Bill Prince looks back on the life of his friend Buddy Purcell and American yacht building.
Buddy Purcell, co-owner of Huckins Yacht alongside his wife Cindy, passed away in early July after a good, long life. Both hardscrabble and cultured, shop-worn and wise, my buddy Buddy was one of the last remaining American custom yacht builders. And Huckins remains one the oldest old-school American yacht yards. This month we honor the memory of Buddy and, by extension, the fond memory of the American yachting industry as it once was.
This is not Buddy’s obituary. It’s not my place to write that. But I can give you the briefest sense of what Buddy meant to his boatyard crew and his clients. He was foremost a family man, both to his own kin and to his extended Huckins family ranging from the painters to the pecunious. Buddy was a father figure to a lot of people who worked at Huckins Yacht over the years. His wry sense of humor lit up rooms quietly. And his word was not merely a verbal estimate. Full article here.