Dear Friends November 2009

Nov. 23, 2009

Dear friends,

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating: I never had the nerve to dream this big. We just started work on the Honey Fitz, a 92-foot, 1931 Defoe cabin cruiser built in Bay City, Michigan, also known as the eighth presidential yacht and “The Yacht of Camelot.”
She was originally built for Sewell Avery, chairman of Montgomery Ward, as Lenore. President John F. Kennedy renamed the boat after his maternal grandfather, John Francis “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, mayor of Boston. Reportedly, one of Kennedy’s favorite photographs shows him on the aft deck of the Honey Fitz with his daughter Caroline.
Recently, Honey Fitz hauled out at the Rybovich north yard to do some shaft work. Rybovich called us in to laser target the yacht because proper haul out and blocking of wooden boats are critical. After the survey, Rybovich executives contacted us again about the boat, particularly Mike Rybovich. She needed more than shaft work.
I was taken aback when Mike turned down the project. I have always held Mike in the highest regard for the amazing sports fishing boats that he and his family have innovated and built over the years.
I visited with Mike about the yacht at his boat shop. “Jim, you are the only one who can do that project right,” he said, “We’re not set up for that type of refit, but you are. Besides, that’s what you do best.”
Mike and I have watched each other’s careers through 28 years. He builds great boats and I restore and preserve them from the past. During the two-year Summerwind refit, we worked almost within shouting distance in the same yard. Me, rebuilding and Mike, building. They each present unique challenges.
When I left his office, it hit me: This is Mike Rybovich. He thinks we’re the ones to do this job right. I have never been paid a higher compliment by a colleague.
So for the next few days, we worked on a game plan. Don Thibeault, our veteran master boat builder, said it best about Honey Fitz. “She’s built like a 90 foot canoe, lots and lots of small frames plus stringers.”
Our immediate goal is to remove the twist she has developed bow to stern and try to reduce the hog. We will be disassembling the engine room, 140 ribs plus 70 planks, eight stringers and that’s just getting started. We have removed hogs in the past but never over this length. This is going to be a great challenge.
I have been doing a little research on her and Honey Fitz is an American legend, with a long history of the rich and famous and powerful.
The following is an excerpt from the JFKlibrary.org website on the boat:
According to Dave Powers (author of Johnny, We Hardly Knew Ye, and a long-standing friend of John F. Kennedy), Kennedy had some of his happiest moments aboard the Honey Fitz ). A life-long lover of the sea, Kennedy would slip away from the White House for a few quiet hours on the yacht in the Potomac. He spent Easter and Christmas holidays on her in Palm Beach, Florida, as well as taking days off in September and October aboard her at Hammersmith Farm. The cover of Powers' book in paperback version was one of the President's favorite photographs, taken on the aft deck of the yacht.
Commanded by Lt. Cmdr. Walter C. Syle of the Naval Administration since the Eisenhower administration, the Honey Fitz was redecorated by Mrs. Jacqueline Kennedy herself, who installed a color television for the first time aboard the vessel, primarily for the enjoyment of her young children.
The vessel was primarily used for the family and close friends, though some dignitaries did visit from time to time (Powers particularly remembered Harold MacMillan on board once), and numerous photographs were taken on the yacht. The boat is also on record as being used to transfer guests down the Potomac to Mount Vernon for a particularly impressive State dinner one evening during JFK's administration.
From President Kennedy's birthday (May 29) until approximately mid-September the yacht was kept at the Cape and used every weekend. One particularly happy occasion was the surprise birthday party Jackie threw for her husband in 1963, with most of the family on board. Kennedy loved to spend time alone with his children on the yacht.
The bullshot was the favorite drink aboard, bracing against even the strongest winds. One of the original Kennedy life preservers and two of the flags from the boat are in the Kennedy Library.
I have been saying I don’t know how many more of these big projects I have left in me. But after launching Summerwind in the spring and taking some much needed time off to renovate our Florida shop and gets some R&R, I am ready to get back in the saddle. I’m sure at the end of this project, I’ll say the same thing again.
Prior to Kennedy, Honey Fitz served presidents Truman and Eisenhower. After him, Johnson and Nixon. Nixon, who named the yacht Patricia after his wife, sold the yacht in 1970.
Then in 1998, the yacht was sold for $5.9 million at a JFK memorabilia auction. Other auction items included a handwritten draft of his inaugural address, best remembered for: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”
All of the yachts we work on carry stories with them, of people both famous and not, and good and not so good times on board. Our job is to make sure as many of these yachts carry on to collect more stories, more memories, for years to come.
On that note, I have some bad news as well. I hate hearing them and passing them on but it seems that’s become part of these letters. I just find it disheartening to repeat them.
A few weeks ago, I received a few calls from Maryland about a Trumpy sinking. It was the 71’ Trumpy Eleanor, Contract 243, built in 1939 for William M. Davey as Martha. She has been leaking for some time and there was an electrical malfunction and she went down in relatively shallow waters. She is hauled out now and in Cambridge on railways.
Eleanor, once owned by Howard Hughes, is one of my favorite Trumpy yachts and hopefully will be back in service soon.
The next is Valor. I have received calls from Bill Waskey and Eric Horst about her. This Trumpy, which was featured in the movie “The Wedding Crashers,” is scheduled for demolition soon. The yard manager has offered to let people take what they want before she is crushed. I am not in a position to take advantage of this offer but I have copied the email on the back of this letter.
Also, time is running out on the Grand Lady, the 1919 Trumpy. She needs a new owner, soon. She is one of the oldest Trumpy yachts still alive.
Now, on to the good news. I like that better. Last week was old home week. Everyone showed up at the same time. Capt. Bryan and Cori Akers on Justice, Capt. Kevin Thompson with a 40-foot Garwood in tow and then Capts. John and Aimee Russell on S.S. Sophie.
This means summer is definitely over. This is a happy time of the year and I’m glad to see everyone back, safe and sound.
This month is going by so fast and I’m sorry it took so long to get my last letter out. Some of you might have noticed that your name or address was handwritten or it was sent to an old address.
We had a computer crash. Instead of the mailing list being updated on the server as it was supposed to, it got saved on a local computer that crashed. Best we could do was retrieve a list that went back three years. We’ve been trying to piece it back together.
Moving on, naval architect Bruce Marek has gone back to the drawing board on the launch. Since they will be cold molded, he has worked away to build station frames and with shifting them closer and farther, we will be able to build two different sized launch, a 29 footer and a 40 footer.
I am hoping to see finished plans very soon. The 29 footer will not have the stack, stand up head, and be more a center console or bow steering type.
Lastly, Ocean Reef is coming up quickly. I hear that Freedom, the 103’ Trumpy will be there and Larry Mullins plans to debut his new boat there, the Legend, the oldest Rybovich around. He went to great lengths to find her and bring her back to Florida, her birthplace. Mike Rybovich did the restoration 20 years ago and the boat was recently back with Mike.
I won’t tell you anymore but ask Larry. It’s his story to tell. There are a lot of good, old friends who say they will be there. I hope you’ll be one of them.

Until next time,


Jim Moores