Christensen Shipyards LLC

What Christensen Shipyards LLC does

Christensen Shipyards LLC is a privately held U.S. builder of custom luxury motor yachts, founded by contractor Dave Christensen and currently led by two owners who collectively own six Christensen-built vessels. The company designs and constructs ocean-going motor yachts primarily at the 50-meter (164-foot) class at its 180,000-square-foot Vancouver, Washington facility on the Columbia River, with a 7-acre marina and twelve large shipbuilding bays. Construction is built around composite fiberglass hulls using large-scale vacuum infusion with proprietary in-house techniques, claimed to produce a strength-to-weight ratio seven times that of steel, supplemented by in-house HVAC systems, composite salt water piping, integrated glass bridge navigation, and CNC-driven custom component fabrication. All major trades — metalwork, stonework, woodworking, and upholstery — are kept in-house by approximately 120 boat builders representing nearly 1,000 cumulative man-years of experience, structurally aligned by a profit-sharing program returning one-third of annual operating profit to the workforce.

The commercial model is direct enterprise field sales to ultra-high-net-worth individual yacht owners, with revenue generated through multi-year custom construction contracts paid on a milestone-progress basis, supplemented by a recurring refit and maintenance service stream on the existing fleet (Hull 30 through Hull 40+). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and each yacht is built to client specification; current throughput includes Hull 38 (sold, scheduled 2018) and Hull 42 (available 2019), with the company stating immediate availability to begin additional hulls. Brand credibility is supported by a string of International Superyacht Society, Boat International, Robb Report, and Showboats International awards. A planned Tellico Lake, Tennessee facility (55 acres, 450,000 square feet, 13 assembly bays) is intended to extend the product line to yachts up to 225 feet and provide an East Coast production presence alongside the existing West Coast operation.

Name

Christensen Shipyards LLC

Legal name

Christensen Shipyards LLC

Website

https://christensenyachts.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Christensen Shipyards LLC builds custom composite fiberglass luxury motor yachts up to 164 feet at its Vancouver, Washington facility, selling directly to ultra-high-net-worth individual owners through multi-year construction contracts and ongoing refit services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Luxury Yacht Manufacturing

NAICS

Boat Building (336612), Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Luxury Motor Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAMAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury Yacht Hull & Superstructure Fabrication (Composite/Aluminum/Steel) (IMAJAMAG), Luxury Yacht Systems Integration & Commissioning (Shipyard) (IMAJAMAI), Semi-Custom & Series Production Yacht Manufacturing (IMAJAEAM)

Keywords

• Custom yacht building
• Luxury motor yachts
• Composite boat construction
• Yacht refit services
• Transoceanic yacht manufacturing

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Yacht Construction: Christensen builds custom luxury motor yachts to client specifications, with yachts under construction available for purchase and the ability to begin additional hulls. Revenue is generated through upfront payments tied to construction milestones.
2. Yacht Refit and Maintenance Services: Full-service shipyard offering ongoing maintenance and refit services for existing yachts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Christensen Shipyards LLC builds custom luxury American motor yachts up to 164 feet (50 meters) using proprietary composite fiberglass vacuum infusion construction, with all trades including metalwork, stonework, woodworking, and upholstery performed in-house. The company also provides ongoing yacht refit and maintenance services through its full-service shipyard facilities. Approximately 120 boat builders work across the Vancouver, Washington flagship facility, with plans to expand production up to 225-foot vessels at a future Tellico Lake, Tennessee shipyard.

Product overview

Christensen Shipyards LLC builds custom luxury motor yachts up to 50 meters (164 feet) at its Vancouver, Washington facility, with plans to expand to 225-foot yachts at its future Tellico Lake, Tennessee yard. The company offers a portfolio of named yacht hulls (Hull 30 through Hull 40+) that can be custom-built to client specifications. All yacht construction—including metalwork, stonework, woodworking, and upholstery—is performed in-house at company facilities, using composite fiberglass construction with vacuum infusion technology. The company currently has Hull 38 (sold, launched 2018) and Hull 42 (available 2019) under construction, and maintains a fleet gallery of completed vessels.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 50M Yacht Series Christensen's primary product line of 164-foot (50-meter) ocean-going motor yachts built with composite fiberglass construction featuring vacuum infusion and proprietary in-house techniques, delivering a strength-to-weight ratio seven times stronger than steel and solid laminate. Targeted at ultra-high-net-worth yacht owners seeking transoceanic global explorer vessels.
• Custom Yacht Construction Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Strength-to-weight ratio seven times stronger than steel and solid laminate through vacuum infusion composite construction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Feadship: Dutch builder of fully custom luxury motor yachts (typically 60m+), widely regarded as a top-tier superyacht brand with multi-generational pedigree. Competes with Christensen at the upper end of the market and for the same top-decile UHNW buyer pool.
• Lürssen: German luxury yacht builder covering the full custom superyacht spectrum up to the largest yachts in the world (>100m). Major incumbent competing for the same UHNW megayacht buyers Christensen targets, particularly with the planned 225-ft expansion.
• Benetti: Italian luxury motor yacht builder (part of Azimut-Benetti Group) producing semi-custom and custom yachts across a broad range of sizes. Established incumbent in the global luxury motor yacht market with significant brand recognition.
• Oceanco: Dutch builder of large custom superyachts (typically 80m+) competing at the top of the global luxury market. Comparable in targeting ultra-high-net-worth buyers seeking fully custom, ocean-going motor yachts.

Emerging players

• Crescent Custom Yachts: North American (British Columbia, Canada) builder of composite custom motor yachts, with comparable construction techniques (composite construction) and a similar target market of UHNW buyers seeking semi-custom luxury motor yachts in the 30–45m range.
• Hakvoort Shipyard: Dutch boutique custom yacht builder producing fully custom luxury motor yachts (typically 35–65m). Comparable in size, custom-build model, and target buyer profile, though smaller order book than top-tier European incumbents.

Direct peers

• Westport Yachts: US-based builder of luxury semi-custom motor yachts in similar size classes (typically 130–180 ft). Closest direct competitor to Christensen in the American-built luxury motor yacht segment, with comparable semi-custom series production model and shared Pacific Northwest heritage.
• Heesen Yachts: Dutch luxury motor yacht builder offering semi-custom aluminum yachts in the 50–70m range with comparable lead times and similar UHNW customer profile. Direct competitor for global explorer megayacht buyers that Christensen targets with its 164-ft series and planned 225-ft builds.
• Delta Marine: US Pacific Northwest-based custom yacht builder (Seattle) producing motor yachts up to ~200 ft. Competes directly with Christensen for the same US-built luxury custom segment and shares the regional skilled-trades labor pool.
• Trinity Yachts: US-based (Louisiana) custom superyacht builder producing motor yachts in the 120–190 ft range. Competes with Christensen for American-built custom luxury motor yacht orders with similar build-to-order lead times.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/christensen-shipyards-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Christensen Shipyards LLC