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I’m fortunate to have written several boat reviews for Marlin, and thanks to that experience I usually have an idea of what to expect when I pull into a boatyard or marina. I am always excited when I get tapped to visit Michael Rybovich & Sons, though—its history and level of craftsmanship are second to none. I know to expect top-notch joinery and just an all-around “old-school cool” finished yacht. That’s the story with its latest, Hull No. 7, an 82-footer named Persistence.
I had been by a number of times while this build progressed, but today was the first day I was to see it finished—wow, was I impressed. Approaching the boat from the road, you could instantly tell that she was big. Although Persistence is substantial, she maintains a sleek, low profile and just looks fast. While we prepared to cast lines and take her for a spin, I took my time to really give the boat an in-depth walk-through.
Salon and Interior
Entering the salon from the cockpit, I noticed there were two doors leading inside, one to starboard, which features a day head with direct access to both the cockpit and the salon—a great touch to keep soggy fishermen off the interior—and the main salon door forward. Stepping in, you are greeted with the warmth from the custom wood interior, as classic, vertically oriented teak covers the cabinets and walls. An L-shaped sofa and two chairs sit to the port side aft, while a dinette with booth-style seating is located just forward on the port side. A large island with three bar stools takes center stage in the salon. The island houses six slide-out refrigerator/freezers, a large stainless sink and a Wolf cooktop with a convection oven below.
The salon and galley feel huge. You almost have to see it in person to really believe it. This open and airy feeling is partly made possible by the amount of natural light in the space. Not only do you have the massive side windows, but this boat also features a quarter wraparound window on the starboard side. It follows the entire length of the house and curves part of the way across the forward mask. You can’t tell this from the exterior of the boat, but this window allows so much light inside and also lets the crew in the salon see where they are headed—no more riding the subway in reverse.
As you walk forward in the companionway just before heading downstairs, there’s a large electrical room on the port side. A hatch with additional engine room access and access to the Omni sonar transducer is hidden in the floor. As you step downstairs and under the wraparound windshield, the master is oriented immediately to the port side. It is large, with a king bed centered under a beautiful inlaid compass rose on the ceiling. The master is also adorned with beautiful custom teak cabinetry. Moving forward in the 82, there are bunk rooms on either side that are identical but mirrored. Both feature a full-size bed on the outboard side with stacked single bunks inboard. A nice custom touch is the bridge-style ladder used to enter the top bunk, with beautifully welded stainless rails and teak steps. Both rooms feature private heads. Fully forward is the VIP stateroom with a queen bed and a huge private head.
Cockpit and Engine Room
Much like the salon, the cockpit boasts its own incredible craftsmanship. The teak deck, bulkheads and covering boards all make this yacht feel unbelievably custom and at the top of the class. An 11-rod Bluewater rocket launcher sits in the center of the deck. Looking aft there is a gigantic livewell with an aquarium window. Two cavernous fish boxes sit on either side of the deck. Just another mark of Rybovich genius, an ice rail allows the Frigibar ice machine to feed the full length of both boxes so ice doesn’t pile up at the outflow and trip the level sensors prematurely. Forward of the starboard fish box is a recessed polished stainless lifting point. This crew uses it to attach a winch when chasing giant bluefin tuna at their home in the Northeast; they can easily winch a fish of any size through the transom door and drop it into the box or slide it into a bag. The mezzanine features plenty of seating with backrest air conditioning and a slide-out grill on the port side. Just behind the seating, you’ll find two large freezers with plenty of room for supplies during long-distance trips.
Looking around the cockpit, I started to question how to access the engine room. Alongside the freezers, a hidden door under a lift-up top slides forward to expose a beautiful, polished ladder; descending, I entered the tackle and pump room. The walls feature custom storage for dozens of tackle setups of every class, as well as multiple toolboxes. Additionally, there is an FCI Watermaker with DTS system and four ElectroSea ClearLine systems, all of which are on air conditioning, an ice maker and refrigeration raw-water lines. As you move forward into the engine room, there are twin 16-cylinder MTU M96L mains putting out 2,600 hp per side. Additionally, twin 32-kilowatt Kohler generators provide plenty of power to run all systems. Forward of the mains is the Simrad Omni sonar transducer and access to a ladder that opens to the electrical room forward of the salon.
Performance
As we poked out of Palm Beach inlet, I climbed up onto the flybridge. The teak helm features triple 22-inch Garmin multifunction displays with Simrad autopilot and Icom VHF radios easily within reach for the captain. There is no shortage of seating, with three Bluewater helm chairs and huge wraparound seating that surrounds the helm. While there were only a handful of people on board, there is easily enough room for over a dozen of your friends on the bridge’s wraparound benches. Tucked away above the captain are the teaser reels and a rear-facing drop-down Garmin display.
We quickly pushed out of the inlet and got up to full cruise speed. At 1,950 rpm we showed 80 percent load burning 170 gph at an eye-watering 39.3 knots. We were really moving and hadn’t even engaged the third turbo yet. We dropped the hammer to see what she could do at full load. At 2,450 rpm we achieved 46.6 knots, quite impressive for an 82-foot yacht with a displacement of 116,000 pounds. Pulling back, we toyed around looking for a long-range cruise speed for optimal fuel consumption. At 1,400 rpm, we clocked 82 gph at 27 knots, good for roughly an 1,100-nautical-mile range. In most conditions that’s enough to get you from South Florida to Bermuda without bladders. Before popping back inside, we ran her through her paces—as expected, backing down, spinning and quickly pivoting were easy work. Satisfied, we headed back home ready to turn her over to her owner, a serial Rybovich builder and owner, ever fitting to her name, Persistence.
Read Next: The Next Generation of Boatbuilding.
Rybovich 82 Specs
- LOA: 82’
- Beam: 21’6”
- Draft: 5’
- Displ: 116,000 LB.
- Fuel: 3,515 gal.
- Water: 500 gal.
- Power: Twin MTU 16V M96L, 2,600 HP
- Gears/Ratio: ZF 2.034:1
- Propellers: Veem 39×52
- Paint: Awlcraft 2000
- Climate Control: Termodinamica
