What is that?"
"I don't know, but it's gorgeous." This is the usual exchange when someone catches sight of a custom sportfisherman, since brand-nameplates are rarely affixed. Gorgeous, breathtaking, beautiful, striking, extraordinary-they all describe how these boats stack up, whether half hidden in a cloud of spray or simply sitting at the dock. Like all fishing boats, they're built as means to an end. Unlike most, they're ends in themselves, transcending their utility by light years, revealing how form can eclipse function. They are among those manmade objects that are at once inspiring and humbling because of how closely they approach perfection.

Buddy Davis:
It was obvious that the renowned "Buddy Davis ride" had become legendary when a competitor recently bragged about the head-sea capabilities of his boat but admitted in the same breath, "Of course it's not a Buddy Davis." Buddy Davis of Wanchese, N.C., occupies a unique niche by offering a traditionally fabricated fiberglass boat based on three molded parts that can be modified. Hull-mold lengths can be changed and interiors customized to suit the owner. A four-cabin, three-head model may be ideal for one owner with a large family, while a similar hull with three cabins and three heads provides the extra tackle room for a truly dedicated billfisherman. Cored cabinetry with luxurious veneers allows new boats to have the interior look of older, classic Buddy Davis boats. And a unique propeller tunnel arrangement permits access to areas of the Bahamas heretofore off limits to similar vessels with deeper drafts.

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