By Mitchell Bateman 

If you’ve spent any time in the world of offshore sportfishing, you’re likely familiar with Scarborough Boatworks and its founder, Ricky Scarborough, Sr.

Pioneering Craftsmanship in Sportfishing Boats

From his first 18-25’ hunting skiffs and work boats, to his last 60-85’ custom built luxury sportfishing yachts, Ricky’s reputation for quality craftsmanship and ingenuity is well known.  The actual number of boats he built is a little fuzzy considering he didn’t keep written records on all the crab boats and hunting skiffs he built for his neighbors and family.  With the incorporation of Scarborough Boat Works in 1977 (along with better record-keeping), it is probable that the grand total of boats Ricky built was north of 100.

The Legacy of Ricky Scarborough, Sr.

What is less well-known is the way Ricky got to his position in the boat building industry and the factors that shaped his legacy. Ricky realized early in his adult life that he had a God-given talent and skill for boat building and that he could use that to make a living for his family, which was his ultimate motivation. 

Mastery Over Machines: The Art of Boat Building

Ricky didn’t use naval architects or engineers to do his design work. Instead, he could “see” shape, form and function in his head and transform that vision into reality with his hands, crafting juniper lumber into the most beautiful and best-riding boats on the water.  These skills came naturally to Ricky and he never sought special praise for his many accomplishments.  

An example of this occurred when Ricky Sr. was chosen by the Dare County Boat Builders Foundation as their featured boat builder of the year. Although he was honored, Ricky didn’t really want to go to the event to accept the award. He said at the time that “This kind of award is for people who have died, and I’m still alive and working.” It was only after much encouragement from family and fellow boat builders that Ricky was finally persuaded to attend.

A Visionary’s Evolution in Boat Building

Ricky’s intuitiveness also allowed him to “see” early in his boat building career that the Roanoke Island area’s market for skiffs and crab boats would likely run out. This was due to the way he could quickly saturate the market with his 18-25’ boat since he was working in a small industry and place. In 1976, Ricky was 29 years old when he met Omie Tillett, a locally acclaimed builder of large sportfishing boats. Omie asked Ricky if he would be interested in helping him build a bigger boat that upcoming winter. Ricky quickly signed onto the project.  

He quickly learned the advanced skills and methods necessary to build these boats and realized there was more of a market for this type of boat and building then could provide him with a full time boat building job.  Until this point, Ricky had crabbed in the warm weather and guided duck hunters in the early winter then built the crab boats in the backyard of his home. That next year Scarborough Boatworks Inc. was formed and has been in continuous operation ever since.  

Ricky Sr. never really cared for offshore sport fishing.  He never worked on the local charter boats with local captains/boatbuilders like Omie Tillett, Warren O’Neal, Sheldon Midgett, Sunny Briggs or Buddy Cannady, all of whom charter fished in summer and built boats in winter.  He never even held a captain’s license. He built a 35’ boat for himself and his family and used it mostly in the sounds around his home and the occasional getaway to the Ocracoke Island area. Ricky was an avid crabber and duck hunter.  Even in his last year, he mentioned to his wife that one of the things that still excited him was pulling up a crab pot full of crabs.

Staying True to Tradition

In his 40+ years of running Scarborough Boatworks, Ricky would only build plank-on-frame boats.  As jig boat building came to the industry, Ricky refused to switch to even consider it.  He once called that kind of boat building “paper mache”, remarking that anybody could fasten boards around a frame somebody else designed.  Ricky cut all the bottom and side frames for every hull he built, determining exactly what the shape of the bottom and the hull sides would form.  He didn’t use a computer, design software, or any technological device to design his boats. He used strings and battens along with talent God had given him to “see” what the boat would look like while it was being framed and formed. The rake of the stem, the sheer, the turn down, the amount of flare, and the amount of tumble home in his signature shape was not open for compromise with his customers. He would tell potential customers who wanted to change these components that they should probably look for another builder rather than get started with him. 

The highest compliment he received came a few years back when another local boat builder was being interviewed about the Carolina Boat. The builder was asked to describe the characteristics of a Carolina-style boat and without hesitation answered, “It’s a Ricky boat.”  Ricky usually only built about two boats at a time because he was a “hands-on” builder and wanted to oversee each component of every boat being built under the Scarborough name.

Passing the Torch: A Family Legacy of Scarborough Boatworks

In 1993 after completing a degree in business, Ricky Jr. came home to work full time alongside his dad, not working the books but sanding and gluing. Ricky Sr. and Ricky Jr. worked together in the family business until 2010 when Ricky Sr. fully retired, handing over his built-by-hand business to his son. In their 17 years working together, there were more than a few “spirited” discussions about technique and style, and it was almost always the case that the Senior Scarborough won out. Ricky Sr.’s sometimes resistance to change was understandable however, since forming his company in 1978 he always had a boat to build and never needed to purchase advertising to keep the doors open. Ricky Sr. once commented to someone who was trying to sell him advertising, “Why should I spend money on advertising when I can’t build them fast enough now?” Why do things different when you’re already doing things right?

A Personal Reflection on Life and Legacy

Ricky was a very private man who avoided sportfishing industry crowds whenever possible.  You wouldn’t see him at all the local tournament parties and events. He enjoyed taking his wife, children and grandchildren to one of the local sand islands in Roanoke Sound for the day, or a late evening boat ride to enjoy the sunset. He lived his life for and alongside the very people he built his business to serve: his family.

A quote from his obituary in October of 2020 provides real insight into who he was:

“To Ricky, the most important thing in life, perhaps the only important thing in life is a person’s recognition of our purpose and destiny; to recognize that we are the creation of an almighty God who through Christ, afforded everyone the opportunity and means to be reconciled to Him.”

Ricky Sr. loved his God, his family and his church. We believe that right now he’s talking with Noah about some planking on the Ark! Noah would probably be wise to let Ricky Sr. build the Ark his way.