A 93-foot wooden yacht that has served five United States Presidents is currently on display in South Florida.
Honey Fitz, the newly restored historic motor yacht, will be on display in West Palm Beach as she makes her 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 ship 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 Pakistani President Mohammed Ayub Khan disembarks his yacht Honey Fitz upon arrival at Mount Vernon. (Bettmann/Contributors via Getty Images)
Honey Fitz was reportedly built in 1931 for Sewell Lee Avery, an American businessman who made his fortune mining gypsum. Eventually he became an executive at Montgomery Ward, a well-known mail order and department store chain.
According to the Palm Beach International Boat Show, the historic yacht is currently owned by Charles R. Modica, Chancellor of St. George’s University in Grenada.
In February 2020, a restoration project was launched on Honey Fitz to prevent it from “completely decaying”.
The restoration project took three years, and much of it attempted to combine elements from Honey Fitz’s original construction 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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Of the five presidents who have used the Honey Fitz yacht, Kennedy is said to be the one “most notably” associated with the presidential ship.
Kennedy reportedly named the yacht Honey Fitz in honor of his maternal grandfather, John F. Fitzgerald, the 38th and 40th mayors of Boston, nicknamed Honey Fitz according to Yachts International magazine.
Other Presidents have named the Presidential Yacht.
Historical records show that Truman named the yacht “Lenore II” and used her primarily to ferry Secret Service agents, while Eisenhower named her “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.
Harry S. Truman (1884 to 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States. After succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt to power in the closing months of World War II, he had to make the decision to end the war with Japan by dropping the atomic bomb. (MPI/Getty Images)
Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 to 1969) was the 34th President of the United States (center). Here he is with Mamie Eisenhower (1896-1979), Queen Elizabeth II (1926-2022), Prince Philip (1921-2021) and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (1895-1979) and his wife at the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, June 26, 1959. (Express Newspapers/Getty Images)
President John F. Kennedy (1917 to 1963) was the 35th President of the United States. Here he poses for a photo at his desk with the American flag in the background. (Alfred Eisenstaedt/Pix Inc./The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)
Lyndon Johnson (1908 to 1973) was the 35th President of the United States. Here he speaks to members of his Advisory Commission on Civil Unrest at the group’s first meeting on July 29, 1967 at the White House. Otto Kerner (left) of Illinois, group chairman, and Mayor John Lindsay of New York (right), vice chairman. (AP Photo/WX)
Richard Nixon (1913 to 1994) was the 37th President of the United States. Here he is on May 20, 1987 at the Elysée Presidential Palace in Paris. (Portal)
According to Yachts International, Nixon changed Honey Fitz’s name to “Patricia” before selling her.
Much of Honey Fitz’s history was lost after her sale, but Yachts International reports that she spent much of her time sailing around New York, Louisiana and Florida (including Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale).
The presidential yacht reportedly weighs 94 gross tons, measures 16.6 feet across, is capable of a top speed of 11 knots and can accommodate three crew members, according to BOAT International, a luxury boating media company.
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The Palm Beach International Boat Show takes place on Flagler Drive in downtown West Palm Beach and runs through Sunday, March 26th.
General admission tickets range from $16 to $56, while VIP tickets range from $370 to $520.
Visitors who stop by can see a mix of large and small boats. About 900 boats will be on display, according to marketing materials.
Visit pbboatshow.com for more information about the show.
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The boat show is owned by the Marine Industries Association of Palm Beach County, a non-profit trade organization.
Informa Markets, a specialty industries marketplace with headquarters on five continents, is the producer of the show.