John C. Yank Jr., owner and operator of Yank Marine, announced today that his shipyard business is up for sale. Yank said he has been in the boatbuilding business for more than 50 years, and it’s time to call it quits.
“… timing is everything and now it is time for me to retire. I have raised six children and I am now taking the time to really enjoy my 12 grandchildren and my two great-grandchildren,” Yank said in a letter. “I want to have more time with all of them and to be able to take more time to travel and enjoy life. My children and grandchildren are now spread out all over this beautiful country.”
Both New Jersey boatyards — Dorchester and Tuckahoe — are up for sale. The letter did not say if the yards would be sold as a pair or separately. “I started building my boat yard in Tuckahoe at age 27. Over the many years that have passed, I built more than 100 USCG-certified passenger vessels, and I repaired thousands more,” Yank wrote. “My boat yard is now a shipyard and my vessels are working all over the world.
“I have had the pleasure of employing hundreds of people over the past 50 years, many of them neighbors and local residents. Some employees stayed with me for more than 25 years, through good times and bad. I have had the pleasure of working with many wonderful customers too, and some of them have become lifelong friends. Your business and your friendship are invaluable.”
