What makes PAE such a unique company? For one, the three men at the helm of this battleship are unlike many: Jim Leishman and his uncanny knack for calculating the next great thing in the marine industry; his brother, Chief Designer Jeff Leishman, who has an unsurpassable talent for bringing Jim’s ideas to fruition on paper; and Dan Streech, the glue that holds it all together. In fact, all three are like brothers, having joined each other in their 20s to vow a life of boats and boating, and of bringing the joy of boating to the masses. Sure, other companies have visionaries, have presidents who lead and inspire their personnel. But how many of them take phone calls at 6 pm from a prospect wanting a magazine sent to him or to know what the base price of the Motorsailer is. Dan, Jim, and Jeff have grown with their company, but they haven’t outgrown their company. And that’s how they continue to support themselves: with only the most committed and enthusiastic people. It ranges from the commissioning team to the accounting team to the factory workers. Leading by example.

Of course, hard work can be rendered practically useless without a viable product behind it. When it came time to manufacture their first boat design, the integrity and boating know-how were clearly driving factors. PAE put out the Mason 43, a beautiful, rugged and seaworthy cruising sailboat. With a factory second-to-none at producing superb yachts, the Mason 43 paved the way for eight more spectacular sailboat designs. Over 200 Mason sailboats were sold and most are still out cruising by proud owners today.

By the mid-80s, as the market shifted from sail to power, the Nordhavn was thrust to the forefront. Everyone knows by now the ridicule PAE endured for creating such an “odd-looking” boat. While critics dismissed the Nordhavn 46, a small cult-like group of boaters got behind the theory of the long-range trawler, and soon the design took off. Throughout the years, Nordhavn has gone on to set records, set trends, and constantly re-invent itself. Case in point: the new 56-foot Motorsailer and 75-foot Expedition Yachtfisher currently being introduced to the public. We’re almost experiencing a replay of raised eyebrows at the notion of these two new trawler off-shoots. But as was the case when that first Nordhavn 46 was launched, a crowd of boating aficionados has embraced these new designs, and series of these models are now being considered.

And still other factors have played a part in the success of PAE these past three decades…like technology. In the early days, the teletype was “state of the art” and when faxing documents became possible, it was revolutionary. Now with e-mail, Skype, Blackberrys and our ubiquitous cell phones we stay in touch 24/7/52 with the factories, our satellite offices and our customers throughout the globe with ease and regularity. Then there’s our website (applauded by many as among the best in the boat business). It’s hard to imagine that as recent as the late 90s, nordhavn.com was a site that went 12 pages deep. Today, at hundreds of pages deep, it’s our #1 marketing resource and receives thousands of hits per day. Updated continually, it is the sight of breakthrough sections like Boat Kid Chatter and Voyage of Egret; and it contains virtually every piece of information we have in our files. Some say we are too forthcoming, but we want to make it perfectly clear how we stack up against other boat brands out there.

Looking back at 30 years, a lot sure has changed. But at the core of it all, not much has changed. Hard work, integrity, superior designs, skilled craftsmen, and forward-thinking are still at the heart of PAE. And it’s our intention that it will be this way for many more anniversaries to come.