COVER STORY
WAVE OF NEWCOMERS JOINS TREASURE
COAST’S EXPANDING BOATING INDUSTRY
Companies cite port location, a skilled workforce
6
as reasons for moving to the area
TCBusiness.com
Explosive growth in the marine industry
in the past decade has made the Treasure
Coast the third-largest area in the United
States in terms of the economic impact of
recreational boating.
The area’s two largest builders, Maverick
Boat Group and Pursuit Boats, now with
the same corporate parent, each employ
more than 400 full-time workers in neighboring
plants in Fort Pierce.
The area’s boating strength is expected
to continue. There are about two dozen
boat manufacturers making more than
30 brands at small and large plants from
Stuart to Sebastian. They are about to be
joined by two game-changing newcomers:
Derecktor Shipyards and Contender Boats.
Derecktor Shipyards is expected to open
in May with the world’s largest mobile
boat lift at the century-old Port of Fort
Pierce, which could make Fort Pierce a
center for some of the world’s most expensive
mega-yachts and large sailing yachts.
The $6.5 million, 85-foot-tall boat lift will
be capable of lifting yachts up to 250
feet long and weighing up to 1,500 tons,
according to Justin Beard, Derecktor Fort
Pierce marketing manager.
Beard said it was a combination of
factors that led the company to bring its
game-changing boat hoist with repair and
refit yard to Fort Pierce. The port is pretty
much a 3-nautical-mile straight shot to the
Fort Pierce Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean.
Also, there are no overhead obstructions
from the ocean to the port, meaning it can
handle the taller sailing vessels. Derecktor
has locations in New York and Dania
Beach in Broward County. The 74-year-old
company has signed a 75-year-lease for
the port.
“This is going to be a huge economic >>
BY BERNIE WOODALL
PURSUIT BOATS
Three workers at Pursuit Boats in Fort Pierce apply resin and woven Fiberglas, a step in the lamination process that strengthens the hull.
/TCBusiness.com
