Knight & Carver Review

Summary

Knight & Carver began in 1971 as a dockside repair shop stationed in National City, CA on the San Diego Bay. Boats sailing on the West Coast would stop and use the station for repairing and refitting their boats. Over time, Knight & Carver gained a positive reputation and grew the size of the facility. Currently, their facility is a 90,000 square foot enclosed structure that has 1,400 linear feet of dockside space. Thus, Knight & Carver has enough space to have megayachts pull in and stay there for the course of time needed to repair or refit a yacht. At its facility, there is a 170-member workforce that includes experienced master craftsmen, marine engineering professionals, and naval architects. The company also has access to specialty subcontractors. Knight & Carver repairs luxury yachts and has built over 100 megayachts. In 2007, K&C won the American Boat Builder’s award, the Repairer’s Association Boat Yard of the Year award, and the Showboat’s Best Refit for its work on the MY Helios. K&C builds, repairs, and refits private yachts and military ships ranging in size from 30’ to 400’.

Pricing

Used Knight & Carver yachts range in price from $2.4 million (2002 70’ Knight & Carver fiberglass model) to as little as $900 (1977 25’ Carver Santa Cruz fiberglass model). A 1985 Knight & Carver Long Range Sport Fisher (59’ long) is available for $439,000.

Pros

• Fiberglass construction used.
• Reputable company that has won awards.
• Prides itself on timely, efficient, and successful repair of boats.

Cons

• Company primarily targets one type of boat, namely, luxury megayachts. It does not claim to work on other types of boats.
• Yachts are expensive, targeting only an elite audience of buyers.
• Repair and refitting costs will be pricey.

Featured Models

Featured models that are available for sale include the 1995 60’ Open Fishermen that is priced at $295,000, the 1988 80’ Prelude Custom Yacht that is priced at $1.59 million, the 2001 33’ Express valued at $115,000, and the 1999 33’ Express Sport Fisher that is available for $184, 500. All these boats have fiberglass hulls. The Open Fishermen has a 1,250-liter fuel tank, a 500-liter water tank, and total horsepower of 800. The Prelude Custom Yacht is 80’, has a 4,000-gallon fuel tank, a 600-gallon water tank, and produces 1,000hp from its 2 Caterpillar engines. It was a custom project for its buyer. The Express has a 350-gallon fuel tank, a 40-gallon water tank, a total of 370hp, 28 knots maximum speed, and 900 engine hours. The Express Sport Fisher has a 400-gallon fuel tank, a 70-gallon fuel tank, a cruising speed of 20-22 knots, a maximum horsepower of 350, and 615 engine hours.

Conclusion

Knight & Carver is a reputable name in the luxury megayacht industry. The location of its facilities on the San Diego Bay is favorable for people sailing up and down the West Coast. It excels in building luxury yachts and repairing and refitting luxury yachts. It has won awards for building and repairing yachts. As with any luxury yacht company, its boats are expensive.