Davis Yachts

Buddy Davis built over 300 sport-fishers in the Outer Banks of North Carolina, each one a delicate balance between performance and the tantalizing Carolina style. In 2003, in an effort to capture some of that North Carolina magic, E.H. Yachts purchased Davis Yachts, including molds ranging in size from 48 to 70 feet. Davis Yachts promptly christened its new offerings with the apt description, "the most beautiful ride on the ocean." 

According to Bob Hazard, vice president of sales and marketing for Davis Yachts, "It's the look and ride of the Davis that sells the boat. Buddy has always been an excellent designer, so the transition was very easy for us. We moved everything up here to New Jersey and were building boats in a matter of months," says Hazard. "We also retained a lot of Nick Boksa's engineering work that he did for Davis, which also smoothed out the conversion immensely."

At a Glance: -Lovely lines -Express experts -Plenty of speed

Davis Yachts recently launched its new 52 in both express and flybridge models and is presently building a 70-footer. "Our next new model will be a 58 express," says Hazard, "to complete the natural progression from the 48, to the 52, to the 58. We find a lot of fishermen are hungry for the big express and we are reaching a whole new group of buyers with this line."

"Davis' customers aren't usually first-time buyers, so they come to us with high expectations. We try very hard to fulfill these expectations in every aspect of our construction. The future captain of the boat often plays a huge part in the building process and we encourage this participation," says Hazard. "The customer should enjoy the boatbuilding process. Even though these men are usually quite busy, you can tell they love to spend time at the factory watching the boat go through the process."

To keep up with the ever-increasing demand for more speed, Davis modified its bottom and reworked some of the shafts and engine supports to secure the big power plants going below these days. "If you don't have at least a
30-knot cruise, nobody is going to look at the boat," says Hazard. "Our buyers aren't worried too much about fuel consumption, so we give them what they want in terms of speed and power."

For more information, contact Davis Yachts of Egg Harbor City, New Jersey, at 609-965-2300, or visit www.buddydavis.com.

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