Bahama Boat Works, a Florida Custom Shop With Old-School Values

Scott Henley and the Jupiter lineage

The man behind the brand was Scott Henley, a career mariner and boatbuilder who has since died. Bahama traces its roots through the Venture name and the cluster of small builders around Jupiter, Florida, and the company still describes its work as following the standards he set.

Its address has moved over the years. When Sport Fishing ran a Bahama 41 in 2009, the boats came out of a shop in Mangonia Park in Palm Beach County. By 2016 Henley, Bob Sparks and Rob Thomson were named as the owners, and production has since shifted north to Fort Pierce.

Building for ride, not for speed records

Bahama deliberately ignores some modern center console trends. Where many rivals have adopted stepped bottoms, Bahama keeps a solid, unstepped deep-V. Laminates use vinylester resin, the bottom and stringers are solid glass vacuum bagged in place, and the hull sides and decks are foam cored. The pitch to customers is comfort in a head sea, stability at rest and careful finish work rather than top-end numbers.

Almost nothing leaves the shop in standard form. Owners pick from a long menu of layout, hardtop, electronics and finish options, which means each Bahama reflects the person who ordered it.

The range from 31 to 41 GT

The current catalog revives the Bahama 31, the company's original model, and adds the 35, 37, 41 and 41 GT. In 2015 the list included a 34 alongside the 37 and 41. Newer boats can be specified with joystick docking, electric steering, Zipwake automatic trim and a hatch prepared for a Seakeeper gyro.

The Bahama 37, which we review in depth on its own page, is the center of the line. It is large enough for serious offshore trips yet small enough to sit on a lift behind a waterfront home, which is where many Florida owners keep theirs. Engine choices, tankage and pricing are covered there.

Buying and servicing a boat with no dealers

Bahama keeps its pricing private, and secondhand boats come up only now and then, usually through Florida brokerages. Limited supply props up values but can mean a long wait for the right hull.

The company has no national dealer chain. Engines are handled by Mercury dealers, general work by Florida yards, and the factory remains a resource for its own boats. Before buying, it pays to run the boat with factory staff aboard and to talk to a few current owners.

• Mercury service records and remaining warranty.
• Corrosion on aluminum tanks, fills and vents.
• Function of joystick, steering and trim controls.
• Welds and fasteners on the hardtop or tower.