Winter Custom Yachts announced in 2015 it would begin building a 65-foot express boat, which the boatbuilder says will be the largest of the style ever built in North Carolina. Two years later, the boat has left Winter’s yard in Apex, North Carolina, to be completed and making its debut soon.
According to the Winter Custom Yachts website, First Light is being built for a Florida family with two sons who love to fish. The owner currently has a 52-foot Cabo but needs a larger boat to accommodate the entire family for long trips offshore.
Most boats eclipsing 60 feet are convertibles, but the owner wanted something different for Hull W-23. He insisted on something other than a convertible because, he says, that style of boat makes him feel like he’s on a charter. “Everybody else is having fun down below, and I’m by myself up on the flybridge,” he says. The express-style checks all the boxes for the owner’s family-oriented dreams, while not sacrificing the details that define the custom boatbuilder’s style.
Below are some of the close-up looks at the boat as its loaded and moved to the coast for completion and launch.
