Marking over a century in the boating industry -- there is no doubt that the Rybovich family business and history is a deep-rooted one, filled with blood, sweat, tears, and everything in between. Beginning in 1919, John "Pop" Rybovich switched from commercial fishing to starting his own small commercial boat repair yard. As sportfishing gained momentum in the 1930s, so did their business. Pop and his three sons (Johnny, Tommy, and Emil) quickly found themselves in the core of a booming industry, converting the power cruisers of the nearby Palm Beach elite to chase Sailfish just outside Lake Worth Inlet.
Rybovich Yachts History
In 1947, following the return of Pop’s three sons from WWII, Rybovich Yachts launched their first custom sportfishing boat, Miss Chevy II. Following the death of their father, Pop in 1970, and brother Tommy, in 1972, Johnny and Emil ran the boatyard and completed four more boats. Between 1947 and 1972, the three brothers launched 75 hulls. However, they found the task proved too great, and in 1975 the original family business was sold.
Following the second sale of the original family business in 1986, vowing to continue on and avoid a lengthy legal battle, Ryco Marine was born. The trend of building larger
sportfishing boats continued, and by the mid-1990s, Ryco Marine was building boats into the 60' class. 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 company in 1975. By 2005, following Hurricane Wilma and extensive damage to the Ryco Marine facility, a partnership was formed and Emil’s son, Michael, joined with Huizenga – a Rybovich was once again building Rybovich boats under the Rybovich name.
In 2008 the partnership with H. Wayne Huizenga Jr. was amicably dissolved. 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 a family friend, Larry Wilson) purchased the old E&H Boat Works in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, and opened Michael Rybovich & Sons Custom Boat Works.
Rybovich Boats — A Family Business
Today, they 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, strives to carry on a tradition that started over 100 years ago in a small boatyard in West Palm Beach. Current projects include an 82’, 62’, and 70’ sportfish yacht.
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