F & S Boatworks

What F & S Boatworks does

F & S Boatworks is a privately held, family-owned custom sportfishing yacht builder founded in 1996 by Jim Floyd and headquartered in Bear, Delaware, on the Delaware-Chesapeake Canal adjoining the Summit Marina. The company designs and hand-builds bespoke luxury sportfishing yachts for high-net-worth individuals, with completed hulls ranging from approximately 36 to 82 feet and a fleet that has grown from Hull #1 Fin-Ally (1996) to at least Hull #34. Each vessel is built to individual customer specifications with no assembly line production, and the company states that its Delaware facility is the only point of purchase.

The core technical differentiator is F&S's proprietary Longitudinally Stepped Variable Deadrise Hull, a design combining the Carolina-style flare with longitudinal steps that aerate water along each step to reduce friction and produce soft, fast rides with strong directional stability. Construction uses cold-molded Okume triple-planked hull skins, clear vertical grain Douglas Fir stringers, biaxial fiberglass reinforcement, and Aramid (Kevlar) laminated hull bottoms. F&S integrates best-in-class third-party systems from MTU, Volvo Penta, Caterpillar, MAN, ZF, Seakeeper, Garmin, Furuno, FLIR, Simrad, Dometic, Miele, KitchenAid, Palm Beach Towers, Release Marine, AWLGrip, and Veem, with finishing including book-matched teak veneer and hand-stitched leather interiors.

The business model is direct-to-customer, fully bespoke, with pricing quoted individually per build and multi-year contract cycles. The go-to-market is enterprise field sales through direct owner engagement at the Delaware facility, supplemented by word-of-mouth in the sportfishing community and earned media in publications such as Marlin Magazine. The company employs 51–100 people, has no disclosed outside investors or parent company, and operates exclusively in the U.S. market, serving customers who fish offshore locations from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Mexico and beyond.

Name

F & S Boatworks

Legal name

F & S Boatworks

Website

https://fsyachts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

F & S Boatworks is a family-owned custom sportfishing yacht builder founded in 1996 in Bear, Delaware, hand-building bespoke 36'–82' yachts featuring its proprietary longitudinally stepped variable deadrise hull for high-net-worth sportfishing enthusiasts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Sportfishing Yacht Manufacturing

NAICS

Boat Building (336612)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Motor Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Recreational Fishing & Sportfishing Boat Manufacturing (IMAJAEAH), Luxury Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAEAE)

Keywords

• Custom sportfishing yachts
• Luxury yacht manufacturing
• Custom boat building
• Yacht hull design
• Marine construction

Headquarters

HQ city

Bear

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Sportfishing Yacht Sales: F&S generates revenue through the custom design and construction of bespoke sportfishing yachts. Each vessel is built to order based on individual customer specifications including layout, propulsion, electronics, and finishing. The company rejects assembly-line production, instead hand-building each yacht with direct owner involvement throughout the process.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

F&S Boatworks designs and hand-builds custom luxury sportfishing yachts entirely to owner specifications, with no assembly line production. Each vessel features the company's proprietary longitudinally stepped variable deadrise hull design for superior speed, ride quality, and seakeeping abilities. Hulls range from approximately 36 to 82 feet and incorporate premium materials such as cold-molded Okume plywood, clear vertical grain Douglas Fir stringers, and Kevlar laminated bottoms. Every yacht is uniquely customized in layout, propulsion, electronics, and interior finishes, with customers working directly with F&S craftsmen throughout multi-year build cycles.

Product overview

F&S Boatworks is a custom luxury sport-fishing yacht manufacturer that hand-builds each vessel to the owner's exact specifications—no assembly line production. The company's product portfolio centers on custom sport-fishing yachts ranging from approximately 50 to 82 feet in length, featuring the proprietary longitudinally stepped variable deadrise hull design. Individual vessels are identified by hull numbers (Hull #1 through Hull #34 and beyond), each a unique custom build. Key models include the flagship 78' Special Situation, the 75' Warpath, and the 61' Soul Candy. Each yacht incorporates extensive customization in layout, propulsion, electronics, and interior finishes. The company also produces custom interiors with book-matched teak veneer, hand-stitched leather, and high-end appliances and fixtures from partners like Miele, KitchenAid, and Garmin. The core technology differentiator is the longitudinally stepped variable deadrise hull that provides superior ride quality, speed, and seakeeping.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Sport-Fishing Yachts

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration25 records

Feature5 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bertram Yachts: Bertram is an iconic American sportfishing brand (now based in Florida) producing 50'-80'+ yachts emphasizing rough-sea performance and heritage design. It competes in the same HNW big-game fishing segment and is a recognized alternative for buyers cross-shopping F&S.
• Hatteras Yachts: Hatteras builds luxury sportfishing and motor yachts in the 45'-100'+ range out of North Carolina, with a long heritage in big-game fishing boats. Like F&S, it serves serious offshore anglers demanding long-range, rough-sea capability and competes on customization, ride quality, and luxury appointments.
• Viking Yachts: Viking is the largest and most recognized U.S. builder of semi-custom and convertible sportfishing yachts in the 40'-90' range. It competes directly with F&S for HNW offshore sportfishing buyers, builds in New Jersey with established production lines, and is the segment benchmark F&S measures itself against.
• Jim Smith Boats: Jim Smith Boats is a small Florida custom builder focused on tournament-ready sportfishing yachts with Carolina-inspired hulls. As a fellow low-volume, high-end custom shop, it directly competes with F&S on hull design heritage and bespoke build quality.
• Jarrett Bay Boatworks: Jarrett Bay is a Carolina-based custom sportfish builder producing 50'-90'+ convertible yachts with bespoke interiors and tournament-grade fishability. It directly competes for the same HNW customer segment as F&S, with similar full-custom build cycles, premium pricing, and tournament visibility.
• Spencer Yachts: Spencer Yachts builds high-end custom sportfishing yachts from North Carolina with fully bespoke layouts, premium engines, and tournament-ready design. Its customer profile, build philosophy, and price band overlap closely with F&S's.
• Garlington Landewe: Garlington Landewe builds a small number of high-end custom sportfishing yachts out of North Carolina, targeting the same tournament and HNW buyers as F&S. Comparable in build volume, bespoke positioning, and price point per foot.
• Weaver Boatworks: Weaver Boatworks is a custom sportfishing yacht builder producing bespoke 50'+ vessels with an emphasis on tournament performance and premium finishes. Directly comparable niche competitor within the HNW custom sportfish market.

Broad incumbents

• Ocean Yachts: Ocean Yachts (formerly Ocean Sportfishing) is a New Jersey-based builder of semi-custom convertible sportfishing yachts in the 40'-80' range. It serves the same HNW offshore angler segment but at higher volume and a broader (less bespoke) product line than F&S.

Regional players

• Riviera Australia: Riviera is Australia's largest luxury motor yacht builder, producing sportfishing and motor yacht models primarily for the Australian and Asia-Pacific markets. Comparable product category (luxury sportfishing yachts) and customer type, but geographically concentrated outside F&S's U.S. core.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/fsyachts
• Facebookfacebook.com/fsboatworks
• Instagraminstagram.com/fsboatworks

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about F & S Boatworks