Drew Leishman, a member of the Dana Point commissioning team, recently fulfilled the final requirement of ABYC’s three-tiered certification process earning him the prestigious title of ABYC Master Technician. In late August, Leishman completed his third ABYC certification in Marine Electrical Systems which guaranteed him the Master status. Prior to this last requisite , Leishman had completed the very rigorous Marine Systems and the ABYC Standards certificates.

Each certificate involves 4 days of intensive training by an ABYC instructor, followed by a fifth day of written and practical exams. (Leishman passed each exam with exceptionally high marks.)

The ABYC (American Boat and Yacht Council) is a non-profit organization which sets standards for the safe construction and maintenance of boats in the United States. It mandates benchmarks to be reached on items such as required electrical cable color coding, size and construction, some of which (ie. bilge pump requirements) are legally binding.

In addition to his ABYC credentials Leishman also attended and received a diploma from the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, Rhode Island in 2010.

Leishman obviously has boating mechanical know-how in his genes; his dad, Jeff, is Nordhavn’s Chief of Design, while uncle, Jim, is vice president of Pacific Asian Enterprises (PAE). Like his family before him, Drew Leishman has laid a path of hard work that has led to his successes as one of PAE’s most skilled commissioning techs. He began working in the Florida office as dock crew in 2008 before taking an intensive and focused approach toward mastering yacht mechanics and systems.

“We are proud of the fact that our employees have the ambition and desire to constantly learn and improve their skill sets,” said PAE President Dan Streech. “Drew is a shining example of this and also offers proof of the kind of work and work ethic the Nordhavn commissioning team is capable of.”