BERKELEY - Henriques Yachts was putting the finishing touches last week on a gleaming $1.4 million, 42-foot sportfishing boat that was headed for its owner in Brielle.

When it's done, the custom-made boat will have a plush salon in the cabin. It will be built to withstand the stormiest of seas. But customers wishing for a version of their own will need to be patient: The current wait time is two years.

Before the pandemic, "it would have been within a year, you would have a boat," said Natalia Henriques-Costa, the company's co-owner.

Henriques Yachts, now in its 45th year, is riding high. Perhaps, too high.

The company's affluent customer base is lining up to buy its new sport-fishing boats, one of the few leisurely activities that weren't disrupted by COVID-19. But the second-generation business can't find supplies and workers fast enough to keep up.

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It's a sign that the Shore's boating industry is gearing up for another strong summer, even as it runs into potential turbulence with soaring fuel prices, rising interest rates and a faltering stock market.

"Our industry definitely has seen growth and continues to see growth," said Melissa Danko, executive director of the Marine Trades Association of New Jersey, a trade group based in Brielle. But "we are seeing similar issues that other industries are seeing as far as supply chain issues, delays and inventory challenges."

Henriques Yachts has 25 employees who work at a 41,000-square-foot plant tucked away in the Bayville section of Berkeley.

The workers toil at a painstaking pace, building six to eight boats a year that range from 30 feet to 50 feet, cost between $550,000 to more than $2 million, and can have all of the comforts of home: air conditioning, televisions, refrigerators, even barbecues.

The company was founded by Henriques-Costa's father, Joaquin "Jack" Henriques, who learned the boatmaking trade growing up in Portugal before he immigrated to New Jersey.

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Forty-five years of yacht making

He founded the yacht maker in 1977 at the age of 44. He later bought the Lanoka Harbor Marina. And he kept a hand in the business until he died in 2019 at the age of 85.

Natalia and her sister, Maria Henriques-DeMers, grew up in the family business and run it today with Natalia's husband, Manuel Costa Jr. In many ways, the company is a bellwether for the broader economy.

When the pandemic hit in the spring of 2020, Henriques Yachts shut down for three weeks, and its owners braced for tough times ahead. Instead, customers flooded the company with so many orders that it couldn't keep up.

The yacht maker raised wages, offering starting pay at $25 an hour to go with health and retirement benefits, but it had trouble finding qualified help. Last week, it was advertising for fiberglass and wood workers.

Meanwhile, the global supply chain was disrupted, causing delays. The lead time to get custom-made windshields from its supplier in New York, for example, grew from six weeks before the pandemic to six months, said Michael Costa, Natalia's son and the company's purchasing manager.

The result: Boats ordered now won't be ready until 2024.

Was the company worried it would lose customers?

"Of course," Henriques-Costa said. "Do you want to hear, 'My boat is going to take two years to build'?"

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Working through a backlog

The U.S. boating industry's sales hit record highs during the pandemic, the National Marine Manufacturers Association trade group reported, noting that consumers were itching to spend time outdoors with friends and family away from the stress of COVID life.

Boaters had financial help. The stock market and home prices rose. And interest rates were low; New Jersey's inquiries for boat loans increased 166% in 2020, the third biggest jump nationwide, according to LendingTree, an online lending marketplace.

Once approved for loans, though, many boaters ran into a shortage of inventory. Heading into the summer, dealers and marinas at the Jersey Shore said they are working their way through a backlog.

Comstock Yacht Sales and Marina in Point Pleasant Beach has been prepping and delivering boats that were sold a year ago, said Don Ditzel, vice president, adding that manufacturers continue to wait for parts to arrive and cope with a labor shortage.

While prices have climbed slightly, Ditzel said the dealer hasn't charged more than the manufacturers' suggested retail prices, mainly because boats are considered discretionary. If they get too expensive, customers can walk away.

Heading into the summer, there are few signs boaters are retreating, said Gloria Van Biert, manager of Sandy Hook Bay Marina, a 120-slip marina in Highlands

"The first year of the pandemic, it was a lot of people getting into boating because they had nowhere else to go," Van Biert said. "Our waiting list tripled in size right after the pandemic, because everyone's buying boats. And that seems to be the case still."

How long will the good times last?

Not that the boating industry is worry-free. As the Federal Reserve Board tries to slow down the economy to bring inflation under control, interest rates are rising and the stock market is slumping, threatening to slow down consumer spending.

And gas prices have climbed to record highs. According to AAA, the average price of unleaded in New Jersey on Monday was $4.98 a gallon, 63% higher than the same time a year ago. And the average price of diesel, used by commercial party boats, was $6.12 a gallon, 89% higher than a year ago.

Analysts say there is little relief on the horizon.

Scott Policastro, who captains the Jenna P Sportfishing Charter out of Highlands, said his boat holds about 260 gallons of unleaded, but it only gets 1.3 miles per gallon, making gasoline expensive.

He added a 15% surcharge, which amounts to an extra $150 or $200, on each trip. And the summer is off to a slow start.

"That’s a little concerning," Policastro said.

At Henriques Yachts, workers last week continued to make progress on the 42-foot boat, the shining hull painted black and white, divided by a sharp blue stripe. And more hulls were taking shape behind it.

The company still is beset by slow deliveries of copper wire. And if it could find more workers, it could reduce the wait time from two years to 18 months, Natalia Henriques-Costa said.

But with economic clouds beginning to form, Henriques-Costa sounded happy for the business to continue to move along at a slow and steady clip.

"We are not complaining," she said. "We are happy where we are right now. We wish he had a few more employees. But the orders are coming in, which is nice."

Michael L. Diamond is a business reporter who has been writing about the New Jersey economy and health care industry for more than 20 years. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ boat gas prices rise, but boatmakers still enjoy great demand