About ten years ago, I wrote a Powerboat magazine profile of Mike Fiore, the founder and owner of Outerlimits Offshore Powerboats in Bristol, R.I. (The company celebrates its 20th anniversary in July 2013.) While we walked the production floor of the plant, I asked Fiore, a legacy builder—his father, Paul, founded Hustler boats and Mike began working for him at age 13—if building boats still pumped him up.

The owners of GTMM chose a vinylester lay-up for their 39-footer because they believe it delivers a softer ride. Photo by Forest Johnson.

He laughed. “Do I look at a drum of resin and a roll of fiberglass, and then look at one of my boats, and say, ‘Wow, that comes from those?’” he said. “No. I don’t see that as ‘magic’ any more, because when it comes right down to it the boat business is a just a lot of hard, messy, itchy work. But do I still love it? Yes I do.”

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