| Hargrave 93 |  |
Some people buy a boat and simply hand the keys over to their
captain with an itinerary of where they want to go. Some owners pop by the
pilothouse occasionally with a cup of coffee. Some owners never enter their
engine rooms. Dick Rowe is not that kind of guy. The antithesis of a dilettante
yacht owner, he not only loves boats, he knows them and appreciates how they
work.
 Photograph by Jill Bobrow. (Click image to enlarge)
Rowe maintains a keen interest in all things mechanical. More
than 60 years ago, he built his first boat from a kit he discovered in the pages
of Popular Mechanics. Since then, he has messed around with, and
owned a wide range of runabouts and cruisers—everything from a sailboat to a
Chris-Craft Roamer to Owenses, Trojans and Bertrams. He was a flight engineer in
the U.S. Marine Corps from 1945 to 1965. Prior to his retirement from the
military, he and his wife, Donna, bought a retail store in Tennessee that sold
marine supplies and "significant" boats. He smiles when he thinks of his 30- to
38-footers as "big boats." | Click on the Specs tab at top to see complete list of resources. |
In the early 1970s, Rowe and Donna started a small family-owned
company called Indmar Products. Today, Indmar is the world’s largest privately
held manufacturer of gasoline-powered inboard marine engines. Rowe gets a glint
in his eye when he discusses engines, savoring all the dry details the way one
might describe a succulent sirloin steak. At the outset of our interview, he
warned me he is "dull, dull, dull." Hardly. That couldn’t be further from the
truth. Having made a significant impact on the marine world, he received the
National Marine Manufacturers Association’s prestigious Chapman Award in 2002
and was inducted into the NMMA Hall of Fame in 2004. In 2006, the
Environmental Protection Agency recognized Indmar for being the first to develop
and sell inboard marine engines equipped with catalytic converters like those in
cars. These spark-ignition engines can cut smog-forming gases by more than
two-thirds and carbon monoxide by more than half.
Top: The main salon’s décor is traditional with
furniture in neutral tones. Bottom: The galley has granite countertops and top-end
appliances. (Click images to enlarge)
Rowe, an octogenarian, and Donna, his wife of 60 years, spent a
lifetime in business together. Their son, Chuck, and daughter, Kathy, and their
respective spouses are also involved in Indmar. It’s truly a family affair.
The Rowes’ last boat was a 60-foot sportfisherman. They
operated it themselves, invited family and friends to join them and caught
plenty of fish. When the great-grandchildren came along, Donna became nervous
about the external ladder and worried about the danger of the little ones
falling off the flybridge. She convinced Rowe that they had outgrown their boat.
The Fort Lauderdale and Miami boat shows were inked into their annual calendar.
When they decided to go bigger, they pounded the docks and did their homework
assiduously.
"We kept coming back to Hargrave," says Rowe. "I believe
wholeheartedly in fiberglass boats, but I don’t like cookie cutters. I like to
be able to change things and do things my way, and Hargrave is always willing to
accommodate me. They never say no."
Donna Marie, a 93-foot (28-meter) raised pilothouse motor
yacht, was built over a two-year period. During that time, Rowe traveled three
times to China to investigate the boat’s progress. During his stint in the
marines, he spent quite a bit of time in the Far East and is fascinated by all
the good things that have emerged from this part of the world. Rowe says that
Michael DiCondina, Michael Joyce and absolutely everyone at Hargrave were
wonderful to them. Hargrave was extremely flexible in working with his
suggestions and change orders.
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