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Jim Smith Boats

When Jim Smith first got into racing boats in the 1930s, the world speed record stood at 22 mph. By the 1970s, Smith was blowing the doors off his competition, building boats that topped out at 40-plus mph. To this day, Jim Smith Boats builds some of the fastest custom sport-fishing yachts on the market. But, it's not all about how fast you can go.

"Speed is really not our main thrust anymore," says John Vance, president of the company. "We're pretty well-known for getting 40-plus knots out of our hulls. Our thrust over the last 10 years has changed to improving ride quality. It's great to say you can do 44 knots, but it's a lot trickier to do 35 knots in a 3- to 5-foot sea."
 
Jim Smith starting building his own fishing boats in 1965 and opened a shop in Stuart, Florida, in 1981. The company currently builds one-off custom yachts starting at 45 feet. Vance and his team launched an 85 and 68 last year and are currently working on an 86 with plans to build a 95-foot sport-fish, the biggest Jim Smith to date. 
 
The secret to achieving a quality ride as well as speed is perfecting the placement of the longitudinal center of gravity relative to the longitudinal center of buoyancy, Vance says. 
 
"Jim had the vision to take some weight out of the boat, and it worked," he says. "To build light is expensive and meticulous. Obviously, as the horsepower increases, the engineering becomes critical."
 
For the past 10 years, Jim Smith Boats turned to the design table of Donald Blount. "Having a long-term relationship with Donald has greatly streamlined the design process," Vance says.
 

At a Glance: •  One-off custom designs •  40-knot top-end speeds •  Yachts from 45 to 95 feet

According to Vance, Jim Smith Boats prides itself on structural integrity, performance and ride quality, as well as quality mechanical installations with redundant systems. The company cold-molds its boats using African mahogany planking for the hull, which is then glassed inside and out. 
 
"All of our boats are client-driven," Vance says. "We pride ourselves on fulfilling the wants and desires of our clients. I don't say 'no' unless I have to. As long as it won't affect the safety of the hull or look terrible aesthetically, the sky is the limit."
 
For more information, contact Jim Smith Boats of Stuart, Florida, at 772-286-1172, or visit www.jimsmithboats.net.

 

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