Correct Craft Thanks Bill Yeargin

**NautiqueJeff** · 2026-03-31T11:40:37+00:00

I still remember the day I met Bill Yeargin. It was late 2006, and I was at the Nautique factory on some PlanetNautique business. I was also excited to finally get a tour of the new factory, which had recently opened. I was upstairs in the hallway between the offices, talking with several friends, many of whom still work for Correct Craft today, when Bill walked out of his office. We had never met, but he came up and introduced himself right away. My friends told him who I was, and mentioned that we were on our way down to the factory floor so that I could have a tour. Bill, who didn’t know me at all, and who certainly could have found other things to do, offered to take me down there and show me around himself. And he did. Not only did he give me a full tour of the brand new factory, but he got me onto the testing lake in a brand new 236. Very few of those had even been produced yet, so this was a thrill. By the end of the day, I was thinking, who is this guy, and how does he have time for someone like me? But that’s Bill Yeargin.

At that time, Correct Craft had gone through five CEO’s in the past five years. Things were looking bleak. Was Bill going to stick around long enough to make a difference? Well, it turned out that not only did he stick around, but I wholeheartedly believe that without Bill Yeargin, Correct Craft wouldn’t exist today. That’s a testament to the vision of the Correct Craft board and the Meloon family for bringing Bill in at exactly the right time. Some would say that a higher power may have had a hand in this! Think back to the state of the economy in 2007/2008. Tough decisions had to be made, and Bill was able to do the right thing while somehow keeping the company afloat. Search the web. You’ll find plenty of information about this period as it relates to Correct Craft and how Bill handled things. Without Bill, this could have been the end of Correct Craft.

Over the next decade or so, I spent a good amount of time with Bill, observing from the sidelines as he brought Correct Craft back to life. He was very gracious, allowing me to be part of Nautique events at his house, meeting me for lunch when I was in Orlando, and even meeting me when he happened to be in the Washington, DC area (back when I lived up there), or meeting me in the Charlotte area, where I live now, to discuss the latest happenings at Correct Craft and to spend time on the water. He helped me to spread the word of Correct Craft and Nautique to the followers of the PlanetNautique.com website, and was always the same friendly person every time we would meet.

While I am positive that he is less-than-perfect, as every human is, Bill is one of the very few people that I have come across in my life that has been able to maintain what I think of as “role model” status to me personally for decades. Not only is he just an incredible business mind, but he is one of those people who can accomplish so much while somehow still having time to share his knowledge and helpfulness with anyone who can benefit from it. It has always fascinated me that he can get so much accomplished while still having time to slow down and just talk to people. And he shares how he is able to do that, although I believe he is more of a master of this than anyone else. In a recent article, Bill said, “I don’t consider myself particularly exceptional at any one thing.” By that, he is saying that he knows that there are people out there who can do almost anything better than he can, so his job is to find those people and let them do that particular thing, likely better than he ever could. Not only does that free him up for other tasks, but it gets the task in question accomplished by a true expert in the field. I try to remember that whenever I am reluctant to let go of a particular task. And this is just one of the thousands of kernels of knowledge that Bill has shared over the years. There are plenty more. Want some examples? Pick up any one of his books, read his articles in STO and other publications, or search the web for videos of him speaking at various events.

Much of my life has been built around Correct Craft in one way or another (building PlanetNautique.com, the decision to live on or near the water, the MANY Nautique boats that my family has had the pleasure of using over the years, and now Silver Cove Marine, my latest business venture that restores older Nautique boats to their original glory), and Bill’s retirement announcement made me stop and think about how so much of that may not have happened without him. Bill Yeargin changed my life. Bill Yeargin changed MANY lives. Bill Yeargin Makes Life Better.

Speaking of Making Life Better, if you’re not familiar with Correct Craft’s mission, do yourself a favor and research it. There is WAY more to it than just building cool boats. So many people around the world have been helped by the culture that has been built at Correct Craft. Some of it started before Bill was there, but he has built it up to a level that is just outstanding. I was fortunate enough to be a part of one of Correct Craft’s service trips to build a house for a family in Puerto Rico whose home had been destroyed in a hurricane, and I saw first-hand how Correct Craft’s culture makes the world better. We can thank Bill Yeargin for maintaining and strengthening that culture.

Bill is stepping down as Correct Craft’s CEO today. I happened to be in Orlando yesterday, and I texted Bill to see if he had a few minutes for a quick hello as I was passing through. Being that he was retiring the very next day, I wasn’t sure that he’d have the time. In true Bill fashion, he texted right back and said to come on by. Of course I did! I wanted to just quickly congratulate him on his retirement, and thank him for all of the things that he has done for Correct Craft, and for so many people, both friends and people he has never met, over the years. We saw each other for a few minutes at Correct Craft’s world headquarters, and I was able to thank him for everything he has done, and we reminisced about the early days of his tenure and our first meeting. I always come away from time spent with Bill with so much appreciation for his knowledge and character, both as a business leader and as a genuinely good, caring person, and his willingness to share those things with the people with whom he comes into contact. That’s Bill Yeargin doing what Bill Yeargin does – Making Life Better.

While I was with Bill yesterday, I was also able to spend a few minutes with Zach Hutcheson, the man who will be stepping into the Correct Craft CEO role tomorrow, and who will also become a member of the Correct Craft board. Often when great people are running companies, and they are doing very well, you wonder how anyone can keep the company moving in a positive direction as well as the current leader. I believe, though, that we just have to look back at what I wrote above, and remember how good Bill is at finding the right person for a particular job. I’ll keep this simple -- If Bill believes Zach will do well running Correct Craft, he’s probably right. Will Zach do it even better than Bill did? Time will tell, but Bill says that Correct Craft’s best days are still ahead.

Bill, I wish you the best possible retirement! Thank you for what you have done at Correct Craft. Thank you for what you have shared with the world. Thank you for showing people how to lead with a purpose. Thank you for Making Life Better for so many people.

**srock** · 2026-03-31T13:46:07+00:00

Nice tribute. Your post gave me a more personal understanding of Bill because you just described the one person whom I have known for years, who has amazed me because of his success, impact on others' lives, and seemingly endless amounts of time and energy. Those are big shoes to fill, but those rare individuals do exist. Best wishes to both Bill and Zack.

**migs** · 2026-03-31T22:45:37+00:00

Great write up Jeff.

Correct Craft Thanks Bill Yeargin

Correct Craft Thanks Bill Yeargin

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