TRY THE BEANS

Everyone knows home-cooked yachts have more flavor.

Fortunately, a fresh batch of boat nuts were passing their prime and had the time and bucks to dream. With memories of darker times, they were risk-takers, and had no qualms about non-household brands. I found work with Tom Fexas, whose contrarian vision of yacht design was a perfect fit for this new wave of pioneers. Tom’s Midnight Lace, with her throwback styling and svelte, efficient hull form, was definitely a boat of its own breed. At first, Midnight Lace business cards were greeted with amusement: “Are you peddling boats or women’s lingerie?” Still, clients stepped forward, serious production began, and a larger model was introduced. Inspired by the Lace’s performance, a number of production builders joined the ranks of Tom’s early adopters.

Tom was a brilliant, albeit stubborn, designer; he was often pressured to pen a sport-fisher or motoryacht that looked more like a sport-fisher or motoryacht, but he almost always refused. Most boaters were still grocerystore consumers and couldn’t wrap their minds around Tom’s unique designs. Just the same, a few savvy yacht brokers embraced his independent eye and would come by the office with their most troublesome clients. The troublemakers were experienced yachtsmen, and most had tried every can of beans on the shelf before knocking on our door. Together with their brokers, we spent hours poring over drawings and specifications before sending bid packages to the small community of custom builders.

These days, the grocery store is an overstuffed, big-box outlet. “Fortunately, there are many good choices, as most shoppers can’t tell a good can of beans from a bad one,” Ted said with a sigh. “They wander down the aisles and grab the first brand they recognize.”

Hopefully, there will always be a few picky eaters who take the time to bake their own.