{"id":86587,"date":"2026-02-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/?p=86587"},"modified":"2026-02-06T16:48:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T21:48:34","slug":"rick-thomas-balk-shipyard-u-s-sales-representative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/2026\/02\/rick-thomas-balk-shipyard-u-s-sales-representative\/","title":{"rendered":"Rick Thomas Joins Balk Shipyard as U.S. Representative"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To better support American clientele, Balk Shipyard has brought Rick Thomas aboard as its U.S. sales representative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Holland-based yard traces its roots to 1798, when Sijbrand Balk bought a boatbuilding site in Elburg, The Netherlands. Later moving to the city of Urk, the yard employed seven consecutive generations of Balk family members. (The family sold the company a few years ago.) Initially, Balk Shipyard built wooden fishing boats, soon adding wooden ship repair. In the late 1930s, construction switched to steel vessels, with yachts becoming a new focus, too, due to the declining fishing industry. Its yachting customers represented a mix of its own clients and fellow builders, since it served as a subcontractor. From the late 20<sup>th<\/sup> century through the last decade, Balk Shipyard pursued both refit projects and new builds. It has prioritized refit for the last several years.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyards-3.jpg\" alt=\"Balk Shipyard\" class=\"wp-image-86590\" srcset=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyards-3.jpg 780w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyards-3-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyards-3-768x394.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Specifically, the size range it focuses on is 98 to 213 feet (30 to 65 meters). It pursues both refits and more detailed rebuilds, like that of <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/2025\/11\/yacht-ursus-recraft\/\">the yacht <em>Ursus<\/em><\/a>. These more complex refits are what Balk Shipyard prefers to calls \u201cReCraft\u201d projects. They\u2019re transom-to-bow and bilge-to-bridge alterations that simultaneously preserve the yacht\u2019s original character.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWith increasing interest from U.S.-based owners in European refit options, it was important for us to establish a knowledgeable and trusted point of contact in the American market,\u201d says Evan Kortmann, the yard\u2019s CEO. \u201cRick brings decades of experience across yacht construction, refit, and owner representation, along with a deep understanding of U.S. client expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"780\" height=\"400\" src=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyard-2.jpg\" alt=\"Balk Shipyard\" class=\"wp-image-86588\" srcset=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyard-2.jpg 780w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyard-2-300x154.jpg 300w, https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Balk-Shipyard-2-768x394.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 780px) 100vw, 780px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thomas, serving as an independent consultant and based in Fort Lauderdale, has more than 40 years\u2019 experience in yachting and maritime. He founded Nautical Structures, for instance. Through his company Rick Thomas Yachting Development, he\u2019s managed new builds and connected international companies with American customers. Furthermore, he hosts Yachting USA, an industry-focused podcast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thomas will support owners\u2019 teams during preliminary evaluation and planning stages. Referring to the shipyard\u2019s approach, he notes, \u201cThey don\u2019t chase novelty for its own sake. They take yachts with soul, history, and pedigree\u2014and make them stronger, smarter, and ready for the future.\u201d Furthermore, \u201cBalk Shipyard is experienced, technically capable, and deeply hands-on, precisely the kind of shipyard many owners are actively looking for,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Balk Shipyard&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.balkshipyard.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>balkshipyard.com<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">U.S. sales for Balk Shipyard <a href=\"mailto:rick.thomas@balkshipyard.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">rick.thomas@balkshipyard.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>To better support American clientele, Balk Shipyard has brought Rick Thomas aboard as its U.S. sales representative. The Holland-based yard traces its roots to 1798, when Sijbrand Balk bought a boatbuilding site in Elburg, The Netherlands. Later moving to the city of Urk, the yard employed seven consecutive generations of Balk family members. (The family [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":86591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,38,2260,2263],"tags":[2561],"class_list":["post-86587","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-builders","category-consultants","category-people","category-yard-news","tag-balk-shipyard","entry"],"featured_image_urls_v2":{"full":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg",2000,1090,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-300x164.jpg",300,164,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-768x419.jpg",768,419,true],"large":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-1024x558.jpg",1024,558,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-1536x837.jpg",1536,837,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg",2000,1090,false],"featured-blog":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-520x780.jpg",520,780,true],"genesis-singular-images":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-780x400.jpg",780,400,true],"singular-full-width":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-1700x660.jpg",1700,660,true],"gform-image-choice-sm":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg",300,164,false],"gform-image-choice-md":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg",400,218,false],"gform-image-choice-lg":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg",600,327,false],"yarpp-thumbnail":["https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard-120x120.jpg",120,120,true]},"post_excerpt_stackable_v2":"<p>To better support American clientele, Balk Shipyard has brought Rick Thomas aboard as its U.S. sales representative. The Holland-based yard traces its roots to 1798, when Sijbrand Balk bought a boatbuilding site in Elburg, The Netherlands. Later moving to the city of Urk, the yard employed seven consecutive generations of Balk family members. (The family sold the company a few years ago.) Initially, Balk Shipyard built wooden fishing boats, soon adding wooden ship repair. In the late 1930s, construction switched to steel vessels, with yachts becoming a new focus, too, due to the declining fishing industry. Its yachting customers represented&hellip;<\/p>\n","category_list_v2":"<a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/builders\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Builders &amp; Refit Yards<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/people\/consultants\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Consultants<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/people\/\" rel=\"category tag\">People<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/category\/builders\/yard-news\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Yard News<\/a>","author_info_v2":{"name":"Diane M. Byrne","url":"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/author\/dianembyrne\/"},"comments_num_v2":"0 comments","yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Rick Thomas Joins Balk Shipyard as U.S. Representative - Megayacht News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cBalk Shipyard is experienced, technically capable, and deeply hands-on, precisely the kind of shipyard many owners are actively looking\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/2026\/02\/rick-thomas-balk-shipyard-u-s-sales-representative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Rick Thomas Joins Balk Shipyard as U.S. Representative - Megayacht News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cBalk Shipyard is experienced, technically capable, and deeply hands-on, precisely the kind of shipyard many owners are actively looking\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/2026\/02\/rick-thomas-balk-shipyard-u-s-sales-representative\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Megayacht News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MegayachtNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T05:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/megayachtnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rick-Thomas-Balk-Shipyard.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1090\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Diane M. 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