Dennis Close joins Release Boatworks Management

Industry veteran Dennis Close recently joined the Release Boatworks management team as vice president of sales and marketing.

After a nine-year stint as a submariner in the Navy, Close served in a variety of industry management positions, including time at Cabo Yachts and most recently at Rybovich Boat Co., where he led sales, marketing and business development efforts.

He also founded Patriot Green Power, a company owned by disabled veterans that provides energy solutions and new careers to returning veterans.

“Dennis brings with him a unique skill set, based on his track record of business development and leadership. We’re very pleased to have him on board with us,” Release Boatworks founder Jim Turner said in a statement.

The company also announced that big-game pioneer and legendary billfish skipper Capt. Ron Hamlin will soon take the helm of Release Boatworks’ fractional ownership program.

The plan calls for Hamlin to run a new Release as part of a fractional ownership arrangement, with about four shares available.

“Our thoughts are to put together a multiyear program so the boat is in the world’s best destinations at the best times of the year,” Turner said. “Obviously you can’t fish them all in one season, so we’ll rotate around different areas, many of which Ron has not only fished, but also pioneered.”

Release builds custom sportfishing vessels from 34 to 46 feet in a variety of configurations in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Miami.