THE DOUGHERTY DIFFERENCE
Center console boats have changed over time…
It seems like yesterday, Bob Dougherty, was designing boats for Dick Fisher at Boston Whaler in Rockland, Massachusetts. He raised his son with resin on his hands and a mind that was constantly challenging the status quo. Over the years the Dougherty Family has proven their enduring commitment to their local community and the boat building industry.
50 Years of Boat Building History
The Dougherty Legacy begins in Rockland, Massachusetts. Bob Dougherty, Stephen’s father, a chief engineer and later senior vice president with Boston Whaler, was an instrumental figure in the design evolution of their “unsinkable” hull designs earning him the nickname Mr. Unsinkable. From early on, Bob was an influential figure in Stephen’s life. “I would go out with my dad up in Massachusetts, and we would test boats in the middle of the winter when I was seven years old. That was a regular thing for me. That was normal. We’d break ice at the launching ramp, put the boat in and go out and test it.” By the time Stephen joined his father at Boston Whaler at the age of 17, it wasn’t just a love of boating and building things that had been established but a way of thinking and a personable environment where fellow workers were treated like family. Stephen started in the shop on the assembly line and continued learning and developing his skills. Massachusetts was tough for boat manufactures though and soon Boston Whaler needed to relocate. Bob Dougherty found a plant in Edgewater, Florida that was manufacturing lifeboats at the time and in 1982 the entire Boston Whaler facility was moving down. Stephen’s job during the move was to set up and train people for the new facility. “My job coming down to Florida was to set up and train people how to assemble every Boston Whaler. I and about six other guys opened the Boston Whaler facility.” The Dougherty’s helped establish the new facility but after several years and several ownership transitions Stephen and Bob decided they wanted to start their own company where they could have full developmental freedom.
At their new company, Dougherty Marine along with RJ Dougherty and Associates, they did just that. They developed and manufactured a new boat windshield and with it, Stephen gained the knowledge on how to work with a new marine grade polymer product. With this new knowledge and with their new designs, the idea was born, they were going to build their own boat. Stephen had never gone through the entire boat building process on his own, but he was determined to learn and a new building block in the Dougherty Legacy was born, “From Concept to Completion”. By 1991, the boat they built had laid the groundwork for their new company, Edgewater Powerboats. “We built that company up to 100 or so people with eight models.”
After taking on some partners and then later selling their stock to them, the Dougherty’s decided to move forward and start their next company. In 2001, Everglades Boats was born. “We built up Everglades pretty quickly. A brand new hundred and twenty-five thousand-square-foot facility and it was a very efficient, great company.” It was during this time that the team incorporated Bob Dougherty’s Rapid Molded Core Assembly Process in every hull. A process which in 1999 had won a Marine Manufacturers Innovation Award. In 2012, Stephen decided to move on from Everglades Boats. “My passion is building boats, and I earned a living out of building boats.” but with a non-compete, he couldn’t do the one thing he’d known his entire life he wanted to do.
Just as Bob Dougherty had done, Stephen wanted to build a great company for his family, “so my kids could stay around here in Florida and work for the company and stay together. That’s been my life’s dream.” Unfortunately, boats were out of the question for the next few years so Stephen and his wife, Sarah Dougherty started Dougherty Manufacturing. Instead of boats, they manufactured large-scale fabrication projects for a variety of industries including numerous projects for theme parks. “Our capabilities are very diverse as a result of doing all that work for other companies.” By the time, the non-compete ran out, they were a well-established manufacturer. With a manufacturing company and facility already established. With concept to completion a critical baseline, Stephen knew he wanted to further evolve by doing as many elements in-house as they could. “We already had an engineering team and a facility, so we bought two five-axis routers; one of them capable of building a boat sixty feet long and the other for small parts.” SŌLACE Boats was officially entering the scene. Stephen knew from the beginning that this boat company would be different than the previous, he’d guarantee it. SŌLACE Boats was a cumulation of years of industry experience, multiple lifetimes of boating knowledge from himself and his father, and at the heart, someone who grew up knowing that this was his life’s passion. “As far as building a boater’s boat, that’s what I do, and that’s what I’ve always done. My wife and I and the kids go out on the boat every weekend. We’re boaters…That’s how I look at things differently than other boat builders look at things. People build ski boats, and people build fishing boats, and people build flat boats and pleasure boats. I build a boat for boaters…They go to the fireworks, they go to the picnic, they go to the beach, they go fishing, they go waterskiing, they do everything with a boat.” Inspired through family, community, and the industry he’d known his entire life, Stephen created SŌLACE Boats, for people like him and his family, the heart of it all, boaters.
The Next Generation – SŌLACE Boats
Stephen Dougherty – CEO &
The Dougherty Difference
The Dougherty Difference is the foundation from which SŌLACE Boats has risen. It is a mindset, a commitment, a passion, and it is through generations of refinement that the Dougherty Difference is truly unmatched. It is a legacy that has had a lasting impact on not only the Dougherty family, but all the lives that have been touched through Dougherty Designs.
“My dad taught me a long time ago that there are two ways you can go when building, designing and selling a boat. You can build an okay boat and do a load of marketing, or, and this is how my dad put it, ‘you build a badass boat and people are going to buy it.’ Our philosophy is about building a better boat. In order to do that, you need to make every single aspect of the boat better.” ~ Stephen Dougherty
Created with a passion that is a lifetime in the making, SŌLACE Boats has not only redefined the entire essence of the center console but also the building process. From concept to completion, we handle it all. One source, one team, one vision. Unmatched capability to complete any project in-house, beginning to end. As dreamers, designers, and builders, we are innovators and with advanced technologies and manufacturing processes as well as new materials under new applications SŌLACE has created some of the strongest and most high-performance boats on the market today.
The Dougherty Difference is reflected in cutting-edge designs, original ideas, and commitment to the customer. This legacy has pushed the limits of design and engineering time and again, using leading manufacturing solutions to deliver products exceeding expectations and it continues to this day. We know that it isn’t just the materials or the building processes that make up building a better boat though. Our most important and valuable asset is our team. Without the incredible men and women who work day in and day out with a passion for the product, SŌLACE simply could not exist. Hailing from all areas of the industry and across the many boat types we have seen introduced in the last century, we have centuries of experience all working together to produce SŌLACE Boats.
“I believe in a hands-on approach. A day doesn’t go by where I am not out on the floor with our incredible team helping to build the finest center console on the market today.” ~ Stephen Dougherty
It has been said this is a ‘dream team’ and those words could not be truer. This team is dedicated. They are dedicated to the product, to the result, but also in creating a place in which memories can be made by our end users, our owners, our SŌLACE family. SŌLACE Boats, a result of a great legacy and a passionate dreamer, stands apart in the marine industry. We are at the beginning of a great new generation of boats, and the time has come to set the stage once again. SŌLACE Boats has and will continue to change the tide and like Bob Dougherty revolutionizing the industry with his designs, we too will carry on this legacy and continue to revolutionize the boating industry. Our future is ours to write, and with this great responsibility we chose to build the best future, one with our designs guiding the next generation of boating and life on the water.
Click on a year below to learn more about our history and the Dougherty Legacy!
ANCHORED BY LEGACY, DRIVEN BY PASSION
28HCS
30HCS
32CS
37CS
41CS
