BROWARD MARINE: THE EARLY YEARS Frank Denison, the founder of Broward Marine, started his yachting career by buying boats on spec, making the necessary repairs, and then reselling them. In fact, “Mr. D,” as he was known to everyone, is credited with installing the first diesel engines in a yacht in the mid 1930s, in Benton Harbor, Michigan. In 1948, while on his honeymoon with his wife, Gertrude, Frank bought the Fort Lauderdale shipyard Dooley’s Dry Dock, which had become a defense contractor during World War II building PT boats. Frank renamed the yard Broward Marine shortly after.