08/18/2026
๐ฅ๏ธ Kadey-Krogen built great boats.
They knew exactly who their customer was. They built one of the most loyal owner communities in the entire boating industry. They developed nearly 50 years of brand equity and survived multiple economic cycles.
๐๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐๐น๐ ๐ฒ, ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ ๐ณ๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ณ ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ป๐ธ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ๐๐ฐ๐.
Kadey-Krogen built trawlers, not catamarans. But I think what happened should get the attention of every foreign catamaran builder selling boats in the United States.
Customer deposits. Overseas factories. Expansion. After-sales infrastructure. Liquidity. But what happens when any one of those pieces starts to show cracks is a lesson that extends well beyond trawlers.
I broke down what happened and the seven lessons I think today's catamaran builders should take from it:
A boat builderโs reputation is created on the water, but its survival is determined on the balance sheet.
https://www.scalingmasts.com/what-kadey-krogens-bankruptcy-should-teach-every-foreign-catamaran-brand-selling-in-america/
