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If you have never met Ed Dettling or taken a look at his Dettling 51 and
have only heard that he is a former attorney who in early retirement decided
to found a company to build “the perfect cruising yacht,” you
could be forgiven for entertaining the notion that he’s just a wealthy
man with too much time on his hands, dabbling in the boat business. In
truth, Dettling has been demonstrating for nine years that yacht design
and construction are his true callings—so much so that he is better
described as a boatbuilder who once practiced (quite prosperously) tax
law. But just because Dettling has proved himself an outstanding boatwright
doesn’t mean he is a conventional one. He brings an original perspective
to the craft, one that plays an important role in making the Dettling
51 an exceptional cruiser and Dettling Yachts a singular custom builder.
Ask him about his first career, and Dettling confesses that he became
a lawyer on his father’s advice, saying, “In those days you
listened to your parents.” After early graduations from both college
and law school, Dettling was admitted to the bar at age 23. Of his 25
years as a tax attorney he says, “It finally reached the point where
the practice interfered with my boating.”
After retiring at 49, Dettling turned to his true passion. “All my
life I’d been a frustrated engineer,” he says, “and boat
crazy.” Imagine workaholic fervor joined to the epitome of relaxation—it
sounds impossible. But when cruising became Dettling’s and his wife
Barrie’s chief occupation, he developed a comprehensive understanding
of the practicalities underlying the sport of boating.
When he decided to transform that understanding (which was deepened by
Barrie’s insights) into his ideal cruiser, Dettling focused on putting
together the exceptional team necessary for the project’s success.
Having commissioned many yachts over the years, he already had a few individuals
in mind. John Cherrington, today the company’s general manager, had
headed Lyman-Morse in Maine. Dave Iglehart, now plant foreman, is a veteran
of two highly regarded Maryland yards, Eastport Yachts and Dickerson’s.
Ed and Barrie chose Maryland’s Eastern Shore as the location for
their venture because they love its special beauty and the friendliness
of its people, but it hasn’t hurt Dettling Yachts that this Chesapeake
Bay region also boasts three centuries of boatbuilding tradition and lures
marine craftsmen from all over the eastern seaboard. Dettling, Cherrington,
and Iglehart have assembled a team of diversely talented joiners, electricians,
mechanics, and finish carpenters who clearly take a great deal of satisfaction
in the challenging work they do.
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