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A 93-foot wooden yacht that has served five presidents of the United States is currently being exhibited in South Florida.
Honey Fitz, the newly restored historic motor yacht, is on display in West Palm Beach as it makes its debut at the 2023 Palm Beach International Boat Show.
Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon are the five presidents who commanded the luxury vessel from 1945 to 1971, according to a press release for the 41st annual boat show.
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The 92-year-old ship was built in Bay City, Michigan, by Defoe Boat & Motor Works, a now-defunct shipbuilding company.
President Kennedy, followed by Pakistan President Mohammed Ayub Khan, leaves his yacht, Honey Fitz upon arrival at Mount Vernon. (Bettmann / Contributor via Getty Images)
Honey Fitz was reportedly built in 1931 for Sewell Lee Avery, an American businessman who achieved wealth through gypsum mining. He eventually became an executive at Montgomery Ward, a prominent mail-order business and department store chain.
The historic yacht is currently owned by Charles R. Modica, chancellor of St. George’s University in Grenada, according to the Palm Beach International Boat Show.
In February 2020, a restoration project was started on Honey Fitz to prevent it from "completely deteriorating."
The restoration project went on for three years, and a bulk of it sought to tie in elements from Honey Fitz’s original build in 1931, the ship’s brief government appropriation during World War II and the Kennedy Administration, according to the boat show's press release.
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Out of the five presidents who have used Honey Fitz yacht, Kennedy is said to be the one who is "most notably" associated with the presidential vessel.
Kennedy reportedly gave the yacht its Honey Fitz name in honor of his maternal grandfather, John F. Fitzgerald, the 38th and 40th mayor of Boston, who was nicknamed Honey Fitz, according to Yachts International magazine.
Other presidents have named the presidential yacht.
Historical records show Truman named the yacht "Lenore II" and mostly used it to ferry Secret Service agents, while Eisenhower named it "Barbara Anne" after his granddaughter.
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Johnson, who succeeded Kennedy after his assassination, left the Honey Fitz name that Kennedy had established.
Nixon changed Honey Fitz's name to "Patricia" before he sold it, according to Yachts International.
Much of Honey Fitz’s history was lost after its sale, but Yachts International reports that it has spent a fair amount of time sailing through New York, Louisiana and Florida (including Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale).
The presidential yacht reportedly weighs 94 gross tons, measures 16.6 feet across the beam, can reach a top speed of 11 knots and has space for three crew members, according to BOAT International, a luxury boat media company.
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The Palm Beach International Boat Show is being hosted at Flagler Drive in Downtown West Palm Beach and will run until Sunday, March 26.
General admission tickets range between $16 and $56, while VIP tickets range between $370 and $520.
Visitors who stop by will be able to see a mix of boats – big and small. About 900 boats will be displayed, according to marketing materials.
Additional information on the show can be found on pbboatshow.com.
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The boat show is owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, a not-for-profit trade organization.
Informa Markets, a specialty industry marketplace with headquarters on five continents, is a producer of the show.
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