Gig Harbor Boat Works, Inc. is a classic example of a hobby-turned business. In fact, owner Dave Robertson had for a long time resisted turning the hobby into a business. And even when he did, he took it at a slow, part-time pace while working full time. It was a comfortable place that many startup business owners indulge in: doing what he loved on the side while drawing a steady paycheck from his day job. With time, he cut his regular job to part-time hours to build more boats.

But times were changing, the children needed more attention, and the commute was…well, as good as it gets on Interstate 5. So after 15 years as mostly a weekend warrior, Robertson set his company at full sail. The wind, as it turned out, was magnificent.

“It was just about an overnight success,” he said. “We’ve been making money ever since we opened doors.”

The company, officially incorporated in 1988 when he went full-time, finds new customers mostly through word of mouth — just as Robertson’s first boats did, as friends and acquaintances lined up back then. Part of the boon comes from the Internet now, with the company’s Web site (www.ghboats.com) getting steady traffic and orders, and about 25 percent of orders getting shipped out of state.

Robertson has gone from building four to six boats per year to about 100. But much hasn’t changed since his hobby was officially baptized as a “business.” His commute, for example, is still only about 100 yards: The shop is downhill from his house. Even these days, as one of the best small rowboats and sailboats builders, Robertson spends little time on marketing or selling his product. His philosophy hasn’t changed.

“We don’t build product, we build boats — every boat for an individual customer,” he said. “We don’t sell people what we have, we’re not salesmen. We are boat guys. If what we have is not what they need, I’ll tell them that.”

What he does have comes from his own boating adventures. Every one of his eight models is a boat he would love to have, he said. That’s how he started building in the first place — frustrated by the lack of graceful dinghies after he built his 17-foot sailboat 30 years ago, Robertson adapted a classic design to suit his needs. Then calls started coming in.

As he saw what people wanted, Robertson added multi-function boats to his inventory: take them rowing, take them sailing, or put a motor in and have the whole nine yards. “The works” will cost you as much as $12,000 while a simple rowboat as little as $800. But even “simple” is a beautifully crafted, durable item. Most people, Robertson said, buy the boats as heirlooms to pass down through generations.

Robertson, who has built about 2,000 boats through the years, keeps the business mostly in the family. Except for seasonal help, he employs mostly his two sons-in-law, one to help build and the other for computer work. His wife, Janet, runs the books.

Robertson doesn’t have to do special research in adapting the classic designs he uses; he learns by being a boat guy. Considered by many as an authority on West Coast boating history, he simply lives his passion every day. But one thing has changed since his hobby took off: He no longer builds boats in his spare time. Since he can’t resist building something — which he has done ever since a little boy — his new hobby is restoring classic cars, like a ’32 Chevy.

“People who turn hobbies into a business tend to burn out. By keeping it small and fun, it’s a nice way to earn a living,” he said. But earning that living is easier said than done, as many boat-building enterprises fold after a few short years. The difference, Robertson said, goes back to the mindset: “I am a businessman building boats, not a boat person running the business.”

As he was lucky enough to learn about running a business on someone else’s dime, Robertson has this advice for nascent entrepreneurs: Learn all you can about business matters from accounting to ethics and don’t think that passion is enough to make it through. With a degree in business administration, Robertson himself started out in a factory cleaning paint tubs, and worked his way up. Even now, he says he doesn’t ask anyone to do a task he’s not willing to undertake himself. It’s no wonder students visit Gig Harbor Boat Works frequently to see what it’s like to be a successful American entrepreneuer.