The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's
notability guidelines for companies and organizations. (July 2014) |
Merritt Boat & Engine Works, sometimes abbreviated as Merritt's, is a yacht builder and boat yard headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida. Together with Rybovich, Merritt is respected as one of the most historically significant Florida custom sport fishing boat builders.
In the 1930s and the 1940s, blue marlin and bluefin tuna were abundant in the waters of Cuba, Bimini and Cat Cay just a few miles off the Florida coast, targeted by fishermen such as Ernest Hemingway, and Habana Joe aboard his 1938 40-foot Wheeler named Pilar. Word spread quickly among fishermen around the world about the exciting new sport of big game fishing. Despite the growing popularity of the sport, however, the boats of the day were hardly ideal for the challenges of fighting the prized fish. Most boats utilized in those days were converted cabin cruisers and all were relatively slow and hard to maneuver.
Merritt gained particular notoriety during the 1950s through the 1970s with its 37- and 43-foot (13 m) custom sport fishing boats, which, together with boats like those being built at the same time by Rybovich, gave birth to a new category of fishing yachts and helped fuel the growth of big game sportfishing in the United States and around the world.
There is an active community of classic sport fishing boat enthusiasts who continue to restore, maintain and fish these boats around the globe.
After leaving their Long Island home in 1947, Franklin and Ennis Merritt purchased a 10-acre (40,000 m2) tract of land on the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach, Florida. In 1948 Merritt Boat and Engine Works was born. The boatyard was set up primarily to maintain the Merritt's charter boats, in addition to other charter and drift boats in the area. The yard began building boats in 1955. The Merritt's sons, Buddy and Allen became involved, with buddy running the boat building division and Allen overseeing and administering the business.
Soon after Buddy’s passing in 1971, a third generation Merritt took over the managing of the boatyard. Roy, the son of Allen and Millie Merritt had worked in the yard since his early teens. Today Roy Merritt runs the day-to-day operations at Merritt's.
An avid fisherman, Buddy Merritt built what he perceived to be the perfect fishing boat. The first of his 37-footers were totally lacking the luxuries taken for granted today. They were built for one purpose: to raise and catch fish. In all, 13 of these famed 37-footers were built, and 12 survive to this day (one was lost to fire caused by stray fireworks while the boat was out of the water in a boat yard).
The Merritt 37 and the Rybovich 36 pioneered a style that gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s with an open deckhouse (no bulkhead aft) and a flying bridge. Ryco Marine hull #6 imitated this style in 1991 with its launch of a 38-foot (12 m) dayboat, Wildcat. [1]
Hull construction was typically strip planked with 1"x2" Yellow Cedar fastened to Mahogany frames and stringers.
The 43 marked the transition from framed to cold molded construction. The inspiration for the 43 was the 42-foot (13 m) Hopalong, built for Fletch Creamer and Capt. Buddy Lander in 1965. At Hull No. 13, it was the longest boat Buddy Merritt had built at the time. The boat went on to become the Black Bart, owned by Bart Miller in Kona, Hawaii. This was the boat that caught the famous 1,656-pound Pacific blue marlin, the boat that won the 1975 Hawaiian International Allison-Yellowfin Tuna Tournament with a 2,000-point lead, and the boat that became the first to land more than 100 blue marlin in a season off Kona. [4] Today Bart Miller's "Black Bart" fishing lures are one of the leading brands on the market.
The switch to cold molded construction was noted by production builders, such as Buddy Davis of Carolina Boat fame who said, "The plyboard cold mold [in my Carolina Boats] was very much a Merritt influence. I was always impressed with both Merritt and Rybovich. If anyone tells you that we aren't influenced by Merritt and Rybovich, you're not getting the whole story." [5]
She is now owned by Scott Rhein of Montauk NY and has been renamed Jackpot.
Merritt's still produces new custom yachts today, although they are much larger than those built decades ago, over 70 feet (21 m) in length and with many amenities and construction methods unheard of in the 1960s. The rate of custom hand-crafted production is still very slow, at only one or two yachts built each year.
The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's
notability guidelines for companies and organizations. (July 2014) |
Merritt Boat & Engine Works, sometimes abbreviated as Merritt's, is a yacht builder and boat yard headquartered in Pompano Beach, Florida. Together with Rybovich, Merritt is respected as one of the most historically significant Florida custom sport fishing boat builders.
In the 1930s and the 1940s, blue marlin and bluefin tuna were abundant in the waters of Cuba, Bimini and Cat Cay just a few miles off the Florida coast, targeted by fishermen such as Ernest Hemingway, and Habana Joe aboard his 1938 40-foot Wheeler named Pilar. Word spread quickly among fishermen around the world about the exciting new sport of big game fishing. Despite the growing popularity of the sport, however, the boats of the day were hardly ideal for the challenges of fighting the prized fish. Most boats utilized in those days were converted cabin cruisers and all were relatively slow and hard to maneuver.
Merritt gained particular notoriety during the 1950s through the 1970s with its 37- and 43-foot (13 m) custom sport fishing boats, which, together with boats like those being built at the same time by Rybovich, gave birth to a new category of fishing yachts and helped fuel the growth of big game sportfishing in the United States and around the world.
There is an active community of classic sport fishing boat enthusiasts who continue to restore, maintain and fish these boats around the globe.
After leaving their Long Island home in 1947, Franklin and Ennis Merritt purchased a 10-acre (40,000 m2) tract of land on the Intracoastal Waterway in Pompano Beach, Florida. In 1948 Merritt Boat and Engine Works was born. The boatyard was set up primarily to maintain the Merritt's charter boats, in addition to other charter and drift boats in the area. The yard began building boats in 1955. The Merritt's sons, Buddy and Allen became involved, with buddy running the boat building division and Allen overseeing and administering the business.
Soon after Buddy’s passing in 1971, a third generation Merritt took over the managing of the boatyard. Roy, the son of Allen and Millie Merritt had worked in the yard since his early teens. Today Roy Merritt runs the day-to-day operations at Merritt's.
An avid fisherman, Buddy Merritt built what he perceived to be the perfect fishing boat. The first of his 37-footers were totally lacking the luxuries taken for granted today. They were built for one purpose: to raise and catch fish. In all, 13 of these famed 37-footers were built, and 12 survive to this day (one was lost to fire caused by stray fireworks while the boat was out of the water in a boat yard).
The Merritt 37 and the Rybovich 36 pioneered a style that gained popularity in the 1950s and 1960s with an open deckhouse (no bulkhead aft) and a flying bridge. Ryco Marine hull #6 imitated this style in 1991 with its launch of a 38-foot (12 m) dayboat, Wildcat. [1]
Hull construction was typically strip planked with 1"x2" Yellow Cedar fastened to Mahogany frames and stringers.
The 43 marked the transition from framed to cold molded construction. The inspiration for the 43 was the 42-foot (13 m) Hopalong, built for Fletch Creamer and Capt. Buddy Lander in 1965. At Hull No. 13, it was the longest boat Buddy Merritt had built at the time. The boat went on to become the Black Bart, owned by Bart Miller in Kona, Hawaii. This was the boat that caught the famous 1,656-pound Pacific blue marlin, the boat that won the 1975 Hawaiian International Allison-Yellowfin Tuna Tournament with a 2,000-point lead, and the boat that became the first to land more than 100 blue marlin in a season off Kona. [4] Today Bart Miller's "Black Bart" fishing lures are one of the leading brands on the market.
The switch to cold molded construction was noted by production builders, such as Buddy Davis of Carolina Boat fame who said, "The plyboard cold mold [in my Carolina Boats] was very much a Merritt influence. I was always impressed with both Merritt and Rybovich. If anyone tells you that we aren't influenced by Merritt and Rybovich, you're not getting the whole story." [5]
She is now owned by Scott Rhein of Montauk NY and has been renamed Jackpot.
Merritt's still produces new custom yachts today, although they are much larger than those built decades ago, over 70 feet (21 m) in length and with many amenities and construction methods unheard of in the 1960s. The rate of custom hand-crafted production is still very slow, at only one or two yachts built each year.