Ker Yacht Design

What Ker Yacht Design does

Ker Yacht Design (legal entity Yacht Design Technology Ltd) is a privately held naval architecture firm founded in 1997/2000 and headquartered in Winchester, UK, with a registered office in Swanage. The studio of approximately 8-10 designers produces bespoke performance yacht designs across four categories: racing yachts (Ker 40/46/52/56, Sydney GTS 43), cruising yachts (Southerly 46RS, Bavaria C65, Salona 60/67, De Antonio D32/D36), luxury multihulls (the McConaghy Catamaran series from MC50 to MC115, largely in carbon fibre), and superyachts (including a 93m motor yacht concept). It also sells the Panther rowing boat sub-brand. The firm derives revenue from two streams: high-value custom commissions for individual owners, America's Cup syndicates, and grand-prix racing teams, and licensing of design packages to production boat builders for serial manufacture. The flagship commercial relationship is with McConaghy Boats, which produces the MC multihull range in Zhuhai, China.

The firm's technical stack is the primary differentiator. All designs since 2003 have been modelled in 3D using Siemens NX with full parametric assemblies, integrated with NX Nastran for finite-element structural analysis and Numeca FINE/Marine for computational fluid dynamics. A proprietary Neural Network-based design optimization system, developed through America's Cup campaigns, learns from validated CFD and tank-test data to predict performance across hundreds or thousands of design variations without running CFD for each. An automated batch processing system (ABPS) enables parallelized design exploration. Virtual reality tours are used to walk clients through prospective designs. Jason Ker, the founder and principal designer, holds an honorary Doctor of Maritime Studies from Southampton Solent University and is active on the ORC International Technical Committee.

The go-to-market is sales-led and enterprise-oriented: direct relationships with sailing teams, America's Cup campaigns (Shosholoza, United Internet Team Germany, Ben Ainslie Racing, Team New Zealand), and wealthy yacht owners, combined with B2B licensing partnerships with McConaghy Boats, Northshore Yachts, Bavaria, Salona, and De Antonio. The firm has no external institutional investors, no parent company, and no public revenue disclosure. Geographic reach spans the UK, China, Australia, the USA, the Netherlands, France, Malta, South Africa, Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, with the bulk of revenue concentrated in high-end racing and custom commissions rather than consumer sales.

Name

Ker Yacht Design

Legal name

Yacht Design Technology Ltd

Website

https://kerdesign.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Ker Yacht Design is a privately held UK naval architecture firm of about 10 designers in Winchester producing bespoke racing yachts, cruising yachts, performance catamarans, and superyachts, plus a Panther rowing boat line, combining custom commissions for America's Cup teams and owners with licensed design packages to production boat builders like McConaghy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Naval Architecture & Yacht Design Services

NAICS

Other Specialized Design Services (54149), Ship and Boat Building (33661)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro primary industry

Project Management & Owner’s Engineering / Technical Consultancy (Spec Writing, Bid Support, Site Support) (IMAJAGAO)

Keywords

• Yacht design services
• Naval architecture
• Performance yacht design
• Multihull design
• Marine design consultancy

Headquarters

HQ city

Winchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Custom Yacht Design Services: Bespoke naval architecture and yacht design services for individual client commissions including America's Cup campaigns, custom racing yachts, and luxury cruising vessels.
2. Production Yacht Design Licensing: Design packages licensed to production boat builders such as McConaghy Boats (multihull range), Bavaria (C65), Northshore Yachts (Southerly range), and others for serial production.
3. Rowing Boat Design: Panther rowing boat designs for competitive rowing including singles, doubles, quads, and eights with customization options.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Ker Yacht Design is a specialist naval architecture studio that designs performance and cruising sailing yachts, multihull catamarans and trimarans, motor yachts/super-yaughts, and Panther rowing boats. Designs are delivered either as bespoke engineering packages for individual owners and racing teams (including America's Cup campaigns) or as licensed packages to production boat builders such as McConaghy Boats, Northshore Yachts, Bavaria, Salona, and De Antonio. The studio differentiates itself by combining 3D parametric CAD, CFD, FEA, neural-network-driven optimization, and VR visualization to validate performance gains within 1% of tank-test results.

Product overview

Ker Yacht Design is a specialist yacht design studio offering a comprehensive portfolio of yacht designs across multiple categories. The core product portfolio includes Racing Yacht Designs (Ker 40, Ker 46, Ker 46+, Ker 52, Sydney 43 GTS, and related IRC/ORC race boats), Cruising Yacht Designs (Salona, Bavaria, Southerly, and De Antonio powerboats), Multihull Yacht Designs (the MC series catamarans from 50ft to 115ft for McConaghy Boats featuring carbon fibre construction), Large Yacht/Superyacht Designs (motor yachts, sailing superyachts, and trimarans), and Panther Rowing Boats (competitive rowing shells). The company also provides technical consultancy services leveraging advanced technologies including 3D CAD, FEA, CFD, Neural Network optimization, Virtual Reality, and Tank Testing. Services are delivered through their Winchester, UK-based design office with a team of approximately ten designers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Panther Rowing Boats: A sub-brand of rowing boats under Ker Yacht Design, offering single, double, quad, four, and eight-person boats.

Products and services

• Racing Yacht Designs High-performance racing yacht designs for IRC, ORC, and class-rule owners and teams. The portfolio includes the Ker 40, Ker 46, Ker 46+, Ker 52, Ker 56, and Sydney 43 GTS series, with proven race-winning results across Rolex Fastnet, Transpac, Sydney Hobart, Admiral's Cup, RORC Caribbean 600, Middle Sea Race, Loro Piana Giraglia, and class championships.
• Cruising Yacht Designs Luxury cruising yacht designs for private owners and licensed production builders, including the Salona 60, Salona 67, Bavaria C65, Southerly 46RS, and De Antonio D32 and D36 Open powerboats. Designs combine modern interiors, cruising amenities, and Ker-validated performance hull forms; the D36 Open won European Powerboat of the Year under 14m in 2023.
• Multihull Yacht Designs Luxury performance and cruising catamarans developed for McConaghy Boats under the MC range, from 50ft to 115ft, including MC50, MC60, MC63P (foil-assisted power catamaran), MC75, MC77, MC82P, MC86, MC86C, MC90, MC100, and MC115. Vessels are built largely in carbon-fibre composite and combine interior volume with high-performance sailing capability.
• Large Yacht (Superyacht) Designs Bespoke large-scale naval architecture for superyacht clients, including the 93m Motor Yacht, 107ft Sloop, 68m Trimaran, MC100, and MC115, delivered as one-off design packages with multidisciplinary coordination through partners such as Design Unlimited and m2atelier.
• Panther Rowing Boats High-performance rowing shells designed for competitive and recreational rowing, including Singles (1x), Doubles/Pairs (2x/-), Quads/Fours (4x/+/-), and Eights (8+) with configurable seat styles, track lengths, and rigger arrangements tailored to crew weight and boat style.
• Yacht Design Technology and Consultancy Services Advanced naval architecture consultancy using 3D CAD (Siemens NX), Finite Element Analysis (NX Nastran), Computational Fluid Dynamics (Numeca FINE/Marine), Virtual Reality visualization, Neural Network-Based Design Optimization, the Automated Batch Processing System (ABPS), and tank-testing validation. Engaged by clients requiring optimization, simulation and structural-engineering capability as a standalone service or integrated within a yacht design commission.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tank and CFD deltas between baseline and optimized hull forms always agreed within one percent
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• McConaghy BoatscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerPrimary strategic manufacturing partner for the MC (McConaghy Catamaran) multihull range including MC50, MC60, MC68, MC75, MC77, MC82P, MC86, MC86C, MC90, MC100, MC115. Designs built in carbon fiber composite at McConaghy's facilities in Zhuhai, China.
• Design UnlimitedminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterior design partner for MC50 catamaran and Southerly 46RS cruising yacht
• m2atelierminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInterior design partner for MC75 catamaran
• Northshore YachtscoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerUK-based builder for Southerly range including Southerly 46RS - swing keel cruiser designed by Ker Yacht Design
• BavariaminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerGerman production builder for Bavaria C65 cruising yacht designed by Ker Yacht Design
• SalonaminorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerCroatian builder for Salona 60 and Salona 67 cruising yachts
• De AntoniominorOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerSpanish builder for De Antonio D32 and D36 Open powerboats with Ker Yacht Design providing naval architecture and mould design. D36 Open won European Powerboat of the Year 2023.
• Red Bull Advanced TechnologiescoreTechnology or IntegrationTechnical partnership during Americas Cup campaigns with Ben Ainslie Racing, providing advanced simulation and optimization capabilities
• Team ConciseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDesign partnership for Class 40 'Concise 8' and 'Forty One Design' - most advanced and extensive R&D effort including neural network optimization techniques
• Grant Dalton / Team New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommission for MC63P foil-assisted power catamaran - high-speed power cat originally commissioned by Grant Dalton, renowned sailor and CEO of Team New Zealand

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Guillaume Verdier Design: French naval architect behind IMOCA 60 and Volvo 65 programs as well as America's Cup and Ultime trimarans. Direct peer in high-performance racing design, optimization technology, and AC / offshore racing client base.
• Dubois Naval Architects: UK-based superyacht design firm with extensive sailing and motor yacht portfolio. Direct peer in the design-only, client-led consultancy space for premium yacht commissions, with similar licensor-to-builders distribution model.
• VPLP Design: French naval architecture firm specializing in high-performance racing and cruising multihulls (including America's Cup campaigns). Direct competitor of Ker Yacht Design in the multihull and AC design space, with overlapping client base of HNW owners and competitive sailing teams.
• Reichel/Pugh Yacht Design: US-based racing yacht design firm behind many TP52, Maxi, and grand prix race winners. Comparable in race-winning track record, advanced CFD/simulation workflow, and HNW/team-owner client base in the Americas.
• Dykstra Naval Architects: Dutch naval architecture firm specializing in classic and modern superyachts (J-Class, Rondal, Hoek). Comparable in design-only consultancy model for high-end luxury vessel commissions, with overlapping mega-yacht client base.
• Humphreys Yacht Design: UK-based yacht design firm offering racing and cruising yacht design with comparable technology stack. Direct geographic peer in the British yacht design cluster, competing for the same HNW owners, America's Cup campaigns, and production builder licensing.
• Farr Yacht Design: Established US-based yacht design firm with deep racing pedigree across IOR, IMS, IRC, TP52, and superyacht classes. Comparable in technology-driven design, race-winning results, and broad client base spanning amateur owners to professional syndicates.
• Botin Partners (Botin International Naval Architecture): Spanish-based racing yacht design house (TP52, IMOCA, Maxi classes) that designs Ker-rival boats like the Botin TP52. Direct peer in IRC, ORC, and offshore racing yacht design, with comparable technology-driven, race-winning positioning.
• Philippe Briand Design: French yacht designer known for both luxury cruising yachts and racing Maxi designs. Competitor in the design-only space for production builder licensing and bespoke superyacht commissions, with overlapping HNW client base.
• Judel/Vrolijk & Co: German naval architecture firm with deep credentials in IRC, IMS, and offshore racing yachts (TP52, Maxi classes). Comparable in technology stack, client base (HNW owners, racing teams), and design-only delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KerYachtDesign
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ker-yacht-design
• Instagraminstagram.com/keryachtdesign

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Ker Yacht Design