Onslow Bay Yachts for Sale

Onslow Bay is a small North Carolina yard building one thing well. Brad Knight, a second generation boat builder and a tournament angler himself, started it in 2005 to build the center console he wanted to fish from, and the range has stayed narrow ever since: the 27 Offshore Edition and the 33, 37 and 41 Tournament Editions. Production runs at about 30 boats a year at Holly Ridge, each specified with its owner. There are no dealers and no middleman, so the buyer of a new boat deals with the people who build it.

These are not cold molded Carolina custom boats, and buyers sometimes assume they are because of the address. They are molded fiberglass, built as three pieces, hull and cap and liner, in all foam core with no wood anywhere, using a fully infused vinylester laminate and Plexus adhesives for the structural bonding. The hull is a ventilated step design with a 48 degree entry and 24 degrees of deadrise at the transom, with reverse chines and heavy flare, so it is quick, dry and economical rather than soft in the manner of a heavy displacement boat. On the used market they trade well because there are not many of them and the fishing crowd knows the name, but the flip side is a thin comparable set: expect to value each boat on its layout, engines and rigging rather than on a book figure. Because the boats were sold direct rather than through dealers, build records and options are best checked with the factory itself.