Abstract:
In 1959, foul weather thwarted a fishing trip to Cape Hatteras by Willis Slane, a High Point hosiery-mill owner. That, plus a Florida ride on a fiberglass boat and a dare, led to the founding of New Bern-based Hatteras Yachts. Forty-six years later the company employs around 1,000 people, builds between sixty and seventy yachts a year in the $1 to $8 million range, and does not disclose annual sales, except to say that they exceed $100 million.