Concept Boats, Miami's Custom Performance Center Consoles

From a 17-foot ski boat to a 53-foot flagship

Luis Avila was born in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents. He started working on boats at his family's paint shop when he was 12 and had fully overhauled four of them by the time he finished high school. With his father's support he launched Concept Boats in 1986, and the first boat was a 17-foot single-engine ski boat. The company is still family owned. Avila runs it from the factory at 2410 NW 147th Street in Opa-locka, and his son Eric joined full time at 17.

The range is now split in two. The Classic Series holds the narrow-beam boats that made Concept's name, currently the 27, 30, 32 and 36 in open and cuddy versions. The Luxury Series covers wider, more powerful boats: a 32 Sport Deck, the 3600 and 3900 Open Deck, a 4200 Cat, the 4400 in open and cuddy form and the 5300, which is rated for 3,000 hp.

Slim hulls, deep steps and paint nobody else has

Concept's signature is a long, narrow, stepped deep-V with 24 degrees of deadrise. The 36 Open is 35 feet 6 inches long and only 8 feet wide. A slim hull like that needs less power for a given speed and slices through a short Biscayne Bay chop, but it rolls more at rest and has less deck space than a beamy family console. When Boating tested the wider Concept 39 Open in 2016, it ran almost 70 mph in 3- to 4-foot seas with very little bow rise.

The other half of the brand is customization. Boating reported that hardly a stock Concept is ever sold. Graphics, upholstery, helm electronics, rear bars and engine count are all chosen by the owner, and Seakeeper gyros are available on the bigger boats.

The 27 Open and 36 Open

We cover two current Classic Series boats. The Concept 27 Open is the entry point: 26 feet 10 inches, a 7-foot 9-inch beam, 90 gallons of fuel and a 500 hp rating on one or two Mercury outboards. The Concept 36 Open, also built as the 36 Cuddy Cabin, is the boat most buyers picture when they hear the name, rated for 1,350 hp on twin or triple Mercurys. Both models date back at least to 2008, when Concept sold them as PR fishing and SR sport versions with different fuel tanks and much lower power ratings. Check the capacity plate on any older boat.

Warranty, resale and used checks

Concept sells factory direct, and boats bought that way come with a first-year service contract and a limited lifetime warranty on the hull and Concept-built parts for the original owner. The warranty covers models from 2000 on and transfers for 120 months from the original purchase. It does not cover gelcoat, paint, engines, racing or overpowering. Because every boat is different, resale depends on the specific boat more than the model year, and loud paint or tired upholstery costs more to put right than on a plain white console. Expect roughly $30,000 to $120,000 for a used 27 and $70,000 to $325,000 for a 36.

• Inspect steps, chines and the transom around multi-engine mounts for cracks
• Confirm fuel capacity and the capacity plate for the boat's generation
• Get hours and service records for every outboard
• Price paint, graphics and upholstery repairs before making an offer
• Ask whether any warranty term remains transferable