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John Courtney bought a Release Backcountry Fishing
Boat back in 1992 and liked the product so much that he went back and
bought the company.
Release Boats president John Courtney look s over one of his boats on
the production line
"I test-rode boats from all the manufacturers out
there and this was a really good riding boat," Courtney recalled.
"I ended up working the boat shows for the owner and when he
reached 62 in 1985 he was ready to retire. So, we just kind of walked
in at the right time."
Courtney, 36, a native Miamian who grew up in South
Miami-Dade, quit his job with the U.S. Post Office, where he had
worked for 12 years since graduating high school, and enlisted his
father's help to make the purchase.
"It was a big step leaving the post office,"
he said. "I ended up selling my house I was single at the time
and moving back home. I took the money from the sale of my house
and bought my part of the business and my father kicked in his part.
That was five years ago. Since then we've done real well, we've bought
the building here in Homestead and production is up."
Courtney says Release will double production this year
and turn out at least 50 of the sleek, fast, shallow-draft fishing
boats. He says all Release boats are custom built one at a time and
the fiberglass is laid up by hand.
"We've never had a hull failure or a transom
failure in the history of the company," he said. "We just
increased our hull warranty from five years to 10. Most other
manufacturers are reducing their warranty from five to three
years."
Courtney says his boats have hulls with more vee-shape
to them, allowing a draft of only two or three inches more than a
typical flats boat and giving a much better ride. At rest, a typical
flats boat draws eight to nine inches, he says, while Release boats
draw 11 to 12 inches.
"It acts like an offshore boat," Courtney
said, "but it'll run in very shallow water, as little as six
inches. When you want to cross shallows to get to deeper holes to fish
in, it gives you a much better ride. The hull features a full reverse
chine, which keeps you very dry when you're riding in it."
Courtney says several government agencies are using
Release boats, including the Lake County Sheriff's Department and the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Department, which has been a customer since
1990.
"There's a demand for our boats," said
Courtney. "Previously, we've been backordered three months out of
the year. You actually lose a lot of sales when you can't give
somebody a boat when they walk in."
Release Backcountry Boats is pretty much a Florida
secret and has just six dealerships in the state, all south of Orlando
and Tampa.
"We have people looking into handling our boats
farther north," said Courtney. "One guy just called from
Tallahassee. When I have people interested in our boats that far
north, I actually have customers who own a boat show it to the
prospective buyer for us. At the Orlando boat show, I had a customer
come over and work the booth for us for two days."
In fact, the new Release advertising slogan reads,
"We have the best sales people, they're our customers!"
"They do, they actually show their boats for
us," said Courtney.
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