Steiger Craft, Long Island's Pilothouse Builder Since 1972

A bay clammer, a bakery and a boat shop

Alan Steiger grew up above a wholesale bakery in Bellport, on the south shore of Long Island, that his Italian-born grandfather, Santo Manino, had founded. Baking held no appeal. Steiger worked Great South Bay instead, clamming, crabbing and scalloping, and while still in high school he was selling gear to fellow baymen. He drew his first wooden clam boats in a little workshop behind the bakery, and in 1972 that workshop turned into Steiger Craft. The family has never left the property.

Wood gave way to fiberglass by 1975, with every hull laid up by hand, and in the mid-1990s the shop began building deep-V bottoms so its customers could head offshore. Steiger now bills itself as the last big boat manufacturer on Long Island. Connor Steiger, the founder's son, is vice president, a large share of the workforce has logged three or four decades at the plant, and nearly all of the wood and fiberglass work, molds included, happens in Bellport. One bit of local trivia from Soundings: Billy Joel owned the single inboard-powered Steiger the company ever produced.

Named lines instead of a length chart

Rather than numbering boats by size alone, Steiger groups them into lines. Peconic, Miami, Annapolis, Fisherman, Classic, Tournament and Chatham models start at 21 feet, and the Miami pilothouses are the ones aimed at families. At the top sits the 31-foot hull, built as the 31 Miami, 31 Annapolis and 31 Fisherman. The Annapolis carries the highest 2026 sticker of that trio, $367,734.

That big hull first appeared in 2015 as the 31 DV Miami, and the 31 Fisherman, our covered model, joined the list in 2024 as the angler's take on it. In short, the Fisherman trades the Miami's enclosed head for a larger berth and adds a drum anchor winch on the bow. Our full review covers its hull, layout, pricing and power, but the brand-level point is simple: families who want a proper head and plan to sleep aboard belong in the Miami.

Who buys a Steiger and what to look at secondhand

Steiger sells through dealers, and its following is strongest in the Northeast, where an enclosed pilothouse stretches the fishing calendar deep into chilly spring and autumn months. Hand-laid construction helps resale, and Steigers generally keep their value well. Expect the used market to be dominated by smaller 21 to 28-foot boats and by 31 Miamis built in 2016 or later.

The company stands behind its hulls with a lifetime guarantee, so a used buyer should find out whether that coverage passes to a second owner. Since the transom is the only large piece of wood in the structure, put it first on the surveyor's list.

• Have the surveyor meter the transom for moisture before anything else
• Look for leaks around the pilothouse glass, wipers and portlights
• Inspect each outboard, its hours and the lower units
• Run the windlass, livewell and washdown pumps
• Ask Steiger whether the lifetime guarantee carries over to you