Outlook 2021 • 45
Scarborough Boatworks: ‘Entirely custom from day one’ by Summer Stevens Summer Stevens photos
In the 1970s, when Ricky Scarborough Sr. needed a boat for crabbing, he decided to build one. Someone took notice and offered to buy it. That was the start of Scarborough Boatworks, which was incorporated in 1977 and is one of longest standing custom boat building companies in North Carolina. The company has moved beyond simple crabbing boats and today builds luxury Carolina custom sportfishing boats. Ricky Scarborough Jr. apprenticed under his father and when Scarborough Sr. decided to retire in 2010, his son took over the company, continuing the legacy in a fresh innovative way. Today, the company employs 45 full time employees in Wanchese, the “heart” of NC boatbuilding. They have three locations where different phases of the construction take place. In recent years, with CAD advancement, the company has moved from the traditional plank-on-frame method to the cold-molded jig method to increase efficiency. The new process begins construction of the hull with the boat upside down using a custom-built jig, then flips the massive structure over and adds the house, deck and interiors. “The process is entirely custom from day one,” said Sarah Scarborough, who has been married to Ricky Scarborough Jr. for 18 years and is an integral part of the day-to-day busi-
ness operations. The process is two to three years, which starts by determining the length. Clients select how many staterooms, bunkrooms, bathrooms and interior layout. Scarborough Boatworks is currently building boats in the range of 60-75 feet in length. Beyond being known for building extremely stable and seaworthy vessels, Scarborough Boatworks has a reputation for fine craftsmanship and quality interiors, all the details of which clients get to choose. “You really get to know your customers,” Sarah Scarborough said. “It’s their baby. They have pride in the fact that they helped design it.” From the custom teak work to the cabinet work, the detail is what takes time. “There are no straight lines, it’s all curves,” she said. “My favorite part is giving our customers something to be proud of. Giving them a beautiful vessel that takes them to beautiful lands to catch beautiful fish.” Scarborough Boatworks vessels are designed and outfitted for offshore sportfishing. “It’s a whole culture,” Sarah Scarborough said, when talking about a recent boat they finished that is now in Costa Rica, traveling the world after marlin, tuna and dolphin. “Whatever [our clients] have done in life, they’ve succeeded. This [boat] is the fruits of their labor, their reward that they get to share with family and friends,” she added.
