Fastest Lightnings in the World from a Buffalo warehouse

It’s late on a Friday afternoon in Castiglione del Lago, Italy, and the sailors from around the world have retreated to the clubhouse after a day of racing in the world championships.

In any given week, Tom Allen Jr. could leave his modest boat factory on Buffalo’s East Side and wind up here or in other locales halfway across the world sailing boats with customers.

But this isn’t vacation. Allen is on call. As owner of Allen Boat Co., international excursions come with the territory. He goes where his customers are.

Allen and his seven-person staff build Lightnings – 19-foot racing sailboats made of fiberglass – in an aging brick warehouse at 370 Babcock St. for sailors who compete in some of the world’s most prestigious regattas.

On the Friday in June of last year, during the 2013 International Lightning Class Association World Championship, 18 of the top 20 finishers sailed on Lake Trasimeno in a boat made in Allen’s shop.

Allen attended and sailed, too. He’ll travel to about a dozen events each year to make himself available for customers – and noncustomers – who could use an impromptu repair.

“Almost all of the time, when everyone else heads to the bar or buffet, you’ll find Tom on his back underneath some boat, repairing fiberglass for somebody else,” said John Faus, president of the ILCA, which regulates the production of Lightning boats,” – even if they’re not a customer of his.”

Chances are, though, that they are.

There are slightly more than 15,500 Lightnings in active circulation worldwide, according to the ILCA. Allen estimates his small company built around 30 percent of them.

One of Allen’s most loyal customers, Kenmore resident David Starck, skippered an Allen boat when he won the World Championship a year ago. Starck said he has purchased 10 boats from the company since he began racing.

“It’s a great story, the Allen Boat Co. as a small business,” said Starck, who also is a vice president for the ILCA. “Around the world, they’re like royalty. You can go to South America and they know who Tom Allen is.”

Allen Boat Co. customers range from apple farmers in upstate New York to shippers in Greece or businessmen in Ecuador. The clientele is diverse because the company is one of a handful of certified Lightning Class manufacturers in the world and one of two in North America.

Customers pay about $30,000 per order, which could include the boat, a custom trailer to tow and all the other parts a customer might require, beside the sails. “It’s not a get-rich-quick scheme,” said Allen, who has a degree in naval architecture and marine engineering from the University of Michigan.

The name Tom Allen became synonymous with Lightning boats in 1961 when Allen’s father, Tom Allen Sr., started winning events while crafting his own boats. Tom Allen Sr. raced to four world championships. His competitors took notice. – Buffalo News, read on

Note: The Buffalo Canoe Club in Ridgeway, Ontario will host the 2014 Lightning Junior World Championship, with racing to take place on June 29-July 2. Details.