New Speed On The Water ‘Women of Substance’ Issue Featuring Cherilyn Noack & Andrea Teague

Cherilyn Noack & Andrea Teague Featured in Speed On The Water’s Annual Interview Issue

Anyone who knows anything about performance boats and/or offshore racing, is likely to recognize the face of Teague Custom Marine, the legendary Bob Teague, who founded the company nearly 50 years ago. But those familiar with the Valencia, Calif.-based business know there is a couple of women supporting him at all times.

First and foremost is Andrea Teague, his wife of 45 years and the company’s controller. Second is the first of their two children, Cherilyn Noack, the 36-year-old vice president of marketing for TCM who is married to Josh Noack, a corporate officer with the business who is a dual-certified Mercury Racing mechanic and the company’s lead service writer. Together Andrea and Cherilyn have helped steer the business and provide dedicated assistance to the world champion racer and walking powerboat encyclopedia for many years.

Andrea Teague, who met her husband, a decorated Army veteran and member of the Los Angeles Fire Department, in 1975, admitted it wasn’t love at first sight. Soon enough though, she came to see that there was a lot to love about the smart, passionate and hard-working gentleman who enjoyed all things water related. Together, they cultivated TCM from a part-time business into a highly respected engine builder, rigging and service shop serving Southern California and beyond that eventually grew to include a parts superstore accessible to performance boaters worldwide. They also raised two intelligent, well-mannered children.

Cherilyn Noack is the mother of two boys, Cru, 7, and Nixon, 3, who have grown up around boats their entire life just as she and her younger brother, John, did. In fact, Noack—thanks to the dedication of her mother, who was a critical care unit nurse prior to leaving that profession to work full time at Teague Custom Marine in the early ’90s—traveled with her parents to boat shows, poker runs and offshore and endurance races up and down the West Coast and beyond from the days before she could walk or talk.

Both Andrea Teague and Cherilyn Noack are strong, independent women who thrive under pressure and embrace the challenge of being a working mom. And, as you’ll notice in this interview, they see eye to eye on many things and have a work ethic similar to the one-and-only Bob Teague.
WHAT IS YOUR YOUR FAVORITE PART 
ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?

Andrea: We make a good team. We always divide and conquer to get the work done.

Cherilyn: Definitely the teamwork. There’s an ease of communication that happens between us.

OTHER THAN BOATING, WHAT DO  
YOU ENJOY DOING TOGETHER?

Andrea: Probably painting. We like doing different art projects.

Cherilyn: Yeah art for sure. We enjoy shopping, swimming and simple things like hanging out and drinking coffee. We’ve gone to some fun art festivals, too. We like doing stuff like that together.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING ON THE WATER?

Cherilyn: I love the feeling of being free and not worrying about anything else, at least for that moment.

Andrea: And I love getting together with our boating friends and enjoying a lunch run or impromptu meetups. Being on the water is a feeling of being home and at peace for me.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITE EVENTS?

Cherilyn: I’d have to say the Big Cat Poker Run because it’s on our home waters in Discovery Bay in Northern California. Definitely the Desert Storm Poker Run in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., even though it’s also my least favorite event because it is so much work (laughs). The Street Party is such long day, but it’s a lot of fun to catch up with everyone and see people buying and wearing their Teague Custom Marine stuff.

Andrea: I’ll go with Key West, mainly because of the number of spectators and all of the race teams that are part of it. We’ve always had fun in Key West. I’ve been able to visit some unique places because of offshore racing. One of my favorites was Georgia’s Tybee Island near Savannah.

ANDREA DID YOU WORRY MUCH
ABOUT BOB WHEN HE WAS RACING?

Andrea: Not really. He’s extremely professional and he takes safety, communication and race preparation very seriously. He doesn’t take unnecessary risks and he’s always built his boats to be as safe as possible. Plus, he’s always surrounded himself with teammates that take safety just as serious as he does.

CHERILYN DID YOU EVER HAVE
ANY DESIRE TO TRY RACING?

Cherilyn: Nope. I have zero interest in racing. I like pleasure boating and I’ve learned to drive all of our boats, but I’d rather just watch racing. Being a part of my dad’s race team was always fun—no one was above helping and pitching in to do whatever was necessary. From as long as I can remember, my dad has raced and supported boat racing of all types. Back when we had our house in Parker on the Colorado River our family tradition was being a safety patrol boat during the Thanksgiving Regatta so we grew up watching that race every year.

HOW INSPIRATIONAL HAS YOUR MOM
BEEN THROUGHOUT THE YEARS?

Cherilyn: My mom is amazing. She can do it all and makes it look easy. Raising a family, working, making sure everything is handled. My mom is extremely mentally tough. We are team zero sympathy (laughs). We know how to get it done. Work hard, play hard. If I could get it all done and be half as nice as she is, I’m winning at life.

IS IT CHALLENGING TO BE THE WIFE
OR DAUGHTER OF BOB TEAGUE? 

WHETHER YOU’RE AT A POKER RUN,
A RACE OR A BOAT SHOW, IT CAN’T,
BE EASY WALKING AROUND WITH HIM?

Andrea: We’re used to his role and how people respond to him. He has a tremendous amount of knowledge so we understand why people want to talk to him and pick his brain.

Cherilyn: We have no problem taking a step back and letting him do his thing.

Andrea: We’re self-sufficient people, and he knows that.

ANDREA, WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE TO WATCH CHERILYN DEVELOP INTO THE WOMAN AND EVENTUALLY THE MOM SHE’S BECOME?

Andrea: I’m extremely proud of Cherilyn. She’s an amazing daughter and mother and wife, and she’s extremely intelligent. I love that she has a background in business—that’s something I had to learn by the seat of my pants. Cherilyn is very good at dealing with all kinds of people. Somehow she has this ability to know what to do at just the right time.

ON A SIMILAR NOTE, YOU MUST BE PROUD OF JOSH AND HOW HE’S SHAPED CHERILYN’S LIFE?

Andrea: He’s the closest complement to Cherilyn. It’s been neat to see their relationship grow. They have a mutual respect for each other and Josh is great with the kids. Bob and I feel so fortunate to have our daughter and son-in-law with us at work every day. It’s especially great when the grandkids come to the shop. And now that Cru is getting older he has a few tasks around here, such as sorting bolts and other parts. He even has own little cart.

Cherilyn: I know this wasn’t my question, but I couldn’t ask for a better partner. Josh has been by my side for so long and he’s extremely loyal to me as well as the company. There’s no off switch for either of us when it comes to the business. It’s huge to have a partner in all of this and a support system and I truly have that in Josh; I couldn’t do this without him. I didn’t know him before he came to work for Teague Custom Marine, but I think we both came into each other’s lives at just the right time.

CHERILYN DID YOU FEEL PRESSURE 
TO GO INTO THE FAMILY BUSINESS?

Cherilyn: I absolutely did not feel any pressure.  My dad has always been a great source of inspiration and guidance for me.  He encouraged me to get a business degree since I could apply that to any path. When I was in high school, I was looking into art school and I thought I would become an interior designer.

WHEN DID YOU REALIZE WHAT YOUR
DAD DID FOR A LIVING—WORKING ON,
TESTING AND RACING BOATS—WAS 

DIFFERENT THAN OTHER DADS?

Cherilyn: What’s funny is that I never thought that my dad was “different” from other dads. I guess I was just used to it and it was all that I knew. He was also a Los Angeles City Fire Captain and worked that job in addition to TCM and all of his other roles. I realized that my parents owned their own business, and that was different from a lot of my friends. I have vivid memories of riding bikes with my brother, John, in the backyard of our shop when it was on Strathern Street in Van Nuys while my parents did paperwork in the office. My parents probably made a lot of sacrifices and worked long hours, which I didn’t notice as a kid, but I can see that looking back.

The perk was getting to be involved and do things as a family, too. I have fond memories of having the Powerboat magazine team over for dinner at our river house in Parker. I would get to skip a week of school for the fall Performance Trials. We also traveled all over the state for Pacific Offshore boat races. It was normal to be gone for the weekend, traveling with the race team, and then getting home late on a Sunday and going right back to school the next day. It was unique but super fun and I always loved taking my own photos at the races and then getting the film developed. I’m really a lifelong documenter.

CHERILYN, HOW HAS THE COMPANY
CHANGED SINCE YOU STARTED WORKING
FULL-TIME AFTER GRADUATING FROM
COLLEGE IN 2007? AND WHAT HAS IT
BEEN LIKE TO PLAY A ROLE IN COMPANY
DECISIONS AND DEVELOPMENT?

Cherilyn: The evolution has been very natural. When you are completely involved and immersed in something, it just feels right to keep learning more and gradually have more responsibility. I truly love what we do and I enjoy being able to help with different aspects of the business. We are a small business so we all wear many hats.

The biggest change I have witnessed in the last 10 to 15 years is how we market ourselves, and how our customers seek information. So my job, or areas of responsibility, changed along with our digital marketing needs and growing online presence and website store. We manage all aspects of that in-house. I really enjoy some of the content creation, building the social media, and getting to interact with Teague customers in a very direct way. I also have taken over the buying and designing of our line of apparel.

WHAT IS THE MOST MEMORABLE BOAT
YOUR PARENTS
HAVE OWNED?

Cherilyn: This might not be an answer you’re expecting, but I would say our 1992 Malibu Echelon ski boat, which we still own. I remember getting to visit the Malibu factory at the time in Merced, Calif., while we were building the boat and getting to help pick out the colors and how my dad was so proud that it had a pink pinstripe “for the ladies.” A close second would be our Skater 368 raceboat. I learned so much during the time that the team was sponsored by AMSOIL Inc. That company was an amazing sponsor and partner, and it also required press releases from us and various tasks that I had to brush up on quickly. My parents don’t do anything in a marginal fashion, so whatever boat was/is being built usually has all of the bells and whistles and it’s done just right. We appreciate ingenuity.

HOW ABOUT, ANDREA, DO YOU HAVE FAVORITE?

Andrea: Well, I’ve enjoyed each and every boat we’ve owned, especially the evolution of them all over time. But if I had to pick one, I’d go with our 21-foot Schiada because we’ve owned it twice. I have memories of taking our kids in it on the Colorado River in Parker, Ariz., when they were little and now, since Bob bought the boat back from the same guy in Canada in 2013, we’ve made great memories taking our grandchildren in the boat. The funny thing is when Bob got that boat it seemed so huge—and now it seems small.

YOUR FAMILY IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE “FAMILY THAT BOATS TOGETHER, STAYS TOGETHER” MOTTO. HAS THAT ALWAYS BEEN IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Cherilyn: Yes. We’re also like a family at the shop—several employees have boats and have gotten more into boating as a hobby. That’s super important because we’re not trying to sell something that we don’t subscribe to ourselves. We understand what our customers need because we are boaters. “No one needs anything we do—we’re not a grocery store,” is what my dad says.

Andrea: He’s right. This is a unique niche market. We use our raceboats and pleasure boats for product development, which allows us to connect with our customers on a recreational level.

WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO SEE BOB INDUCTED INTO
THE LAKE OF THE OZARKS SHOOTOUT BOB MORGAN
MEMORIAL HALL OF FAME IN 2020?

Andrea: It was exciting to be able to go to the lake and be there in person. I hadn’t been there in a long time so it was fun to return to the event.

Plus that award was so special. Bob said he wasn’t sure why they chose to honor him, but I know how much work he’s put into the Shootout broadcast and promoting the event throughout the years.

Cherilyn: It was a big moment for our family. I was super proud of my dad and so happy to be a part of the ceremony as well as the other Shootout events that took place that week.

As Seen In: Speed On The Water