According to David, it all started in the summer of 1985. His Uncle Charlie gave him his first Stauter-built boat. Not his first boat, that honor belonged a 10' aluminum skiff that had washed ashore the Stevens' Dog River home after a storm two years prior and ceremoniously given to him on his 10th birthday. But the Stauter was his first "real" boat. It was a weathered 12' semi-v with a varnished interior and her hull painted in two tone blue with a signal red spray rail. It was, often as not, propelled by a 1973 Mercury 20hp and provided a few summers of pure joy on Dog River. When David and I met, he had graduated to a large bass boat that he bought new after college. He chose the bass boat over the purchase of a new Cedar Point Special. I think that regret stayed with him. My first introduction to Stauter boats was a few years after we were married. We sold the bass boat and purchased a used 15.5 butt-nose that was a great boat but didn't have the beauty of the rolled chines on a Cedar Point Special, purposefully built for fishing and running about the coastal areas of Mobile Bay and Dauphin Island. By 2007, David and I had decided to order a brand new Stauter-Built. Funding being a concern at the time, we chose a 16' rolled-chine Fisherman model with a new 25hp tiller outboard. Garage kept and well maintained at a dozen years, she still has her original paint on the hull and much of the original varnish. I suspect she'll survive our lifetime.
But that wasn't the end of the story. In the summer of 2017, David and I couldn't pass the opportunity to purchase a rare and all original 1958 Stauter-Built Aqua Queen. She had seen some serious fishing time and must have had 40 coats of house paint on her but she was a one owner boat that had always been garage kept. David and I spent a considerable amount of time returning her to her original colors and finish but she is now as beautiful as when she was new. Vince and Gene Lami at Stauter-built offered much advice on her restoration and help locating original parts. We couldn't have done it without their assistance. Eventually we may even get around to restoring the original 1956 Evinrude 30hp that powered her!
Founded in 1947 by Lawrence Stauter on the Mobile Causeway, the company has been run by the Lami Brothers since 1979. The boats are a legend in Mobile and are still seen running the bays. rivers, and bayous of the Mobile area.
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| 2007 Fisherman - Perdido Pass, Alabama |
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| 1958 Aqua Queen - First coat of sealer |
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| 1958 Aqua Queen - Before Restoration |
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| 1958 Aqua Queen - Dog River, Alabama |
