m Beach

DATING BACK TO THE HEADY DAYS OF THE JAZZ AGE PERHAPS. THIS TERM TODAY SIGNIFIES ALEVEL OF FIT AND FINISH THAT IS POETICALLY PERFECI BY CAPT. BILL PIKE

2014 Pam Beach hternal onalBoal Sho!

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R,m,^hr!',No . ' abo@, De r.re,est@ on oy M,haatRtba\(hE

:ans. Tne tin9he,l at@r' t tD.to* ) tvp a - Pon Bea\h r ano t an

ddly erough, given its deep identincation with awholly tropical spot in South Florida, the phnse"Palm Beach Condition" probably got its start in a

super wealthy corner of the northeastem united states

or to pui a 6.er point on it, Nes?ort, Rhode Island. You knoBwhere folks like the V.nderbilh, the Posts, ud the Asiors hugout, at least part ofthetime.

lust imagine. Youie roaring along through the Roaring Twenties,

say. You\e got more money than Mr. Gatsby evq thought ofhavin:Youve go1 a 30-room "cottage'on Bellevue Avenue in Newport d

a rsinter retreat in Palm Beach. And you've refrned your taltes tothe .ines lvhile travelling dtensively in Eurcpe. How do you gEbeven greater gra.deur? A yacbt, dght?

But hey, not just rny ol' thing I do. Nol for you. Nope, you've

gotta have a vessel ihati a cut above, a couple ofleagues beyond,

something that satisnes your mighty.nving for the s€a but also

caters to your highly refined se.sibilities. Something a guy likeIlichelangelo or Rembrandr \vouid have signed ofion, had eitherofthem been inio shipyards.

A BriefHistory Lesson

"Yeah, the whole thing probably did $an in NeD?ort-the bigmoney was up ther{ expl.ins Jim Moores ofMoores Marine, a

fabled wooden-boat repair and restoration fa.ility with locationsio Palm Beach as well as Beaufort, North Cdolina. nnd by lhe

time the 1940s rolled around, the children of the bi8 noney aI had

houses h Paln Beach too, mary of them desigtd, built, or at leNtfinished by rhe top European cmftsmen and designere of the day So

these people want€d their boats to be as perfect as their homeslTwo things made Floridai Atlaniic coast an ideal boating

destination for the rich. Fkst, the lishing was not only sp€ctacu

Iar but also spectacul ly convenient indeed, just east ot Singer

Island, only a precious stone's rhrow north of Palm Beach, ihecull Stream was only a paltry miie or so offshore. And second,

the weather in Florida, while a big draw in its own right, Sreadyfacnihted rhe building, finishing, painting, and sea trialing ofyachts, both n€w and old, year ?ound. fte vicissitudes ofwintersimply djd not apply to Palm Beach d its enviro$.

.The edly '50s constituted a heyday ofsorts;'says Moores, "Imean, you had Rybovich on the Admnc side o{Florida, Spencer

Boat Company, E&H, Meritt, Whitice. It was fabuloDs Be.ause

we had this top dollar clientele as well as gr€at weaiher, a veritable\4e*Jof DorrburldinS. boal md,nlendn(e.andboil rePairarose.

and with it .ame the talent necesMry ro keep the whole thing going.

Belise it or not. customers used to actualy buy TrmPys back then

aDd send them to Palm Bedch to be uPgraded, to Put them in'PalmBeach Conditioni to give them thar perfecl PaLt Beach lookl

RollAndTipRubrails wilh grain-conti.uous scarfjoints. Entire saloons com

posed ofbook matched veneers. CaNel-planked hulsides edge-

glued with Resorcinol and faired to a voluptuous smoothness.

While all of lhese contributors to Moores's touted Palm Beach

Iook were certainly imporlant during the 50s and '60s, there was

another fa.tor that was aho decidedly big'tine enamel'q?epaint aDd the esoteric vagaries of its application.

With tools and matnals ofercePtionaly high quality, tech

niques and skills rhai were fully artisanal, and eDorrnous wealher

wnrdows that were simply unavailable elsewhere, the mid-century

2014 Palm Beach .lernalional Boal Show

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Palm Beach

tf ever a brand nafi; was identified with the Palm.Beach look it was the oldever gtaced the annals'iiiiici

iara in west palm Beach as storied a place as

oi recreational boatbuilding ancl boat repatr=--_=-=-

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M@lesMalhe,sMn^freicastawsthedelzilinefiathallnarksttgPalmBeachlook,''Fllp"Rybovich(filhl)andhisthreehmoussons.insei'iop),

hoatvards ofPalm Beach could reportedlv "roll and tiC a hull

"',t '*r, -o, "'" -," ""a 'Plendor rh'r not r ''ngle bru'h

oke in rhe;ndmel q^ulo 'how' eren r" a clu'e 'areiul' and

experienced in\Pe(rorfte uotr*.eemed d{ePttrely !TPle. rr l<r'l

't h^r Blalce'

Typrallr rropenplewould ru', h,uloffrnd p"rnldhull un',""t'i.,

".ot,e, ,"ni.rttv fiom boo 'rr'pe

ro gur*ale and the

oir,"', roir"*i"g.1."g. l,-,.h'n8 verrLdllv d' well "hrle Jlwr)'miintJntns a $et eJqe.

'orcouri. 'krll

,nJ etpent\e were i4\olved lor':'\av\ 4l

t,endu'n. rhe currenr 'eri , e manrSer ^r Mkhael Bvbov:'h &

S;ns in Palm Beach Gardens and a former emplovee ofone rime

Rrho\ '.h ,omoeriro,. spencer Bo,r Lompdnv"Bul rhere wr' d

I ntt ,menul ciraree Jurine tne e,rrv'70' wh'n Pollarerhane.,i',.,me,,e. rrirr rhe JhrJi,ndu'rry Wrrh AwlgriP dnd r'.o*,.." r.r.o.t.l proor'edlnblhal equdledrheroll_Jnd lip

-. ""-a but rh . n "oulo

l:'r much l"nger rnd requtre le* expe'

tise from ihe standPoirt ofapplicationl'

The Pomr 0l One

ii"""i"t.,a *rn"1*r.e identified with Palm Beach condi

tion orthe Palm Beach look it wasthe old Rvbovich vard in

w"it p"t- e"".h, a' 'turi"d

a place asever gracedthe annals of

re.,.Jliondl bo.lbu ldinq rnd bodl repair And Da' l' tn rhe ddv'

the energ). evorurio 1 dnd rePurrriun ol rhe 'on(epr td\ rn lJrge

Ddrl.lri\elb\ dinqle.d)nann indivrdL'r: lomm) R/bovr(h'

i:.*,1,ru to'hb n;h"wMr(h"el. who todr) heads up \4i(h"'l

n't ^l.t-s So* a moder n-dr)'Prnnfl- ol I're old vJrd rhe elder

ti,bovich was an electtifvins indefatigable human dvnamo:"He

",' Lrre ae.rener mo rurloe; dnd o'eAds rll Ln' pdinr rB Jnd

.,-"'r,v atihe rard. H. "ould $urk rrum eigh' rn rhe mor n'ng

uni'l eie'rr rn rtree,en,ng 80 home ior dinner' d'd 'hen crme

brk "rid

*orl L.rir ele\en o'ro.k or midnrgnr or $hare\er

And he was a perfectlonist-everylhing had to be perfe't with

Tommv AbsolutelY Pertect",omd\ R\ bo\ tr h. oower \rrhin rhe Rvbo\ kh orBJir/dri"n

,np"lm Be..h anJ;ndeyd.virh,nrheenrire\o,rrhlloriJdioaLbuldine commu rirr - tr' immen\e ald c'rrinJPo \ irrrrarl)

Jndbatcd u;rl htr de"rh in 1e72. He exPe' led rorhrrgbJl r^P

sbelfwork fron himself as well as his shipwrights and painters'

Nolhins bur rhe ben $oLld 'uli(e. The pan'iprlaPpl'ed ro rePr'r'

,.J."ni',. *ar "' ** s",ld'. And ir undoub'ed\ influenced 'he6erlo, mdn.e ol

'ear \ome ol ni. \ourh t lor rd" LornPeriru^'

' or.nu,.c.oettinsaboJr'r,luP"lm Be.Lh( old'rronu'urll'enr,iled leeor-ne hci rn rhar , orrdrrion a' qell" add' Mthae'

Irbo'ich. .omainrenancew.'dnolherbiEi-ror-me r'olou'

m,intenancc Mo't ol rhe boal' o". k lhen hJJ full_lime 're$'rhir $ere on loD ofeterl l rle derdl everylhrng. all lhe rrne' So

whneler need;d ro be dddrP\ed xa\ addre*ed in a rimelv n dn-

nel NorhinS wr' rer go or r'losed ro fdll tnro d rep'rrl'

2Ol4 Pa m Beach lnternationa Boat Show

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YouGottaPavTo Plav_.n dt"

"-entid' r eu"*,r"," a \erv hiSh qualrty ol mtL r

rot lcomrnrurrerrr iomainrendce.dd Ihe Slear wedfier'" Mopria, e\todtion !ge.ial\r Moores. "Thdl\ why people hom Ne$ Iers'NNtnelarl.dd tntrq lJdd and all up rd dom lhe Audrric

*abuiconrtnue ro brrnq rhex boar ' doq he'e ner roddl'

over the vears, Mooretand his emPlovees have deJt with a

number ofseriously complex, high prolile Projects, including the

oAD"ne. a,etu Kat rcne PataBed'nlco^ Naletheta/at tkatp

ioiisrtp" rto anatqepano S'dde tn'sh o1'he'o'ede( \ fdborp)

.",roori"n. rt'e pi".iaenr'dl)Eaht Ho'PvHI?' so lheres lirrle

doubl lhat Moore' \.4irine r' Per'ecdy cdprbl€ ol tn\e(rrn8 vrrl

' i,.ii", *ai"."**.ar.Jq)"ba-kedupdlhrop'helrroolswhen gor.gf,r Lhe Palm Bea(h lool.dccordrn8to \'1oore',' \ou gotu

,* [!u"Jir,. -u,a"','t.ike Europa brushes-sav four inchers'

Ths ie qonna co\r lou at'out $32 aPNe. And )ou cr or)ly u*in,'--i* ti*" *itf, **".odern pdinb &e* div' al l'a\l fot

inbh r o' lc So we re ralkr' expensivel Which r ju$ pan ol $e deal'

ot@ube. \ou wdl perfecr? Palm Bea"h Pertecr? There\ no wJy

around ri. my fr,end. You Sotta pa) to Play: O

uv sort of resel with all the glories of the Palm Bearh look one

Dickv. Dreci'e, pricev detailrr a time.' I"Le. rel,rNe+ 'ir.iehrfo'1sd LhinS lke PainrnE' Moore\ Anuin, Ihoe rre.errri rh,ns. we dn ro rhNdr\ dur.l'uppo{' loll

ot,,rherLeuD'erruund rhe.ounlD { l doni do.ILke fu,'n'rdn(e tr"

-'" rr'. ".,i1.ut<rlv \ou 'ldnb) addingthc'edu(er orrhinne"

.r*,i'ro rLtnorouenlv.lenine'l'il forlen mrnule\orso(prcPle in lhe

,.,1','ri, *rr rtr,''oeno,l 'r" e"r rir ne or"indu.ron tnrt"r'rrd ihsvou,ri, r\o,.uihlyrgdin.rhe pornr beingro mrle rrrr dresullenr3

re ruralh ao'o'b-ed, norp"n'all) thereb) en'uringdu lheAdPor'

nnn nte sredtr,edand r}e pr nl flos out \moother' bener:

,1620 I 4 Pa m Beach Lnternaliona Boat Sho

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