"Private sportfishing boats dawned in the late 1940s and 1950s along the North Carolina Outer Banks. The post-WorldWar II economy was growing and people had more money to spend on recreation and leisure-time activities. Gasoline and diesel engines had improved and boats were safer, faster and had more range. The highway system was better and the Outer Banks were more accessible to inland population centers. All these factors contributed to an increasing interest in offshore sportfishing.
"The earliest sportfishing boats on the northern Outer Banks evolved from shad boats and on the southern Outer Banks they emerged from sharpies and Core Sounders. Local fishermen took fishing charters when the opportunity arose just to supplement their income. Few saw sportfishing as a way to make a living, and some even viewed it as a waste of time. But as the charter fleets grew and the demand for fishing opportunities increased, boatbuilders responded by constructing more sophisticated sportfishing vessels. They started focusing on the sportsman and their boats were designed exclusively for offshore fishing.
"The great boatbuilders who led the transition from charter boats into the dawn of private sportfishing boats on the northern Outer Banks include Wilton Walker, Allen Hayman, Worden Dough, Lee Dough and Bob Scarborough. The transition on the southern Outer Banks included respected boatbuilders Ray Davis, Charlie Alligood, Ray LeMay, Nat Lee Smith and Asa Cannon.
"These fine boatbuilders took the shad boat and the Core Sounder and made them sportfishing vessels. Even though many of their boats were built from the late 1940s through the 1960s,some of them are still in use today. The talents and skills of these boatbuilders and fishermen started a legacy along the Outer Banks, and they were instrumental in the early years of the new industry."
Neal, John, and Jim Conoley
Carolina Flare: Outerbanks Boatbuilding and Sportfishing Heritage
According to a study done in 2006, Dare County has the highest concentration of boat builders in the world, and it is known for its unique "Carolina Style" boats. There are 16 boat-building companies in Dare County that build an average of 25 boats a year. At any given time, there is an average of 500-600 employees working on 30 boats throughout the county.