Jim Lindell's Legacy
Born on the water
Our founder, Jim Lindell, was building boats by age 15. As a freshman in high school on Washington's Camano Island in the early 1960s, he spent his days in the school's wood shop constructing fiberglass runabouts with friends, occasionally taking the driver's ed car up to La Conner's boatyard district for supplies. His grandfather was a machinist who built and repaired propellers, so Jim always had new equipment to experiment with. He had a dozen boat builds under his belt before graduation.
The rubber meets the road
Like many young men, Jim's love for water and watercraft drew him north to Alaska. He began commercial salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska but found himself disappointed in the poorly built boats of the time: flimsy plywood hulls that struggled in rough tides and weather. In the offseason, he created a solution. The result was a 42-foot gillnetter named Gold Rush, a design that sliced rough seas unlike anything else in the fleet.
"His boats became known as the Rolls-Royces of the Southeast fisheries."
Building a legacy
The next winter, he built another boat for a friend. The winter after that, he built two more. Before long, Jim was being hailed as a master boat builder in the Northwest commercial fishing community, with a waiting list for his vessels. His reputation for quality and over-engineered performance eventually led to boat building year-round.
Pursuing a passion
Jim built more than 50 gillnetters, all of which are still in service today and valued substantially higher than when they were built. He stayed on the forefront of fiberglass technology before turning toward his ideal Puget Sound sportfishing boat, the Skagit Orca.
He followed the Orca with his first 36-foot Lindell Sport Fisher and later partnered with Ron Meng of Island Marine Center to design and build the Ocean Sport Roamer 30, later extended into the now well-known Ocean Sport Roamer 33.
Here's to another 60 years
In 2016, Jim partnered with Brian Kott to create a new line of sport-utility yachts. Lindell Yachts continues that legacy of Alaska commercial-fishing ruggedness paired with Puget Sound elegance, building ocean-capable vessels that can be customized for each owner.
Who among us has not visualized a dream boat? Jim Lindell turned that vision into reality, and we carry that commitment forward in every hull we build.