![]() “Paul was captaining a charter boat out of Oregon Inlet one day when he hooked up a huge blue marlin,” Willis tells. One of Willis most fun fish stories stars fellow boat-builder and former professional captain, Paul Spencer. ![]() He also released over 50 sailfish in one day off this same vessel while in Costa Rica. Willis caught two grand slams – two blue marlin, two white marlin and two sailfish – in one day. One happened in Venezuela aboard the 65-foot Willis, NuCo2 with owner Ed Sellian. Willis has enjoyed a couple of great fishing days that he will always remember. “We’ve traveled to fish, for example, off Venezuela, Costa Rica, St. He also was one of the first to work with pneumatic actuated systems on power yachts."When Willis launched his career as a boat builder in the 1980s, it allowed him to enjoy the opportunity to fish recreationally." “I’ve fished with a lot of my owners,” he says. He’s installed the first retractable sonar with engine room access. It can be challenging, but it’s something we really enjoy.” Blazing new territory is something Willis is known for. “They even know right down to the engine or generator, plus how they want the layout and why. “My customers have owned many boats and they know exactly what they want,” he says. Air-conditioning in the cockpit is now standard rather than a luxury. ![]() For example, engines have higher horse power (HP) now and the HP to weight ratio of the vessel creates an extremely maneuverable fishing platform. Over the years, Willis has seen an evolution in boat building materials and design. He got the chance to do this in 1982 when he built a 30-foot spec boat for himself. "I had my captain's license by the time I was 19". North and south, it was all billfishing – blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish.“I always stored in my mind what I’d like to improve on a boat,” Willis says. Here, he worked on fishing charters seven days a week, repeating this grueling pace each summer on a boat off North Carolina’s Cape Hatteras. Pierce, Florida, to become a professional fisherman. Instead, right after graduation, Willis answered an ad posted in the National Fisherman and headed to Ft. ![]() However, the engineering degree he earned at a western Pennsylvania university certainly turned out to come in handy. Willis didn’t immediately plan to become a boat-builder. Now based in Stuart, Willis has become a cutting edge boatbuilder for over a quarter century. Growing up in Rhode Islands Narragansett bay, where he started saltwater fishing as a child. Mark Willis the President of Willis Marine Inc., has always been drawn to the water. ![]()
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