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Merritt Boats

F.R. "Roy" Merritt founded Merritt Boat Works in 1947 on a swampy patch of ground in Pompano Beach, Florida, to service his own charter boats and the large charter fleet operating in the area. He didn't start building boats until 1955. "The boatbuilding started as something to do when there wasn't any work in the yard," says his grandson, Roy Merritt. "It wasn't long before we found out it was a lot more fun to build them than to repair them. Now we build them, service them, broker them and insure them. I'd like to say that this was always the master plan, but it wasn't. It sure worked out pretty well, though."

Today Merritt Boats enjoys one of the finest reputations in the industry — lauded for their exquisite woodwork and unsurpassed fit-and-finish. "The people who come in here already know who we are and they have high expectations. And since the boats have become so expensive, they deserve to get the best we can offer, from the engine room to everything you see topsides," says Merritt.

Besides their superb finish, Merritt boats also boast the wonderful lines of a traditional Florida sport-fish and there are no plans to change that look. "We make subtle little changes to the look of our boats, but we are never going to get

At a Glance: • Fabulous fit-and-finish • Traditional styling • Bigger is better

away from what got us here. Every build develops into a long-term relationship between you, the customer and the boat, so you don't want to build something you are not going to be happy with. We can compromise on some things, but not much," says Merritt.

Lately the main change at Merritt can be summed up in one word —  size. "Boats can still be big and perform," says Merritt. "When we built our first 80-footer, a lot of people thought it would be too big. But once they saw what it could do, we can't seem to build them big enough. The increased power in the smaller, lighter engines allows us to get the performance we need without turning the boat into a dog. But people keep wanting to add more stuff into them — they want just about everything these days — so boats are going to keep getting bigger."

For more information, contact Merritt Boats of Pompano Beach, Florida, at 954-943-6250, or visit www.merrittboat.com.

 

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