The more things change the more they stay the same. A truer statement was never said about the Carolina boat building industry. From the beginning and unto the end quality, craftsmanship and beauty control the hands of the men who hone the lines of these exquisite machines. Planks and glue, jigs and molds. So many choices the result of years of building evolution. In the days of old the famed Carolina shad boat (the official state boat of North Carolina) was put together by hand and the craftsman ship of today reflects those beginnings. More to the point, the old style sportfisherman was transformed by the Carolina Boatworks from the dramatic changes in hull design of the early 1950's to the sleek performance of today.

The truth about the adaptation of the Carolina hull weaves itself like a story told by the men who made it so. Like pieces of living history these men continue the tradition of striving for excellence, changing their boats to meet the times and the needs of the men who would buy their creations. With 14 active boat buildings shops on the Outer Banks no farther away than the neighborhood 7-Eleven, one need only stop in for a quick peek and the red carpets roll. Ever humble these captains of the Carolina Boatworks quickly claim that they owe it all to one man.

The Father of Industry

While Dare County in particular has produce many "fathers of the boat building industry" their roots can all be traced to Capt. Warren O'Neal and his Manteo boat shop. Buddy Davis, Omie Tillett, and Buddy Cannady, all got their start with O'Neal and learned their trade at his feet. Revered as a great teacher and a kind and humble person, O'Neal shared his knowledge of boat building as he developed it.

With no teacher to guide him, O'Neal first set out to modify the Pearl, his first charter boat. By adding five feet to her stern and several other modifications, O'Neal got his first taste of the future. He struck by his story throughout the years of reporters' questions and simply stated over and over again "I just felt it was something I could do, so I did it."

Some say that risk is a part of life. Little risks and big risks, sometimes we succeed sometimes we fall flat on our faces. Imagine if you will what it must have felt like to take the risk of completely redesigning the hull of a boat. Eyeballing the standard back in the 1950's, Warren O'Neal took that risk and set the pace for an entire industry. "I started putting V in the halls of the bigger boats because it juts seemed like they needed it. I had been running boats all my life and I knew what it took to make them run." O'Neal stated to a reporter before his death in January 2000. And so began the deep-V design that is the standard in boat building today.

Flam vs. Flair and Where
Do You Measure Deadrise?

"Where do you measure it?" said Buddy Davis replying to the question I had just asked him. "Exactly." I said "When they say Capt. O'Neal put 20 degrees of deadrise in his hulls and that was revolutionary what exactly does it mean? Davis leaned back in his chair and explained that there is no standard for measuring deadrise at entry; "entry" can be just about anywhere a man wants to measure it. "What Capt. Warren did do was add a lot of V and make a sharp entry."

Davis went on to explain that the only standard for measuring deadrise would be at the transom. The lighter the boat the flatter the stern; O'Neal's boats measured nearly flat at the stern whereas a new Buddy Davis 70 may have the same entry forward and 15 to 17 degrees of deadrise at the stern.

A father of the industry in his own right Capt. Omie Tillett apprenticed in O'Neal's shop for twelve years and spent eight years building on his own. "Warren would try to listen to what the owner wanted on the inside of the boat," Tillett remembers "but he kept the hull for himself." Onne of the changes in hull design traced to O'Neal's day is what Tillett likes to call "flam". You'll find it on a Buddy Davis sportfish but not often in the hull of a Cannady boat. "Flam" is the S curve in the sides of the hull that allows for space down below. Space is a vital commodity when building yachts but only more room to put heavy stuff in the eyes of a charter captain.

"Capt. Warren sharpened the entry, sharper than the Palm Beach boats he emulated." Stated Davis. "His boats had less flair in the beginning, but when builders started strip planking the flair could be more exaggerated like the Harkers Island boats." Flair was a necessary addition to the Carolina hull design. Allowing for a drier ride and smoother passage through Oregon Inlet today you'll find flair in varying degrees on each of the Carolina boats. A standard of design bow flair was "stolen" from builders in the Morehead City area like Guthrie, Willis and Ray Davis. Once again the amount of flair you'll find in a hull is directly relative to the amount of space you'll find down below. If a boat has a lot of flam, she won't have an exaggerated flair.

The shearline and modern style cabin of O'Neal Boatworks can be traced to south Florida and a trip to Rybovich Boat Works. In preparation for building his second boat, O'Neal incorporated design tips from the boat's would be owner, Capt. Omie Tillett. Tillett had spent a winter in Florida and fell for the sleek lines produced by Rybovich, together the two men drew the design for the Sportsman and she was truly the boat that set the Carolina Boatworks into motion.

Planks and Glue

"It's all in the glue." Capt. Tillett explains "We couldn't scarf plank the boats until there was glue to hold them together." The confusion over which of O'Neal's boats revolutionized the planking process runs pretty deep. Some believe the process started with the Pearl II, O'Neal's first boat, others the Miss Boo built for Wood Beasley of Colerain, NC; when it doubt go back to the man that was there. "I only missed one winter with Capt. Warren," Tillett told me "that was when he and Capt. Buddy Cannady built the Mel-O-Dee. I was in Florida." (Eyeballing Rybovichs no doubt!) Capt. Tillett reasons that the first scarf planked and epoxy glued boat was that of Johnny Wood from Norfold, VA the Olive E. With that straightened out, a more ferocious question rears it's ugly head - when exactly was that? "A long time ago." Tillett chuckles in response.

In the days of his first boats, and in the days before the invention of epoxy, planking was put up in a process that utilized butt blocks between boards. Thicker pieces of wood were planed off to fit snug against the next. They were cut on angle at the ends and fit together between the frames. Backed by a butt block, the two planks were nailed to each other and the skeleton of the boat at the same time. Tillett explains that the process was slow, "It was much slower than the scarf planking we did with the glue."

In the scarf planking process the ends of planks are joined together with plenty of glue and an additional layer of glue is applied to the top edge of the planks. When the next layer of planks are pressed down tight on the top edge, the joints and plank above are joined with a nail driven through the top plank into the seam. Seams are staggered pretty much wherever they fall and the additional work of adding butt blocks becomes obsolete.

Another added benefit of scarf planking was obvious when O'Neal and his crew moved forward to the bow - thinner planks molded easily to the shape of the hull. While the process saved O'Neal Boatworks production time, it also added strength to the hulls of the boats. The pressure of layer upon layer of planks combined with the epoxy that kicked off hot and hard created what O'Neal believed to be a better boat. After trying the West System epoxy he concluded "It worked so well that I began to use it on all the boats I built. I'm convinced that it makes a stronger hull."

Frames and Jigs and Molds, Oh My!

"Today everyone has evolved to some form of cold molding realizing that the laminate, diagonal planking or even plywood is much stronger than carvelle (scarf) planking." Says Davis "I don't think it matters how you get there, they've all agreed that the laminate is stronger." And that from a man who should know as Davis is one of the few local builders that has worked with each form of setting up a hull.

Davis' first boat, interestingly enough, was built for Capt. Buddy Cannady. The 46-foot carvelle planked Capt. BC put to water in the spring of 1974. Davis charter fished along side her that first summer and come fall began his full time career as one of Carolina's most famous builders.

The first in North Carolina to diagonal plank his boats, Davis' early boats took a lesson from Rybovich and were double planked with white cedar (juniper). He was also the first to build upside down on a gig. "Everyone thought we were crazy but the boats were lighter and stronger." Davis added, "Omie said "you can't stand back and see anything. How do you know what you're building?" But the boats were strong and we didn't want to carvelle plank them." Eventually Davis hired Craig Blackwell (another famed Carolina builder in his own right) to build his first molds and gave birth to true cold-molded Carolina boats. Between 1980 and 1985 the molds and Buddy Davis Yachts produced a dozen boats.

"You can build boats one of two ways." Says Davis "Without a jig or mold a builder (like Buddy Cannady or Ricky Scarborough) may feel more comfortable setting up spreaders and battens. He can also easily change the shape of the boat."

Sunny Briggs, another of the Carolina builders, builds exclusively off jigs. "Today's computer technology has really advanced jig building." States Briggs. He went on to add that 6 years ago a jig lofted by hand would take 3 men one month to complete, today's jigs allow the builder to save time and money building more value into their clients' boats.

Briggs and other builders like Wanchese Boat Builders work with companies like Applied Concepts of Stuart, Florida to design jigs with their own lines and features. Steve French of Applied Concepts has predictability on his side "The computer models show the builder exactly what he'll get. Our effort is to help the builder find more efficient ways to save time while providing them with an extremely fair jig."

Fair indeed, Briggs claims that upon putting together the Applied Concepts jigs they are within .03 inch of tolerance. And down the road at Wanchese Boat Builders Mike Sabatic and his crew recently put up a jig for a new 55' hull - the jig was completely laid up in less than two days. "The technology is pretty factastic." Claims Sabatic "We get six sets of drawings showing the boat from all angles and as soon as the jig is up we begin building her - the whole process saves so much time." Once again, the Carolina builders are heading the call of technical advances and building value into some beautiful boats.

Applied Concepts also works with local builder Paul Spencer. French worked with Spencer to build a jig that conforms exactly to the dynamics of his lines and design. And while none of the local builders have jumped on it yet, the next step in jig design will be a set up for the super-structure. "It's a natural next step" Says Briggs "The only problem is that the folds on the Other Banks are not real inclined to change. I'm ready to try the new jig but I'm waiting to ease the idea in on my crew." With a 64 just in the water and a 61 and 56 in the barn Briggs will probably have to wait until 2002 before trying his hand at the super-structure.

Technology of Tomorrow, Boats Today

Just as computer technology has advanced the art of jig building, it has also pressed builders like Davis to new limits. Today the Buddy Davis line of five boats ranging is size from 45 to 70 feet have the advantage of brank new molds. "We haven't compromised at all on the hull form, the super structure has taken on some radius and more sweep, just a little sout Florida look." Says Davis. And there in lies the key; with new tooling and one-piece molds for the deck and super-structure Davis has reduced huidling time and improved the weight to strength radius.

New advances as well have allowed Davis to improve on the old concept of tunnels in the running surface. "Our full tunnel shape is almost parallel to the propeller and allows a reduction of nearly 2 feet of draft on the larger models." State Davis "It's pretty damn phenomenal. We have tested the 61 and a 68 and the tunnels actually allow the boats to back down better providing lift and less resistance."

Further technological advances effect all of the Carolina builders that dare to use it - virtual reality. Today drawings and VR color layouts of interiors help buyers visualize their boats and choose everything from fabrics to countertops. The future will take buyers on a VR tour of their soon-to-be boat and allow for easy changes in layout.

The More Things Change

On the morning I met with Buddy Davis to interview him I was a might bit nervous. Silly, I know especially when interviewing someone I call a friend. I arrived at his plant five minutes early and was quickly swept away with him, coffee in hand, down to the building that houses the 58-foot line. His mission that morning was to cut the sweep in the overhang of the 56 mold. The sweep was drawn and painted out with black spray paint. Davis said to me "You can engineer all day long but you still have to see it with your eye." And the sweep was cut.

I asked him what Warren, the innovator of innovators, would think of all the changes taking place in the world of the Carolina Boatworks and Davis said, "Warren was very intelligent. If Warren were a young man building he would adapt to the new technology. I don't know that he would deviate from wood, but he was pretty sharp and he would enjoy it."

Today the boats of O'Neal's beginnings in boat building lay testament to the man off the waters of the Outer Banks. The Sinbad, once known as Pearl II, runs twice daily in season from the Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The Finatic, christened in 1961 as Sportsman, takes inshore parties from Pirate's Cove. And the Lucky Chip, named first after Capt. Buddy Cannady's favorite girls, still heads for the challenge of the Gulf Stream from her slip at Hatteras Harbor.

MAKING TIME - Jigs in the Year 2001

What if you could make time…? Better yet if someone else would make it for you. Well a wise choice to start making time is to stop wasting it. The average custom sportfishing boat between 50' and 70' takes a year or two to complete, so saving a couple of hours isn't what I'm talking about here. No, I'm talking about big time…a couple of weeks maybe months. Multiply that by a few people and that's a lot of time to be saved. (cha-ching!)

There's a new way of doing an old thing that can save time on almost every part of a custom sportfish's construction. Boats have been built on some sort of frames or jig since the beginning of biblical history, but with modern computer horsepower and some practical inventing a super accurate jig that improves the overall boat is not much harder to acquire than a rental car. Since this technology has been proven with builders like Briggs, Spencer and Garlington it could be said that anything less efficient would be wasting time.

Given the basic perimeters for a hull or other parts, 3D-computer models are beign built for many custom builders to check and improve every detail in the design. The parts are viewed by the owner, builder and designer either as a blueprint, e-mail file or animation on VHS-tape. When the hull or part design is approved, a jig is designed to work the way the builder is accustomed with a few major improvements…it only takes a couple of days to set it up and be ready for molding materials. Every detail is included. And last, but not least…these modern jigs are incredibly accurate so they cut the time to fare and finish parts when they're done.

This type of technology, used practically, is sure to continually improve custom boats and the time it takes to build them. You might want to ask your builder if they're familiar with this technology.

You could use some of that saved time to go fishing.

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