The annual Vintage Weekend at the Ocean Reef Club is a knockout event. Classic cars, airplanes, and yachts have gathered in the first week of December since 1999 at this 3,000-acre enclave enveloping the northern tip of Key Largo in the Florida Keys. The most recent Vintage Weekend last December held a big surprise in a small floating package, though. Nestled along the face dock among the beautifully maintained Burgers and Feadships was a small, Army green Jacuzzi waterjet-powered gem. And I almost missed it.
The boat arrived on her own bottom from just a few nautical miles away in poor man’s Key Largo. And this was her maiden voyage after a years-long restoration and an arduous overland trek from the Pacific Northwest. She came complete with two 50-caliber machine gun mounts on the bow and another 50-cal machine gun mount aft, guns mounted and their clips draped down to the deck; for good measure two M-60 machine gun mounts come standard. The boat all this weaponry came with is a 1970 Patrol Boat River (PBR) used in the shallow waters of Vietnam during the conflict of the same name. She’s all fiberglass, and all original. Even the supercharged engines, waterjets, and machine gun mounts.
The boat is the centerpiece of an upstart outfit in Key Largo called Combat Boat Tours. She serves to do good on three fronts: the first is to give veterans a much-deserved outing in the beautiful Florida Keys for fun and therapy. Second, to support the retired Special Warfare Combat Crewmen (SWCC) and their families to help reduce the suicide rates among their ranks. Thirdly and sadly, to help support the families of SWCC vets who have taken their own lives. Noble work indeed.
I was strolling the dock on day two of the Vintage Weekend with some friends when we walked past a Humvee to our right whose Florida plate read BUY GUNS. To our left down in the low tide was the drab green boat blending in with the surrounding mangroves. A man named Zachary Marcus was on station for the long weekend. Marcus is the real deal, a retired U.S. Navy Chief and Master Special Warfare Combatant-Craft Crewman with a distinguished background in maritime special operations and joint-force missions. He led hundreds of combat missions throughout his career and has deep expertise in small-craft tactics, weapons employment, and high-risk maritime operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. It was his Humvee on the right.
By day, Marcus owns a custom gun shop called Tailored Arms; the Navy SEAL Museum is a client of his, as they frequently auction custom guns for charity. In 2025 alone a whopping $1.7 million in non-profit revenue was generated from charity gun sales through this partnership.
With this foundation Marcus decided he could use a boat as a vehicle, literally and figuratively, to support vets in the Keys and Miami. Many of whom as SWCC “silent professionals” risk being lonely and suicidal after leaving the service. Marcus knows this all too well: “We maintain a strong commitment to the Navy SWCC community, providing direct support to service members and their families during times of crisis,” he explained. “When emergencies arise—whether medical expenses, family hardships, or other unexpected challenges—we respond quickly and without bureaucracy. Taking care of our own is a core part of who we are.”
There are lots of vets in the Keys and South Miami area, Marcus says. And he’s the first to observe that some non-profit organizations can be shady. But mostly he believes that support for troubled vets is better than “going to the Legion every Thursday and getting hammered.”
So, his search for a boat began and a PBR fit the bill.
When the Army decided to commit river patrol forces to the waters of Vietnam, it found itself in need of a small, relatively fast patrol craft. And they found one at Hatteras Yachts. Designed by Jack Hargrave, the “Dean of American Yacht Design” in the 1960s and ‘70s, the result was the PBR MK I. It is said that the first prototype was ready just seven days after Hargrave and Hatteras Founder Willis Slane met with US Navy officials. One week.
31 feet long and capable of speeds approaching 25 knots, these “Charlie-chargers” were powered by two 220-horsepower Detroit Diesel 6V53Ns connected by direct drive to a pair of Jacuzzi waterjet pumps. The vast majority of them were ultimately built by another pleasure boat yard, Uniflite, in Bellingham, Washington.
The PBR was manned by four crew; normally a First Class Petty Officer as captain, a gunner’s mate, an engineman, and a seaman. Each crewman was cross-trained in each other’s job in the event one soldier became unable to carry out his duties. Generally PBRs patrolled in pairs under the command of a patrol officer who rode aboard one of the boats in addition to the normal crew. (Of all the veterans who wear the Vietnam service medal, only a small portion served in the River Patrol Force. And in a sense, these men are a group unto themselves. Their uniforms were jungle fatigues, not traditional military uniforms. And they wore the distinctive head gear aboard the PBRs that only those who served with the River Patrol Force were permitted to wear.)
This boat in particular is hull #44 of the PBR and was restored over a 12-year stint by retired Brown Water Navy vets in Washington State. This is one of only a few US Army PBRs, and the last hull ever built of “Mod-2” PBRs. The boat was used for training and never went to Vietnam. It is one of only three still operational in the U.S., and the only non-profit example in the world.
She’s got an 11-foot, 9-inch beam and 2-foot draft. The hull has a sharp entry transitioning to nearly flat deadrise aft. When she’s tuned up she cruises at 23 knots today.
No boat came to symbolize the Brown Water Navy like the PBR of Task Force 116, code named “Game Warden.” The soldiers who manned the PBRs often fought pitched battles with the enemy at ranges of mere feet.
The PBR soldiers became the most highly decorated Army command of the war with two members receiving the Medal of Honor, fourteen the Distinguished Service Cross, and untold numbers of Silver Stars, Bronze Stars, and Purple Hearts.
When Marcus picked up the boat in Washington, not all was unicorns and rainbows. He found it had a bad trailer for starters. It was so bad in fact that all three axles snapped in Colorado. Marcus hired a road-wrecking crew on his nickel to move the boat off the Interstate and was able to get a new custom trailer at cost from a source who liked his cause.
Once home in Florida, he found further issues with the boat itself. The balsa core in the helm floorboard was soft. The old driver armor was replaced by ¼-inch steel. A few other items needed attending to. Amazingly, the boat’s first voyage since the 12-year restoration took place the day before her unveiling at the Ocean Reef Club’s Vintage Weekend.
Marcus is joined in his efforts by Combat Boat Tours COO Jonathan Ramey. Ramey is a U.S. Navy veteran with over 45 years of combined military and commercial maritime experience. He served as a Boatswain’s Mate First Class and First Class Deep Sea Diver, with assignments spanning elite units including Harbor Clearance Units and an Explosive Ordnance Disposal Detachment. After his military career, he captained historic vessels like the USS Potomac and served 18 years as a fireboat pilot for the Oakland Fire Department.
Ramey brings this wealth of operational expertise to Combat Boat Tours as captain. His USCG 500 gross ton Master certification, combined with decades of hands-on experience in special warfare craft and historic vessel operations, makes him uniquely qualified to share the legacy of the Brown Water Navy with authenticity and authority.
Other partners have been critical to the mission, Marcus says. Chief among them is Ocean Reef Club member Jim Slattery, who has been the largest donor and supporter of the project. Without Jim’s support the boat simply would not have been within reach, Marcus says. Slattery owns the National Museum of World War II Aviation in Colorado Springs. Marcus lavishes high praise on Jim’s efforts and his passion for helping veterans.
Another Ocean Reef Club member, Brenton Krumpfes, has been essential in acquiring the boat and boosting the mission. In fact, Marcus says that 95 percent of all donations to Combat Boat Tours have come from members of the Ocean Reef Club. He notes that he was able to raise $185,000 in 90 days among a very small group at ORC, enough to buy the PBR and get her in the water in the Keys. Marcus says both Slattery and Krumpfes are donors to the Navy SEAL Museum in Fort Pierce, Florida as well.
The four-day Vintage Weekend at Ocean Reef concludes with a Sunday brunch and awards ceremony where Combat Boat Tours was honored with the People’s Choice Award. The Ocean Reef Club cut a check for the cause that morning as well.
Combat Boat Tours is a fledgling organization with a big heart. You can help by spreading the word and by donating. Significant donors are rewarded with a scenic ride aboard the PBR at a time of their choosing. On top of their work with veterans, Marcus also hopes to engage with Make-A-Wish in the future to support children facing serious illnesses. This initiative reflects his belief that service extends beyond any single community, and that there is always more good to be done.
This article originally appeared in the April 2026 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
