Old Salts: Whether native or transplant, these folks found their place and passions on North Carolina’s coast, becoming as integral to life here as the sand and sea. Read more about the folks that make the coast thrive.

The light spilling from the metal building’s entrance narrows to a sliver before vanishing as the door slams shut. Paul Spencer steps from bright daylight into the windowless carpentry shop, his eyes adjusting. The air inside holds the faint scent of sawdust and varnish. The grain of teak and black walnut glows under the shop lights. “It’s different building a boat than a house because nothing’s square,” he says, running his hand over the convex edge of a cabinet. Nodding to his team of master carpenters, Paul admits, “I get to take credit for some incredibly talented people.”

It’s a humble remark from a yacht maker with modest beginnings. Once an admired Outer Banks charter captain, Paul risked it all to build his own boat nearly 30 years ago. Today, he is one of North Carolina’s most respected sportfish builders. Outside, a boat docked in the basin bound for Japan is a testament to the demand for Spencer Yachts, prized for their performance and good looks. He’s come a long way from building boats in a shed with no doors or running water to handcrafting vessels up to 87 feet long.

“I’ve lived here all my life. My wife, too,” says Paul, walking across the gravel maze of their sprawling headquarters on the backside of Wanchese. “I had brothers and sisters that went off and became doctors and lawyers, but I was young and dumb, and all I cared about was chasing women and fish.”

This year, Paul Spencer will begin construction on his 150th hull, a major milestone for his company that completes about four boats a year. photograph by Spencer Yachts

At 12, he started working as a mate on inshore boats and, at 15, offshore boats. Out of high school, he captained boats owned by others, and at age 29, he bought his own. He ran his own charter for nearly 20 years, earning a living and a solid reputation as a captain and angler. His transition to boatbuilding was born out of necessity. “I needed a new boat but couldn’t afford one,” he says. After being raised in one of the capitals of boatbuilding, he told his wife, Shelly, that he wanted to build his own. He had no real experience, but she went along with the idea. It helped that her father was a boatbuilder.

He sold his charter boat — his only income — and borrowed money. It was a risky wager for a couple with five kids at home, but Paul didn’t think of it that way. “I thought I could build a boat, use it for several years, and then sell it, maybe make a few bucks on it, then build another one. Like flipping houses,” Paul says.

Decades on the water taught him what worked and what didn’t. Building his own was an opportunity to solve problems and make improvements. “Riding on that ocean for 120 days a year helps you know what a boat needs to do and what makes it do good,” Paul says. With that in mind, he changed some things when he built the first one in 1997. He wanted it to be comfortable and fast.

Spencer Yachts has a line of people waiting as long as five years for delivery. Some of their boats fetch as much as $15 million. photograph by Baxter Miller

The boat looked different, too, a touch sharper here and a bit broader there. In a region famed for its Carolina flair — the dramatic outward sweep of the bow designed to knock down spray — some boatbuilders had begun exaggerating this detail. “Those great big, flared bows didn’t really do anything, and to me, after a while, they didn’t even look good. So, I mingled a long, sleek Florida look with a Carolina look.”

Paul’s design stood apart. Before he had even finished, a potential buyer came calling, but he resisted, temporarily. Paul launched the 58-footer in July, fished her through the end of summer, and by October, she was sold. It was time to build the second boat, his first official order.

Years of meeting buyers from all over the world have made Paul a quick study. “It doesn’t take long to tell what kind of boat they want. It all depends on how they plan to use it,” he says. Spencer Yachts caters to seasoned boaters looking to upgrade to something unique, inside and out.

“When we build a boat, it’s an empty box. We’ll do whatever they want. It’s totally custom,” Paul explains. No request is too outrageous. From an onboard gym with a treadmill and elliptical to countertops made of petrified trees, Paul has seen a lot from the time he started his first boat to the start of the 149th. “I’m open to any suggestion,” he says. “If it doesn’t detract from the boat, why not? I say, let’s do it. It’ll be fun.”

“That’s my niche. If that thing doesn’t look gorgeous, it ain’t going out the door.”

Boarding a 77-foot boat perched high in one of the finishing bays, Paul’s eyes inspect every surface. No two are alike. What they share is Paul’s relentless pursuit of perfection. He and his two sons oversee every step, obsessing over construction, technology, and aesthetics. “We’re known for being fast and a superb ride. And it’s got to look good. That’s my niche. If that thing doesn’t look gorgeous, it ain’t going out the door,” he says, smiling yet serious, still scanning the boat for any possible flaw.

Building on a legacy of those who came before him, Paul has made his own mark in the canon of this place-based craft and has earned a spot among the legion of legendary North Carolina boatbuilders. “Only in America can you chase a dream like this,” he says of building his business. “One thing about Spencer Yachts, we’ve never been scared to do something different. If you don’t take risks, you don’t learn.”