“I grew up as a farmer,” Jose “Joe” Daponte, the Azorean-born President and Owner of C&C Marine (builder of NorthCoast Boats), tells me as we begin trolling daisy chains for bluefin tuna. It’s just before daybreak and we’re aboard hull number one of his NorthCoast 415HT, somewhere south of Block Island. Daponte cut his teeth making the rounds through several boatyards—including C.E. Ryder in the 1970s and Albin Marine in the 1980s (whose hulls C&C Marine also manufactured for a time)—before purchasing the NorthCoast Boats brand name and hull molds in 2000, just after a time when they’d been the behind-the-scenes builder for center console pioneer Dick Lema.
Slowly but surely the boats grew, and now with the help of his two sons Cesar and Craig, Daponte splashed NorthCoast’s first 40-foot class model in early 2024. Who’s telling what’s next?
Join Owen Burke as we boat the 415H’s very first tuna ▶
