Throw out any preconceived notions you may have about sport-fishing yachts—even large ones. III Amigos—a 94-footer from the consortium of boatbuilder Michael Rybovich, designer Patrick Knowles and an experienced owner—is far more mega-yacht than most fishing machines.

III Amigos was born in a peculiar fashion. Its owner, who spends 50 to 60 days a year fishing, first approached Rybovich but, before signing, asked Knowles to do a dizzying collection of realistic renderings to show the final result. Knowles had a solid knowledge base from working with the owner on previous yachts as well as the owner’s five homes and his business jet, so he had a good idea about where to start.

The Rybovich team was led by Rybovich, with his son Dusty as naval architect. Seasoning the mix was the owner’s captain, Jody Whitworth, who has fished the seven seas and skippered the owner’s previous Merritt 86. Whitworth had folders of ideas to incorporate.

The yacht was handcrafted of cold-molded mahogany (three layers in the sides and four layers on the bottom) with teak decking. Dusty Rybovich’s design has a distinctive long foredeck and unbroken sheerline, but it differs slightly from traditional Rybovich designs with slightly more deadrise (7 degrees rather than 6 degrees). Prop pockets bring the half-load draft for the 165,000-pound yacht to 5 feet, making it Bahamas-friendly.