Waves And Wheels Founder Takes Ownership Of Doug Wright Powerboats
Thanks to a successful business partnership cultivated throughout the last three years, the relationship between Doug Wright Powerboats in Florida and Waves and Wheels in Missouri is growing in a more positive direction as Waves and Wheels founder Justin Wagner recently purchased the business from the stakeholder group that bought a majority of the Melbourne-based high-performance catamaran company in early 2022.
The move comes after two years of Waves and Wheels purchasing hulls from the builder and customizing the 36-, 39- and 42-foot cats to match the customers’ needs and desires. And, according to the entrepreneurial Wagner, things will be business as usual with Doug Wright Sr., and Doug Wright Jr., running factory production before each and every pleasure boat heads to Waves and Wheels for its high-quality finishing treatment.
Doug Wright, left, and Justin Wagner, right, are excited about the future of DWR/Doug Wright Powerboats.
“I’m thrilled to be leading the next chapter of Doug Wright Powerboats with clear-cut encouragement and enthusiasm from the factory as well as support from the previous partners who were ready to pass the torch and move on to their next journeys,” said Wagner, who is in the process of developing 44 acres on the Shawnee Bend portion of Lake of the Ozarks into a luxury motor-coach resort with lake access and commercial space for Waves and Wheels and more. “From the day I walked into the factory, I 100-percent felt like I wanted to be a part of this. That doesn’t mean I thought I’d own the company one day; there was just an initial spark that convinced me to go all in with their team and their products.
“I mean when you ride in a 36 or a 42 or the boat I think is Doug’s finest creation to date—the 39—the performance speaks for itself,” he continued. “They are such impressive boats; all three are incredible in the rough and can out-handle and out-accelerate any similarly sized and powered cats. Seriously, with a pair of Mercury Racing 500R engines, the DWR39 is light years ahead of any outboard-powered cat I’ve been in. The Dougs—that’s what I call Senior and Junior—took their first ride in our demo DWR39 when they visited our new shop in Camdenton a few weeks ago and they were blown away. The thing’s a rocket, and the way it handles and turns is absolutely amazing.”
Agreeing with Wagner’s assessment, Doug Wright Sr. said he enjoyed his time in the boat on Lake of the Ozarks and getting to know the Waves and Wheels team better during his visit, which also included running the DWR42 cat Waves and Wheels delivered to Missouri’s Michael and Jeanise Butterfield earlier this year.
“We’re super happy to be working with Justin and his crew,” said Doug Wright Sr., who started building offshore raceboats in 1978. “I think their quality is the best in the industry—they do phenomenal work. And Justin has been such a pleasure to work with from the get-go.”
Justin Wagner ran his Waves and Wheels demo 39 Carbon catamaran in the Florida Powerboat Club’s 2024 Key West Poker Run.
“It will be nice for customers to deal with one person—or one company, at least—from start to finish in the build process,” Doug Wright Jr. said. “Other than that, not much will change for any of us really. We’ll likely update the production process, but since we’ve been working together for a couple of years we have a pretty good workflow in place. I know Justin’s goal is to take the best hull design in the industry and give it the best possible finishes to create the ultimate powerboat, and we’re 100-percent on board to make that happen.”
By default because of the boats he’s sold, the events he’s attended to promote the brand and all of the social media posts and videos he’s helped produce, Wagner has become a face for the company, so his deeper involvement—and eventually investment—is not a big surprise.
“As I became more engaged and more involved in the company, the transition to ownership seemed rather natural,” Wagner said. “Organically it just developed. It’s a lot like the way I’ve operated my businesses. Waves and Wheels started with stereos almost a quarter century ago and then we turned to upholstery, then fabrication and so forth. We started with a specialty and took it from there, one step at a time. We did the same with Bluave Marine Audio, Graphix 1 Paint, our former marina, The Boardwalk At Waves and Wheels, and, of course, Doug Wright.
“This next step is very special to me—I mean I’ve been doing this for 25 years and this is my dream come true,” he continued. “In fact, a goal I set for myself and my team years ago was to become the number one custom boat builder in the world, and I believe we’re now on the trajectory to do so.”
Doug Wright Jr. and Doug Wright Sr. are eager to team up with the creative and driven Justin Wagner.
While the emphasis is going to remain on the outboard-powered catamarans for some time, in typical fashion, the elder Wright has been designing and tooling a 53-foot, sterndrive-powered catamaran that he thinks will make an excellent go-fast pleasure boat and maybe even a competitive raceboat to complement the company’s new DWR44 Class 1 model.
“We’re excited to build a big, sterndrive boat and we’re starting to talk about some other models for down the road, but our focus will be on building 10 to 12 outboard-powered pleasure cats with an occasional raceboat in the mix,” Wright Sr. explained. “We can’t wait to see the trajectory of the brand under Justin’s leadership. We know we have great-running boats—there’s a reason they handle and turn so well, but I can’t share why—so we’re excited about what the future holds.”
Wagner concluded by complimenting the Wrights and the brand they established.
“The Doug Wright race pedigree is what I knew and then I met Doug (Sr.) one time through my good friend, Andy Imhof, and then I had the opportunity to ride in one of the 36s and I was so impressed,” Wagner said. “What I never expected was how nice Doug would be. He is so respected and such a fun guy that I told him he needs to get out a little more and meet the people. He’s an industry legend even if he doesn’t think he is.”
