After several years and numerous boats later, Rudy and Mac decided to retire. There were several factors that brought them to that decision, including health issues. Though I was disappointed and tried to convince them to keep going, it was the right decision for them.

I decided to put the molds in storage and regroup at a later date. I worked out of the country for a period of time and had shared a warehouse with a friend to store them. Much to my surprise, when I came back, I saw one of my boats going down the highway in the opposite direction. I ran the boat down and asked the owner where he got that boat under the pretense that I was in awe over its beauty. He told me it was a Midnight Express. I was confused and drove to the Midnight Express factory. Bing, the owner, seemed shocked when he saw me. He had no idea that I owned the molds. With one phone call, there was no dispute about who owned the molds. He was apologetic and said he thought my “friend” owned the molds, who had brought them to him and made a deal to get paid for every boat that was built out of them.

Bing was committed to building some boats from my molds for the US Government and asked to complete that contract before I took the molds. He offered to build two bare boats for me, no hardware, and leave one of them in the molds for transport when I took them. In retrospect, I should have let him continue to use my molds and just collected a fee for each one or tried to grow a partnership with him.

I brought the molds to another shop owned by the father of one of my original riggers. They built some boats over a couple of years and were honest with me. A partner was later brought into their business that I was not comfortable with, so I moved my molds to another shop. That shop had my molds for an extended period of time and never paid the agreed-to fee for any of the boats that they built. When confronted about it, they acknowledged that fact. They then offered to pay me for them but never came up with any money. When I came to take the molds, they offered to build me two boats for the molds instead, which they also never did.

They later modified the hull mold without my knowledge or permission and chopped up and threw away the top deck mold. I took what was left of my molds back. I had an expensive CT scan done on the remaining molds, which showed how perfect the original part of the molds is and what a debacle everything else is that they modified. I have had simulations run from the scan, which shows multiple performance issues with what they did.

After much consideration, I regretfully decided that those molds are more work to make right than putting together a new set of molds. We are in the process of building new molds that are reflective of the original design that had such beauty and performed so well. It is taking longer than I anticipated, but it will be done right.

There are updates to modernize the design, including vacuum bagging and modern composites, while still maintaining the style, room, fishability, and ride that was incorporated into the original design. The demo boat is complete, and we are fine-tuning it before using it as our plug (see picture). I plan to initially offer two sizes to meet demands.

I am taking names for future clients but not taking deposits until the molds are complete and the new design has been properly tested. I look forward to discussing clients’ needs to incorporate some new ideas into our future line of boats.

We believe that every boat tells a story, and ours is built on innovation, quality, and a love for the water. Whether you’re interested in fishing, cruising, or just enjoying time on the sea, we have the perfect solution for you.