Gillikin Boats for Sale

A Harkers Island family

Harkers Island sits in Core Sound, near Beaufort. It's about four miles long and half a mile wide, and for a century it's been one of the centers of North Carolina boatbuilding. Family names like Willis, Rose, Lewis, Guthrie, Gillikin, Gaskill and Chadwick built the reputation.

The Gillikins ran boatyards on the island for decades. In 1974 National Fisherman photographed a Harkers Island skiff being built at James and Vance Gillikin's East Bay Boatworks on Ferry Dock Road. It had curved heart pine ribs and juniper planks, a deep vee at the bow running to near flat at the stern, and the flared bow the island is known for.

By 1985 East Bay was the largest yard on the island. The Los Angeles Times reported that Vance Gillikin's custom boats cost $65,000 to $325,000 and more, and that his builders worked without plans. "We talk to the buyer. Get it all in our mind what he wants and we take it from there," builder Mervin Rose told the paper. The yard built yachts, charter boats, fishing vessels and even a 77-foot paddle wheeler. A 1986 NC Sea Grant article described Jimmy Gillikin of Radio Island sketching boats on an 8-foot sheet of plywood instead of drawing plans.

Coast Guard manufacturer records list Gillikin Custom Boats, owned by James W. Gillikin on Harkers Island, as building boats from 1998 to 2010, under East Bay Boat Works as the parent company.

Ricky Gillikin sportfishers

Most Gillikins on today's brokerage market are 48- to 50-foot express sportfishers built by Ricky Gillikin in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They're usually listed as "Custom Carolina" with Ricky Gillikin as the model or designer. Two recent examples:

• 1996 48-foot "Closed Session": cold-molded, 15'7" beam, 3'6" draft, twin MAN 600 hp diesels with about 6,500 hours, 600 gallons of fuel, 23-knot cruise. Listed at $399,000 in Beaufort, NC.
• 2000/2001 50-foot East Bay "Bill of Fare": 16'8" beam, twin Cat C12s at 705 hp, 650 gallons of fuel, 27-knot cruise, about 3,085 hours. Asking $1,295,000 in Wrightsville Beach; marked sold in October 2026 after a 2025/2026 refit.

The spread between those two prices shows how much engine hours, refit history and condition matter on these boats. A 1999 50-footer was also advertised in West Palm Beach at $799,001.

What to check on a used Gillikin

Cold-molded hull. These are wood boats sheathed in fiberglass and epoxy. Hire a surveyor who knows cold-molded construction and have them check moisture readings, especially around the chines, transom, through-hulls and under the cockpit.

Engine hours. 6,500 hours on a pair of diesels is a lot. Get oil analysis, a full engine survey, and records of any rebuilds.

Refit records. Get invoices for paint, shaft seals, electronics and air conditioning. A documented refit like Bill of Fare's is worth paying for.

HIN and paperwork. Gillikin boats may be titled as Custom Carolina, East Bay or Gillikin. Check the hull number matches the documentation.

Recalls. Custom boats like these rarely have recalls, but run the hull number through the Coast Guard database anyway.