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Boating

Historic presidential yacht that served five American presidents on display at Florida boat show

A presidential yacht, which served John F. Kennedy and more, is on display at the 2023 Palm Beach International Boat Show in South Florida

By Cortney D. Moore Fox News
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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.

John F. Kennedy leaving Honey Fitz

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. 

  • Harry S. Truman
    Image 1 of 5

    Harry S. Truman (1884 to 1972) was the 33rd President of the United States. After succeeding Franklin D. Roosevelt to power during the last months of World War II, he who was forced to make the decision to end the war with Japan by dropping the atomic bomb. (MPI/Getty Images)

  • Black and white photo of Queen Elizabeth wearing a coat and a hat and President Eisenhower sitting to her left
    Image 2 of 5

    Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890 to1969) was the 34th President of the United States (center). Here he is with Mamie Eisenhower (1896 to 1979), Queen Elizabeth II (1926 to 2022), Prince Philip (1921 to 2021) and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker (1895 to 1979) and his wife at the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, on June 26, 1959.  (Express Newspapers/Getty Images)

  • President John F. Kennedy posing for a picture at his desk with a US flag in the backdrop.
    Image 3 of 5

    President John F. Kennedy (1917 to 1963) was the 35th President of the United States. Here he is posing for a picture at his desk with the American flag in the backdrop.  (Alfred Eisenstaedt/Pix Inc./The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images)

  • Lyndon Johnson at podium
    Image 4 of 5

    Lyndon Johnson (1908 to 1973) was the 35th President of the United States. Here he is speaking to members of his advisory commission on civil disorders at the group's first meeting on July 29, 1967, at the White House. Otto Kerner (left) of Illinois, the chairman of the group and Mayor John Lindsay of New York (right) vice chairman. (AP Photo/WX)

  • May 20, 1987: Former U.S. President Richard Nixon at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris.
    Image 5 of 5

    Richard Nixon (1913 to 1994) was the 37th President of the United States. Here he is at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on May 20, 1987. (Reuters)

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.

Cortney Danielle Moore is a writer on the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital and FOX Business.

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