Long-time owner of the legendary boat maker Grady-White, Eddie Smith, 83, has transferred the company to a perpetual purpose trust. Smith had originally purchased Grady-White Boats in 1968, at the age of 26. Back then, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, which Smith changed the course of over the past six decades, turning Grady-White into one of the biggest names in the boating world. Originally planning for his only child, Chris, to keep the company going after him, Smith had an unfortunate change in plans after Chris’s death from ALS five years ago. So instead of selling the company and having no say in the future of it and the values it would maintain. Smith took inspiration from Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard, who transferred ownership of the outdoor wear company to a trust and nonprofit in 2022.