rybovich yacht marina

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Rybovich Joins Safe Harbor

Rybovich joins safe harbor marinas   january 4, 2021 – we are pleased to announce that safe harbor marinas has acquired rybovich, the premier us destination and service provider for the superyacht industry. “we’re extremely excited about what this means for our people, our customers, and our partners,” said wayne huizenga jr., owner and ceo of rybovich. “we share with safe harbor a fundamental commitment to excellence in service and hospitality. we believe this transaction will allow us to deliver on that commitment at more and more locations over time.” “not only are our people continuing at rybovich,” said carlos vidueira, who will oversee safe harbor’s superyacht marinas “but we will have access to more resources and a larger, growing network. our commitment to our community, our team members and their families, and to the yacht owners, their captains and crews has never been stronger. we’ve been searching for the right way to serve them all from a larger platform and we’ve found it.” “our plan is to serve rybovich with excellence so they, in turn, can do what they do so well at more locations throughout the country and perhaps the world,” said baxter underwood, ceo of safe harbor. “we are humbled and honored to be on their team.” link to the official press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rybovich-joins-safe-harbor-marinas-301199977.html, privacy overview.

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Our History

Proudly a part of the fabric of Palm Beach County, Florida since 1910, we began building boats for the same reason we continue today – to improve on what is on the water. What began as a commercial fishing operation and a small boat repair business has since evolved into the builder of the world's premier sportfishing yachts, unrivaled in design and finish, and synonymous with innovation and the pursuit of perfection. While our family business has operated at different locations and with different names over the years, we have always subscribed to the same philosophy: Listen, think, and create. That philosophy is grounded in hard work, a dedication to our craft, and the partnership that we forge with every customer that puts their trust in us.

The Birth of John Rybovich & Sons

In 1919, John "Pop" Rybovich started his small commercial boat repair yard when he moved from commercial fishing to servicing the boats of the early commercial fishing fleet of the Palm Beach area. The West Palm Beach yard quickly gained a reputation for its skill and attentiveness, and as the sportfishing concept of the 1930's grew in popularity, Pop and his three sons, Johnny, Tommy and Emil, were at the center of a new industry converting the power cruisers of the nearby Palm Beach elite to chase Sailfish just outside Lake Worth Inlet.

Miss Chevy II

Following the return of Johnny, Tommy and Emil from World War II, each with the skills they had developed overseas, the idea was born to build a boat dedicated to sportfishing. In 1947, that idea became a reality, and the first custom sportfishing boat, Miss Chevy II , was launched. In the years that followed, the sport that was their passion as well as their livelihood grew in popularity, and the boys grew with it, honing their skills and working with owners to build a better-riding, more innovative and more beautiful boat.

The Broken Sheer and Miss Chevy IV

Tommy's passing.

From 1947 to 1972, the brothers launched 75 hulls, each better than the last and each with their own unique character and innovations. Johnny, the fisherman, brought new ideas and oversaw management, Tommy, the designer and builder, oversaw the carpentry and painting trades, and Emil, the engineer, directed all mechanical and electrical work in new construction as well as in service. Of the three dedicated brothers, it was Tommy's obsession with his work that became legendary and provided the energy and inspiration in the yard's incessant quest for perfection. However, two years after the passing of the family patriarch, Pop Rybovich, Tommy Rybovich passed from cancer in 1972. The soul of the yard, and the head of design and hull building, had passed far too young at the age of 52.

New Owners of the Family Business

Michael becomes head boat builder.

By the time of the sale in 1975, Michael Rybovich, Emil’s son and the next generation of Rybovich boat builders, was working at the family boatyard developing his skills as a carpenter, while fishing when the time allowed. The new owner, Bob Fisher, insisted that Johnny and Emil (and Michael) continue working at their family’s business. But, by 1980, both Johnny and Emil found the changes were too much for their liking and decided to part ways with the business – around this time, Michael became the head boat builder.

A New Family Business

In 1984, Michael, too, decided to leave and with his father, Emil, his brother, Marty Evans, and family friend, Ed Bussey, started a boat building company called Rybovich International with the goal continuing to innovate the world of sportfishing and build a better boat. The first of those new hulls was Ruthie , a 32' Walkaround built for Charlie Bouchard, based on a concept that legendary angler, Nick Smith, had applied to a 30' Daytona .  The boat proved a great fishing platform and, with her new bottom, could fish in rough water alongside boats twice her size.

Ryco Marine

Following the second sale of the original family business in 1986, a lawsuit forced Rybovich International to abandon their name, as well as the " Rybovich signature" broken sheer and double handrail designs. Vowing to continue on and not wanting to get involved in a lengthy legal battle, Ryco Marine was born. The trend of building larger sportfishing boats continued, and by the mid-1990's, Ryco Marine was building boats into the 60' class.

Back to the Family Business

By the early 2000s, the original family business was in the hands of H. Wayne Huizenga Jr., the fourth owner since the family sold the business in 1975. In 2005, following Hurricane Wilma and extensive damage to the Ryco Marine facility, a partnership was formed and Michael joined with Huizenga – a Rybovich was once again building Rybovich boats under the Rybovich name. For the next four years the new company flourished, and during this time, Rybovich & Sons delivered five boats from 54 to 78 feet, the last two being the largest ever built under the family name. As the world recession deepened in 2008, the once full order book became an empty testament to the bad economy. In early 2010, management was forced to make several difficult decisions, including shelving new construction altogether to focus on the development of a full-service super yacht marina at the Riviera Beach site.

Michael Rybovich & Sons

Following the Great Recession of 2008 and a desire to focus on a super yacht marina and service yard, the partnership with H. Wayne Huizenga Jr. was amicably dissolved, and the search for a new home began. Soon after, the most recent rebirth of the Rybovich boat building name came to fruition when Michael and his wife Julia (with the help of family friend, Larry Wilson) purchased the old E&H Boat Works in Palm Beach Gardens, FL and opened Michael Rybovich & Sons Custom Boat Works . Today, we operate as a family business dedicated to the same ideals of innovation and the pursuit of perfection that helped build the Rybovich name. Michael, along with his two sons, Dusty Rybovich and Alex Gill , and the most talented crew in the industry, strive to carry on a tradition that started more than 100 years ago in a small boatyard in West Palm Beach.

The Unabridged History

In 1934, Gifford, the Cass brothers, Bill Fagen , and Lloyd Knowles collaborated in the design and building of a reel that would stand up to the stress of hooking and landing large Marlin and Tuna. This reel became known as the Knowles Tuna Reel . In 1935, Ernest Hemingway landed the first un-mutillated Giant Bluefin Tuna in the Bahamas. In 1936, Fred Grieten applied for a patent for the first Fin-Nor fishing reel , which was built to Tommy Gifford's specifications. In the 1930s, Frank O'Brien designed and built the Tycoon Bimini King rod which would provide the mount and the leverage for the new reel technology. The new equipment provided sportsmen with the means and the advent of the 1939 Cat Cay Tuna Tournament provided the arena. In 1937 Johnny was invited to fish Bimini and Cat Cay with a local captain and landed his first Blue Marlin. Two years later he landed his first Giant Bluefin. Johnny was beginning to realize the desperate need for a boat designed and built specifically for big game sport fishing but the realization of that concept would have to wait. His country would soon need his and his brothers' services for bigger fish.

It is clear that all three young men developed an even greater interest in the family business and acquired an education in their respective special talents while in their country's service. Johnny's service taught him business skills and introduced him to the emerging material technology in Military hardware. Emil, a self taught mechanical engineer, was exposed to the engineering and performance standards within the fleet of Army boats for which he was responsible. Tommy was absorbed with aerodynamics, aircraft construction, and the beauty and efficiency of a clean line which is so important in aircraft design. The combination of these skills post war would prove to be a study in excellence.

Of the three dedicated brothers, it was Tommy 's obsession with his work that became legendary and provided the energy and inspiration in the yard's incessant quest for perfection. He worked from eight in the morning to eight at night, went home for dinner and returned to the yard, typically working until eleven p.m. and beyond. Sundays were half-days to allow time for the family. With no formal training in naval architecture, Tommy's early designs were based on known lengths, beams, and displacements of similar vessels that were accessible in the service yard. Suffice it to say that from the waterline up, the design was all his.

The first project in which he was involved was the Chevy Clipper , a 47' long-range fisherman for none other than Charles Johnson . His third Rybovich build, Chevy Clipper again satisfied Johnson's thirst for having something no one else had. With a galley and salon under a forward trunk, crew forward, and a private master suite under an aft trunk, she combined the modern broken sheer with the additional volume provided by a traditional trunk arrangement fore and aft with a six-foot fishing cockpit. To eliminate the inefficiency of gasoline engines with enough power to push a boat of that size at a respectable cruise speed, she was the first Rybovich to be built with diesel power . To keep Tommy's sleek profile low, Emil installed a pair of "incline" G.M. 6-71 's which had the blocks rotated along the shaft centerline to lower the height by 5" compared with the original upright Grey Marine version. Jack's introduction to Charles Johnson on that project was the beginning of a long relationship between the two pioneers.

In 1957 Roger Firestone , who owned the 43' " Tireless " insisted that his boat be converted to diesel power and he didn't give a damn how it was accomplished. After a lot of thought, Johnny and Emil decided to go the other way. Instead of raising the boat, they would drop the engines --- literally. They cut out the bottom of the boat beneath the oil pan and gear and dropped the Caterpillar engines that Firestone had specified, straight down between the main stringers. When John Sr. walked by the boat the following day and saw one of the engines protruding for the bottom of the hull he gave Johnny hell for ruining the man's boat. Johnny tried to explain but the old man would have none of it. Johnny and Emil did have a plan. They fashioned airfoil-shaped blisters out of fiberglass and projected the shaft log along the new shaft line out the aft end of the blister and glued and bolted the assembly to the hull. When the project was completed the boat had a flatter, more efficient shaft angle and performed beautifully with greater range and no loss in performance. Several other boats were converted in this manor before low profile diesels were made available in the years that followed.

Prior to 1958, the yard used resorcinol glue for most all its adhesive applications. Its use was common in many boatyards and did an adequate job of holding things together, although its adhesive properties were known to diminish over time. That year, a customer named George Molle ordered a boat from Rybovich under one condition, that his boat would be built using a catalyzed epoxy resin instead the conventional glue. Epoxy had been developed for the aircraft industry in WW II as a means of bonding aluminum but as far as anyone knew, it had never been used to glue a wooden boat together. Tommy experimented with the new material and agreed to Molle's request. The new glue turned out to be far stronger and have many more applications than resorcinol and became the standard not only in new construction but in the repair side of the business as well.

The boat was completed as a yard project and had the first pair of jet-drives installed locally. She was extremely fast but the jet drives produced unpredictable handling characteristics and were soon abandoned for conventional drive. The experiment had been a success. The boat was sold to yard customer Eddie Crawford , and was fished hard for many years from the Palm Beaches to Hawaii. She is still an eye-catcher and in beautiful condition today.

In 1966 Johnny introduced the " Tournament of Champions ", which was a tournament designed to raise money for conservation. At the end of the competition each year, the winner would decide on what conservation project his winnings should be spent. Early sonic tagging experiments on billfish were paid for through funds realized through that tournament. Throughout the 60s, the continued decline in local fishing stocks was a cause for great concern with Johnny. It was clear to him that the mortality rate of sailfish hooked and released on live bait was much higher than those released on dead bait. In 1972 Johnny founded the Gold Cup Tournament , which awarded significantly more points for fish caught on dead bait. These tournaments and a great deal of research projects were born out of Johnny's love and respect for the sport on which he had built his family's business, and for the cause of marine conservation to which he dedicated the last 30 years of his life.

1975 to Present

"We continue to subscribe to the same philosophy—listen, think, and create. We are here to build a better boat. It's as simple as that."

Anna Pollack, wife of John Rybovich, Sr.

An early print ad for the boatyard

Aftermath of the September 16, 1928 hurricane

Converting existing cruisers to sportfishing boats by adding outriggers, fishing chairs, gunwale mounted rod holders and topside-mounted controls.

The old Rybovich Boatyard in West Palm Beach

Michael Lerner

Kip Farrington

Tommy Gifford with a Blue Marlin

The Cass Brothers with a shark-eaten Tuna

Lloyd Knowles and the Knowles Tuna Reel

Ernest Hemingway fishing for Bluefin Tuna

Fred Grieten, developer of the Fin-Nor reel

The Fin-Nor big game fishing reel

Frank O'Brien, designer of the Tycoon Bimini King rod

Tommy Rybovich (circled) with crew and battered B-17

Emil's World War II patrol boat

John Rybovich with Charlie Johnson (seated)

Clari-Jo (hull #2), renamed Legend, built in 1949

Charles Johnson

Miss Chevy IV (hull #8) built in 1952

Georgia May (hull #19) launched in 1955

Horace Dale Critz

John Rybovich and Ernest Hemingway (2nd & 3rd from left) in Havana, 1956

Gasoline engine

Tireless (hull #28) launched in 1957

Emil Rybovich with the fiberglass "blister"

Fiberglassing the hull

The cold molding process

Rhino (hull #34) launched in 1959

Mahogany planking sliced to 3/8"

Stiff one-piece wooden hull

Peter A B Widener, horse breeder and sportsman

Jet Stream (hull #47) launched in 1961

James H. Kimberly, sportsman, socialite and Kleenex heir

Fighting chair

Kay Rybovich with Sailfish and husband John

Kay Rybovich, Ginni Sherwood and Dennie Crowninshield, founders of the IWFA

Trophy for the Master's Angling Tournament , sponsored by The Sailfish Club

The Sailfish Club in Palm Beach

The Republic SeaBee seaplane

The second Republic SeaBee

The West Palm Beach Fishing Club

Asinine , forerunner to the modern center-console fishing boat

John and Emil Rybovich

Tommy Rybovich towing a scale model with Giovanni Cardelli

Herbert Clofine

Amigo V (hull #61) launched in 1965

Annabet (hull #69) launched in 1968

Little Pete (hull #65) launched in 1967

Margaret (hull #73) launched in 1972

Emil Rybovich

Swamp Fox (hull #79) launched in 1976

Marty Evans

Gary Hilliard

Ruthie (hull #108) launched in 1985

Legendary angler Nick Smith

Ryco Marine in Riviera Beach FL

Damage from Hurricane Wilma in October 2005

A pair of 78' sportfishermen from 2009-2010

Miss Chevy II (hull #1) launched in 1947

The Webb Institute for Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering

Safe Harbor Rybovich Marina

Play in the heart of downtown baltimore, marina info.

We are pleased to announce the opening of phase I of our new marina. Phase I consists of seven service slips that accommodate vessels up to 275 feet. These slips are equipped with concrete Bellingham floating docks and feature high speed fueling capabilities. In addition, the new slips offer 480V, 240V and 208V electrical service to meet your power supply needs.

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Approach depth (ft): , dock depth (ft):.

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Safe Harbor Rybovich Marina

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Safe harbor rybovich.

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Safe Harbor Rybovich is a state of the art full service marina/ shipyard resort style facility, with a 660 ton Travel Lift and 3000 ton floating dry dock, providing all in house project management.

This renown shipyard & marina accommodates yachts of 300ft + LOA/ 18ft depth, offering high speed fueling, modern crew recreational facility complete with lounge, pool and its own café / restaurant.

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4200 N Flagler Dr. West Palm Beach FL 33407 United States (US)

: +1 561 840 8190

: [email protected]

: shmarinas.com

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Rybovich Superyacht Marina and Refit

Marinas & Ports Shipyards - Refit

United States

Marinas & ports , shipyards - refit, www.rybovich.com.

Rybovich is a full service superyacht marina and service facility in West Palm Beach, Florida with direct and unobstructed access from the Atlantic Ocean. Rybovich provides secure berths for yachts up to 100 meters in length. The marina offers first class yacht facilities and unrivalled shore amenities. Rybovich is the place to come for service, maintenance, repair and refit of any valuable yacht. With a fulltime, in-house team of over 330 professionals consisting of craftsmen in all disciplines and in-house project managers who oversee every project, including sub-contractors, Rybovich has built a reputation for on-time and on-budget delivery.

• West Palm Beach United States

News summary

Comforts at the coalface

How shipyards are mitigating the rigorous demands of refit on crew…

Safe Harbor Marinas acquires Rybovich

Dallas-based Safe Harbor Marinas continues to add to its growing marina portfolio…

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Safe Harbor Rybovich

Superyacht Marinas

Safe Harbor Rybovich is a full service superyacht marina and service facility in West Palm Beach, Florida with direct and unobstructed access from the Atlantic Ocean. The marina offers first class yacht facilities and unrivalled shore amenities, providing a home away from home atmosphere that keeps their guests coming back every season. With a fulltime, in-house team of over 330 professionals consisting of craftsmen in all disciplines and in-house project managers who oversee every project, including sub-contractors, Safe Harbor Marinas has built a reputation for on-time and on-budget delivery.

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West Palm Beach Florida USA

Description.

Following the fundamentals of superyacht marina design, Rybovich Marina offers luxury style service for guests and crew members alike. Service, experience, and ease run through the very core of Rybovich.

The dual purpose, service center, superyacht marina is a pioneer in the superyacht service industry. The facility has its own fleet of tugboats designed for handling superyachts, offers high-speed in-slip fueling for boats up to 150 ft., and provides a comprehensive line of services aimed at the needs of captains and crew.

Project Features

• Unifloat concrete docks
• Floating wave attenuator with skirted floats
• In-slip high-speed fueling
• Heavy-duty walkways for scissor lift and golf cart traffic
• Superyacht-capable shore power
• In-slip sewer and bilge tank pumpout

Project Scope

Replacement of existing marina

Services Provided

• Design/build, general contractor
• Installation of docks and utilities

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Rybovich Superyacht Marina acquired by Safe Harbor Marinas

Safe Harbor Marinas has announced the acquisition of Rybovich Superyacht Marina .

The acquisition agreement includes Rybovich’s West Palm Beach facility, which accommodates yachts up to 99 metres long, as well as the facility in Riviera Beach.

It is understood superyacht operations at Rybovich will continue to be oversee by its existing team.

Speaking about the deal, Rybovich owner and chief executive Wayne Huizenga Jr said: "We're extremely excited about what this means for our people, our customers, and our partners.

"We share with Safe Harbor a fundamental commitment to excellence in service and hospitality. We believe this transaction will allow us to deliver on that commitment at more and more locations over time."

Safe Harbor chief executive, Baxter Underwood, added: "Our plan is to serve Rybovich with excellence so they, in turn, can do what they do so well at more locations throughout the country and perhaps the world."

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Michael Rybovich & Sons Yacht Sales

Specializing in the World’s Finest Custom Sportfisherman & Motoryachts

For product knowledge that is unsurpassed, come to the place where sportfishing boats as we know them today began their evolution! From the fighting chair to the aluminum outrigger to the tuna door and tuna tower with controls and steering – it all happened here! In the world of sportfishing the  Rybovich  name speaks for itself.

Our brokerage staff has been a part of the latest design innovations that are standard on the ultimate 21 st  century sportfishing machine. We speak from experience and first-hand knowledge that cannot be found elsewhere. With a combined eighty years in the industry, we offer our clients insight and guidance that is unparalleled.

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