(FORTUNE Magazine) – David Ross, the man perched so jauntily on this yacht, has plenty of reason to grin. He owns Burger Boat, the small Manitowoc, Wisconsin, builder of custom-designed, handcrafted yachts so coveted by the ruling class that Ross gets to pick and choose who will be allowed to shell out between $3.5 million and $10 million to claim one. Steered by international royalty and members of the Ford, Rockefeller, and Walgreen clans, Burgers are the Rolls-Royce of motorized yachts. Only 250 exist worldwide, and they sport everything from satellite guidance systems to six-person hot tubs hidden under teak decking.

Ross, a Chicago entrepreneur who took over the 133-year-old company three years ago after it went bankrupt, revived the business by following a piece of time-honored management wisdom: Exclusivity sells. His 150 skilled craftsmen can complete only three new boats a year, a figure he may eventually nudge up to five a year, but only if quality doesn't suffer. Ross's ownership criteria are stiff: he won't sell to a landlubbing billionaire in search of a status symbol. Rather, he welcomes only passionate sailors who understand quality and therefore don't mind that it takes two years from design to completion to create a Burger boat. The result: Ross's order book is full through 1998.