Last Call: A Custom Wooden Cocktail Cruiser Built for Northern Michigan Living

The first question most people ask when they see Last Call is whether she’s a restoration.

She’s not. She’s a new build. But that’s exactly the point.

Delivered in June 2025, Last Call is a 26-foot, utility-inspired custom wooden boat designed to handle everything — cocktail cruise, run to the country club, powering through a chop on the way back from dinner — without looking like it’s trying. The lines are classic. The details are modern. The only tell is the name on the transom.

Built Around How You Actually Use a Boat

Last Call started, like every Van Dam project, with a conversation about how the owner wanted to live on the water. What emerged wasn’t a spec sheet — it was a life.

Golf outings. Sunset cruises. Dinner runs. Days where you want a boat that can do everything without forcing you to choose.

She’s powered by a 350 HP Mercury engine in a 5,200-pound hull, reaching 45 MPH at full throttle with smooth, confident handling. Quick enough to be exciting. Stable enough to be comfortable. Built from wood, which means she’s beautiful from every angle, in every light.

The Hidden Details That Make the Difference

Van Dam boats are known for their exteriors. What’s less visible is the engineering underneath.

Last Call carries a full suite of owner-requested features, each one executed without disrupting the classic lines:

• Glassware storage with a backlit drawer and chilled bottle compartment
• Custom-enhanced speakers engineered for crystal-clear audio across an open hull
• Electric stow-away storage drawer beneath the deck for lines, fenders, and gear
• Stainless boarding pole and fold-out steps integrated into the ceiling boards for docks of varying heights
• Bow thruster with concealed drop-down controls for agility in tight quarters

Each of these was designed to disappear into the boat. If you didn’t know to look, you wouldn’t find them.

Wood That Looks Like It’s from Another Era

There’s a certain look that only wood can produce — the warmth, the grain, the sense that the boat was built by people who genuinely cared about it. Last Call has all of that, paired with amenities that would be at home on any modern build.

It’s a combination that confuses people in the best possible way. The only tell will be the name on the transom: Van Dam. And that will let you know it is one of the world’s finest wooden boats.

Spec highlights: 26 feet, 8’1″ beam, 5,100 lb displacement, 350 HP 6.2L MerCruiser, top speed 45 MPH.

Start Your Own Build

If you’re curious about commissioning a custom wooden boat of your own, the Concept Phase is a no-obligation flat-fee process designed to help you figure out exactly what you want before committing to anything. Contact us to start the conversation.