Robb Report set out to find the finest wooden boatbuilders on earth — from Switzerland to Scotland, Wisconsin to the Adirondacks — and Van Dam Custom Boats made the definitive list of nine.
The July 2023 feature celebrated builders who combine ancient materials with modern engineering, and Van Dam’s entry cut right to the heart of what makes this company different from all the others. “We only build one of each boat,” Sales Manager Jeremy Pearson told Robb Report. “The people that come to us are usually seasoned and know what they liked in previous boats they owned — the lines, the seats, that kind of stuff. We do a lot of listening to the clients.”
The featured build, a stunning downeast-style vessel, represented just one point on a very long line of very different boats — from the Geronimo commuter yacht to high-performance runabouts to blue-water sailing yachts. The throughline across all of them is not a style or a silhouette, but a standard: one that has never been compromised since Steve and Jean Van Dam first opened their doors in Boyne City in 1977.