When crafting a sportfishing vessel, Alex Willis carefully measures each piece of wood. 



sportfishing convertible with a half 

 tower takes shape. Next to it is a 50-foot 

 express boat being built for a New 

 Jersey man. 



Inside the sportfishing boat, 

 employees hand rub the walls and 

 cabinets in the stateroom with Murphy's 

 Oil Soap. The boat, which will sleep up 

 to six people, will be equipped with a 

 television and other modern conve- 

 niences. "This boat will be real fancy 

 and like a home," says Gillikin. "It's all 

 custom-built. The owner will be taking 

 it to fishing tournaments." 



Since the vessels are so large and 

 custom-made, it takes from 12 to 18 

 months to build one. "So much thinking 



and planning goes into a boat," says 

 Gillikin. "Sometimes, we put 15,000 

 man-hours on a boat. Now we can work 

 on up to four boats at one time." 



Because of the labor required, the 

 boats are quite expensive. "These boats 

 are a rich man's toy," he says. "Our 

 boats can go for up to a $1 million. We 

 sell to people who want a fast boat that 

 will help them raise big fish and come in 

 fast from shore." 



East Bay Boat Works was started in 

 1971 by Ricky Gillikin' s father, Vance, 

 and his partner Mervin Rose. Later, 

 Ricky Gillikin and his brother bought 

 the business. They started out making 

 river and head boats from juniper. In 



1986, the Gillikins expanded into 

 sportfishing boats and luxury yachts. 



"The boatbuilding business was 

 dying out in the 1980s," says Gillikin. 

 "It was more feasible to build 

 sportfishing boats and small yachts. So 

 we diversified. Traditional wooden 

 boats are not as strong and are slower 

 than our boats." 



Like the other boatbuilders on 

 Harkers Island, Gillikin sells his boats 

 by word of mouth instead of advertising. 

 "We strive to put out a good product. 

 Our boats are faster than a lot of boats 

 built by major manufacturers and burn 

 less fuel because they are lighter boats. 

 Every boat is one of a kind." □ 



18 WINTER 1999 



