Steve

Co-founder

Trained as a wooden boatbuilder in the early 1970’s with one of the pioneers of epoxy and wood boatbuilding in North America, Steve, along with his wife Jean, started Van Dam Custom Boats in 1977. Together they built their first small shop and never looked back. Even though they are stepping back from their operational roles, their energy and passion still pervades every area of the business. While son Ben has taken over responsibility for shop operations, culture and finance, Steve is still focused on keeping their order book full and developing new business ventures around their core of custom boats.

However, everyone knows that Steve is still checking out everything that goes out the door and is constantly challenging the entire team to never give up its pursuit of perfection.  Constant improvement has been engrained in the Van Dam Culture since the day it was founded.

Steve and Jean have been married since 1972 and have never lost their love for each other and the enterprise they founded together. They have two children, Ben, who is now president of Van Dam Custom Boats, and Brie who is a scientist in Alaska. They are also the proud grandparents of two little ones. When not working, Steve takes great pleasure in helping his children with whatever projects they may have and building fun stuff for their home. He loves to race on his cross country skis in the winter, race his mountain bike and bicycle tour with Jean in the summer, and can usually be found at the front of the starting line for one or two 10k foot races each year.