Reid Bandy’s Ryboviches

Reid Bandy was a front-row art-class student in grade school who was captivated by lessons in perspective, scale, form, function, and sketching. He was also obsessed with boats, and his drawings looked like Rybovich sportfishing yachts. “I don’t think I had ever seen a Rybo in person,” he says. “It’s just what I thought a cool boat should look like—the broken sheer, trunk cabin, outriggers, and tournament cockpit.”

Bandy grew up in a do-it-yourself household under the guidance of his dad, who built their houses and handled the relentless maintenance and upgrades required for the family’s Cal 25 sailboat—even designing and making their own racing sails. They won three national championships in the class.

In high school, he developed a passion for sportfishing and would pool odd-job money with his friends to buy bluewater tuna trips out of Ocean City, Maryland. He was also able to wander the docks and board the serious sportfishing machines built by Ocean, Viking, Egg Harbor, North American, Hatteras, and Post—as well as Carolina-style boats. Among this fleet was one in particular: a pink Rybovich, which somehow is at the heart of this story.

“These boats propelled me to get out my sketchbook and see how things would fit together and look good…asking the questions, ‘Can you live in this? Can I make it open and airy? Where does everything go?’” he says.

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