THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506170364
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CHRISTOPHER DINSMORE, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
Buddy Davis would rather be a laborer painting boat bottoms than return to the stress of three or four years ago.
Tense and tired, Davis was scrambling to keep Davis Yachts Inc. afloat. He was globe-trotting, desperately hawking the custom sport-fishing boats for which he's known.
``We had a slowing-down economy, and we had a luxury tax,'' Davis said. ``We might have survived each of them individually, but combined they were deadly.''
He hit bottom two years ago, when he closed the Elizabeth City plant. It was a difficult time, but one that proved cleansing.
Today, Carson Ralph Davis Jr. is much happier. He recast his company into Davis Boat Works Inc., a much smaller operation opened in 1993 in his native Wanchese. The company operates at capacity, building seven fiberglass boats a year.
Looking relaxed and trim, with a deep tan and a bounce in his step, Davis is quick to admit he's been very fortunate since closing Davis Yachts.
``I don't want this operation to get any bigger than we are now,'' Davis said in the clipped accent of a Carolina coast native. ``I know everybody by their first name. It's just a comfort level with me. I tried it the other way.''
When he opened Davis Yachts in 1985, opportunities for luxury boat-building seemed as broad as the oceans.
``The economy was so strong, the boat-building business was so strong, we thought we could really make some money,'' Davis said.
Davis was already known as one of the premier builders of wooden sport-fishing boats with the famed Carolina hull. The design was hailed for running out of narrow, shoaling inlets and handling big waves.
In 1989, its best year, Davis Yachts sold 33 boats and employed 270 people.
Davis was upended when the economy petered out and President Bush broke his no-new-taxes pledge, levying a 10 percent tax on the value of boats sold costing more than $100,000.
By 1991 Davis had slashed employment to about 70 in an effort to cut costs. Two years later he shuttered the plant.
``We just didn't feel like the economy was going to recover quickly enough to stop the bleeding,'' he said.
Davis has since adjusted his priorities. He thinks a lot smaller.
Davis Boat Works keeps its work force at about 55. Davis also owns several small related businesses, including a boat brokerage and a boat-repair yard.
``We have a different attitude here,'' Davis said. ``There's no overtime on the floor. I don't want to wear people out.''
Davis recently bought a used 44-foot sport-fishing boat built by someone else that he plans to restore and use himself. He can't afford to buy one of his company's boats. And that seems fine with him.
Buddy Davis would rather be a laborer painting boat bottoms than return to the stress of three or four years ago.
Tense and tired, Davis was scrambling to keep Davis Yachts Inc. afloat. He was globe-trotting, desperately hawking the custom sport-fishing boats for which he's known.
``We had a slowing-down economy, and we had a luxury tax,'' Davis said. ``We might have survived each of them individually, but combined they were deadly.''
He hit bottom two years ago, when he closed the Elizabeth City plant. It was a difficult time, but one that proved cleansing.
Today, Carson Ralph Davis Jr. is much happier. He recast his company into Davis Boat Works Inc., a much smaller operation opened in 1993 in his native Wanchese. The company operates at capacity, building seven fiberglass boats a year.
Looking relaxed and trim, with a deep tan and a bounce in his step, Davis is quick to admit he's been very fortunate since closing Davis Yachts.
``I don't want this operation to get any bigger than we are now,'' Davis said in the clipped accent of a Carolina coast native. ``I know everybody by their first name. It's just a comfort level with me. I tried it the other way.''
When he opened Davis Yachts in 1985, opportunities for luxury boat-building seemed as broad as the oceans.
``The economy was so strong, the boat-building business was so strong, we thought we could really make some money,'' Davis said.
Davis was already known as one of the premier builders of wooden sport-fishing boats with the famed Carolina hull. The design was hailed for running out of narrow, shoaling inlets and handling big waves.
In 1989, its best year, Davis Yachts sold 33 boats and employed 270 people.
Davis was upended when the economy petered out and President Bush broke his no-new-taxes pledge, levying a 10 percent tax on the value of boats sold costing more than $100,000.
By 1991 Davis had slashed employment to about 70 in an effort to cut costs. Two years later he shuttered the plant.
``We just didn't feel like the economy was going to recover quickly enough to stop the bleeding,'' he said.
Davis has since adjusted his priorities. He thinks a lot smaller.
Davis Boat Works keeps its work force at about 55. Davis also owns several small related businesses, including a boat brokerage and a boat-repair yard.
``We have a different attitude here,'' Davis said. ``There's no overtime on the floor. I don't want to wear people out.''
Davis recently bought a used 44-foot sport-fishing boat built by someone else that he plans to restore and use himself. He can't afford to buy one of his company's boats. And that seems fine with him. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Buddy Davis recast his former company, Davis Yachts Inc., into Davis
Boat Works Inc., a much smaller operation.
by CNB