew to 17 boat builders within a few of years.”
When the industry grew so quickly, it stretched out the labor force. One of the reasons the Dare County Marine Industry Association was founded was to offer assistance to boat builders with training new employees. The association partnered with the College of The Albemarle’s Dare County Campus to establish boat building classes helping people to learn the terminology and processes.
“Partnering with COA allows us the opportunity to expand and train our labor force,” Mann said. “Including the support businesses, the marine industry in Dare County currently employs well over 600 people. There are approximately 30 boats under construction at any one time in Dare County, with an average cost of $3 million. The suppliers to the industry grew also. Some vendors have expanded their business into areas of northeastern North Carolina in order to better serve the builders in Dare County.”
With custom boat building comes the dedication to details. The artist comes forward in the boat Harrison is currently working on, from the cabin down to the casing for the steering wheel. From selecting the type and quality of the wood to the end result, he sweats the details, even when he is not in the shop.
“There’s a lot of time in this type of thing that is non-build time. Time that I am thinking how this or that is going to work,” he said. “From the ground up, before the time I drew it, I was thinking about it – the draft, the width, the dimensions, the materials, and all the way through the end.
“It’s a process. It goes home with you every single day and at night when you are sleeping,” he added. “It just doesn’t happen during the work day.”
Of course, there are also deadlines to meet.
“A lot of people want their boats by a certain season or fishing tournament,” Harrison said.
Custom boats are not inexpensive, especially the larger ones. The current 39-footer he is working on will cost between $350,000 and $400,000. The last 60-footer he built ran $1.8 million to $2 million.
“You can have half a million in engines in a 70-foot boat,” he said.
Ironically, Harrison uses a production boat when he fishes. He intends to build a 28-footer for himself.
“I have always been into boats of all types, and I intend on building all of them. I am just as into the small stuff as the big stuff,” he said.
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Boat building is a growing program at COA
Boat building education at the College of The Albemarle in Dare County Campus is supported by the Dare County Marine Industry Association contributions in the establishment of a custom boat building program in Dare County.
In addition to spotlighting COA’s boat building program in the Pirate’s Cove Big Game Tournaments and other local sporting events, men and women from the industry have spent long hours helping COA identify needed courses and skilled instructors.
According to Teresa James, the dean at COA, funding from the Dare County Marine Industry helped COA purchase needed equipment, develop a curriculum unique to Dare County boat building, and purchase advertising space to announce the program to the community. It has also provided $2,000 in scholarships for deserving young men and women.
“The first to apply for the Warren O’Neal Boat Building Scholarship was a young man who is a descendant of the Mighty Midgetts of Chicamacomaco and an Outer Banks native. He comes from a long line of seafarers and is eager to get back to his seafaring roots,” Teresa James said. “This scholarship has enabled him to begin the journey.”
The first Boat Building course began in September 2005 after almost a year of planning. Boat Building I and II graduated 12 students in November 2005. Three of those students landed jobs in Dare County boat shops within the following month.
“On January 30, 2006 we began Boat Building I again, with 11 students; Marine Electrical with 20 students; Marine Engines, five students; Basic Welding, 19 in two classes; and Advanced Welding, five. Classes are going extremely well with really first-rate instructors,” James continued. “Marine Cabinetry and Carpentry was first offered September 2007 along with Composite Constructions. Plans are in the works to add Marine Hook-ups and Marine Painting within the next six months to a year.
“The boat building industry in Dare County is thriving, providing excellent job opportunities to the citizens of Dare County and beyond. We are glad to be a part of this growth industry.”
She looks forward to a continuing partnership with the Dare County Marine Industry Association and the way it reinforces the ties between industry and education.
For more information about The College of The Albemarle’s boat building classes at the Dare County Campus, call 473-9250 or 9251.
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