KKMI – Keefe Kaplan Maritime Inc

We were very very happy with the service we received at KKMI, from the first phone call to the point where we drove our boat home from the dock. Our project manager, Bob, explained everything clearly to us, and was on hand to help with any questions we had (email, phone and in person). The staff was wonderfully helpful and friendly also.
I asked for an estimate from Bob before work commenced on our boat. The estimate was clear and understandable, and when the time came to pay for the bill, it was within $ 50 of the estimate.
Having the boat out of the water enabled us to do work on her that we can’t do in the water, so we had full access to the boatyard at all times, allowing us to work on her while KKMI was working on her.
We were also crunched for time due to an impending vacation the following week, and KKMI moved fast and launched our boat when they said they would.
I cannot say enough about this boatyard. We will use you all again and again. Thank you so much for the awesome service (and the wine — the wine is great). And SPECIAL thanks to Bob for being such a great project manager. It doesn’t get better than that.

This place is where its at. I am a young sailor with a Catalina 27 and have only had it for about two years. I have been here twice now, first for my bottom job and second for a thru hull replacement. Both times this place has been extremely kind, super up front, and very transparent. Janice recently helped me at the front desk and was super kind to take all my requests. Pricing was never a shock, boats are expensive, get real. The contractors and project managers here also are great. This is not like an automotive shop, where everything is a secret until the end bill comes and its twice as much. This place tells you what you can do to your boat, what you need, and what you might want in the future. No stress and always there to help. Made me feel so much more secure about the status of an older boat. Also they can get you in very quickly usually. I’ve called around to get a haul out in Berkeley within a week and they’re next was two and a half months away. I drove right over to KKMI they pulled my boat out, kept it in the sling, fixed my raw water intake and I was back on my way in a day! Special circumstances but I mean really?! Amazing, KKMI all the way!

Very inconsistent performance and high price. Check everything done carefully! Watch out for Ralf, too!
It turns out that if one doesn’t spew a lot words Unilocal redefines your review as a tip. Guess that means it doesn’t count against the overall rating of the business. Unilocal is owned, at least in part, by KKMI it seems.

Before moving our Baltic 51 to the west coast (from Newport, RI), we conducted due diligence on the bay area boatyards. When the time came, there was only one boatyard we felt comfortable contacting about being hauled. Since then, we’ve used KKMI for various services; yard services, chandlery, custom projects and special orders. The KKMI team is professional, knowledgable and a full-​service yard. They have consistently given us sound (and sometimes free) advice and performed work that meets our high standards, most recently the construction of a new custom stainless steel holding tank.

Over the last 22 months we have been preparing our sailboat to go voyaging. At the beginning of this project, we brought our boat to KKMI because of their quality reputation (and found their work matches their reputation) but we also found something we didn’t expect and just as valuable; KKMI made it easy for us to work on our boat in an economical way.
Throughout our time in the boatyard, we had the freedom to work endlessly on projects at our own pace, and when we needed help, KKMI stepped in with their expertise to handle the big projects or projects we weren’t equipped to handle ourselves. KKMI’s incredible accommodation for the do-​it-​yourselfer allowed us to complete our projects within our budget and with the high-​level of quality that we envisioned.
Additionally, the project manager was always friendly and consistent throughout the entire time we were there. He gave us time and listened to our needs. In the rare case where something didn’t go just right, he bent over backwards to make things right. We love that we felt as important as KKMI’s high-​end clients and we appreciated the invaluable advice we received along the way.
We enjoyed our time there (as much as one can in a boat yard) and we know we won’t go anywhere else in the future. This is why we wanted to write this review. To let other do-​it-​yourselfers know about this great opportunity.

Going to KKMI is a bit like russian roulette… be sure to supervise all work they do, especially on the engine and anything else that may cause your boat to sink. I started out with a budget of $ 10K that quickly went to $ 16K. While in the boat yard, the manager contacted me to tell me that they had an electrical fire while working on the engine and that it must have been the bad wiring. I paid for a new harness and electrical. They called me up to tell me that the boat was ready to be picked up, but they couldn’t get the engine started??? The manager wanted to know what was the trick for turning it on? Really? I got to the yard and paid the money. The boat wouldn’t start after I paid $ 16K. I spent an hour going through the engine check and found that one of the connectors to the engine toggle had not been connected. I started up the engine and smelled plastic burning. I called KKMI and they said it must be the paint in the new exhaust system I had installed.
i docked the boat and took her out a month later, heading up the estuary, only to have another electrical fire. Luckily, I did not have my kids on board, I narrowly averted being run over by a cargo ship, from loss of power.
I had the boat towed to Sven’s, where they found the poor job that KKMI had did on the wiring. None of the connections had been sealed and they left old wiring hanging down exposed in the boat.
KKMI wanted me to bring the boat back for repairs. I refused and threaten to sue… strangely after this, all of my emails to the manager disappeared from my email account… only his… my insurance took care of most of the costs of the repairs and Sven’s did a great job on fixing the problems KKMI created from their shoddy work. They didn’t test the electrical current or sea trial the boat. They are clearly more worried about their bottom line then the safety of their clients after they leave their marina.
I’ve heard more stories like my experience from others, but you will rarely see any critic of KKMI online. They sent me an electronic survey of my satisfaction and then told me not to worry about it after my complaints, so I would really question the accuracy and reliability of their 4 and half stars and customer satisfaction rating.
Good luck and buyer beware.

My sailboat was trucked overland and off loaded here. My rigger and I then prepared the mast for stepping over the next couple of days. KKMI’s staff were always helpful and accommodating. I added a thru-​hull at the last moment and it was installed within hours for a fair price. They stepped the mast without drama and I was able to depart the yard ahead (!) of schedule. Bob Hennessey was my project contact and was great to work with. I had a great experience with KKMI.

This is a very professionally run boat yard run by very friendly people. It’s a large facility with all the necessary equipment and capability to work on any kind of boat, large or small.

Years of knowledge and professionalism.

We would like to voice our opinion on the KKMI Richmond yard. After two haulouts this year, one for our 55′ Alden and the other for our 36′ commercial salmon fishing boat, we are very happy to find this facility. Everyone at KKMI that we encountered was very supportive: owners, project managers, office staff, and workers. Our fishing boat needed major repairs on the shaft, bearings, and couplings. They performed the repairs very quickly and efficiently. KKMI is a top-​quality professional yard and we’re very happy to do our haulouts there.

I’d give it zero stars if I could. I’ve heard that having work done at a boat yard is expensive because they have such huge overhead costs, KKMI sure confirmed this anecdote! Get a quote for everything! The «project (ahem) managers» have no shame (they’re really salesmen). I had some repair work done and felt really ripped off by the price and quality of the work. CAVEAT EMPTOR.

We have been to other boat yards with limited success. I think we thought we’d get a deal? We have a 36′ sailboat and a small power boat. Finally, we started using KKMI in Sausalito. WONDERFUL! Great customer service, realistic about timing and making appointments. Work done when they said. Easy to work with, professional, common sense, etc. They call you back and give realistic estimates. When I was attaching the trailer with my spruced up boat, some one even came over and offered to help… Very nice.

We had our C & C 37 hauled in late July 2012 to do bottom painting/​maintenance and to install a new cutlass bearing and new lifelines. It was the first time we had used KKMI, as they are a bit farther for us to get to. Bottom line: KKMI was excellent. They did the job ahead of schedule and under their estimate. (How rare that is!) Bob Henessey and the rest of the folks at KKMI were most helpful and professional. The haul-​out crew were careful, efficient and helpful. The vessel was out of the water less than 15 minutes after we arrived. The yard is neat and well-​kept. We enjoyed their picnic area where we had a light lunch. Their work and customer relations were 100% to satisfaction. We recommend KKMI highly.

need your yacht, powerboat, sailboat worked on? I prefer kkmi, nice staff. I dropped more money here than most people do on thier houses for maintnance. I do not work on my boat much, but if you do like to do your own work and fix your yacht yourself, it is allowed. My experience was this. I dropped the boat off late in the night, left it there for 1 month on the hard and said…“do it, whatever you wanna do to the bottom, just do it right ” many large numbers with zero’s atached it it and presto, clean yacht with clean bottom ready to go sailing :) you know what BOAT stands for right? Break Out Another Thousand… we only live once and you cannot take your money to the grave… live it up! sail on!

This review is for KKMI location in Sausalito.
Not sure what has happened to the KKMI Sausalito location. KKMI has always been expensive but known to do great work. It seems that there new approach is to sell you on ‘great work’ but then under estimate your job and stick you with an inflated bill. As for the ‘great work’, I have been told that their work is on par with Johnson Hicks, Svendsen’s and others BUT expect to pay a much higher price for the same quality of work.
So here are the details…
I recently took my sailboat in to have some electronics put in. Simple enough if you you have been in business for a while (you know all of the variables and what can possibly and will go wrong).
KKMI told me that my estimate was on the high side and might come in lower (that they had seen jobs like this and wanted to make sure that they were prepared for the unexpected). I was told that I should be confident that I would be getting quality work and that their estimate was realistic (that the competition often underestimated to get the job but that you ended up paying more in the end).
I had shopped the job around and had bids that were 20−35% less (Johnson Hicks, Svendsens) but I decided to stick with KKMI because of their reputation and the sales job I received on ‘why KKMI’ and how they go the extra mile to get things right. That and the fact that it was convenient and they could fit me into their schedule.
Fast forward… boat is back in the slip. Total bill was 40% over the original estimate and the job was completed 2 weeks late.
My recommendation: make sure that EVERYTHING you do is documented.
Otherwise you might end up with… ‘You did tell me about the task but It never went further than a sticky note in your file. I sincerely apologize for that.‘
BOTTOM LINE: Explore other options

We had to write and tell you how pleased and impressed we were with our experience at KKMI. We have had our boat around the corner from KKMI for 10 years and have always assumed the yard was prohibitively expensive. I guess we formed that opinion based on their reputation for serving large and often well-​known yachts. That was certainly not the case. Our little girl, Love and the Wind, couldn’t have been treated better. In fact, nor could we. It was clear from the outset that KKMI is a very professional and capable yard offering the same great customer service to all. We got great work at a great price. Our only regret was not discovering this sooner.
Bart and Paula Mertens

I have taken my boat to KKMI to have a general look what might need fixing before taking off for a longer adventure. They fixed a bow light and exchanged the shaft clamps and and few little things. The price was OK (I think…)
However this is how the boat has been returned to :
— one of the spreader lights was not working (I understood both should have been working)
— the plate at the mast base, where one can get through to the electrical cables was not screwed back on again and the cables were outside…
— and the boat was very dirty… loads of foot steps and not washed off at all.
So, I think they have a quality management issue.
There was however one positive thing: Bob was very pleasant to deal with.

Our new sailboat was in transit up the coast from Long Beach, CA when she developed some serious mechanical issues. KKMI was outrageously accommodating and helpful to us in our time of need. We were already far over-​budget and struggling with a VERY negative experience with our delivery captain. KKMI was sensitive to our challenges and made us feel like part of the family. The repairs were made to a very high standard, despite being a challenging and atypical system. These are great people and a yard that sets a very high standard on all counts.

We just returned for a week on the hard at KKMI. We were long past due on a bottom painting on our 50′ sailboat.
As members of the Berkeley Yacht Club we have access to a lot of information and opinions on different boat yards in the area. After asking way to many people, one thing became very clear. Without exception, everyone said that KKMI was the best. Several also said it was the most expensive, but again, everyone said it was the best.
Well, my dad used to say, «Buy the best and you only cry once.» So we got an estimate from them on the bottom job. Interestingly, it was the same price as everyone else. So the decision to use them was a no– brainer.
While we were there we got a survey for our insurance company and found a few other items that needed repair. Mike Haley, the job foreman, made sure that everything was taken care of in a timely manner. He was very transparent about costs and there were no surprises.
One thing that really impressed me at the boatyard were the number of multimillion dollar racing yachts that were hauled out there. I figure that folks who can afford these boats could also afford to have them hauled at any boatyard in the world. And yet they chose KKMI.
Maybe having these boats in the yard is the reason KKMI has the reputation for being expensive. But that wasn’t my experience. If you are a boat owner, you know that boat’s are expensive. But it’s far more expensive when you have to have something fixed two or three times before it’s finally done right.
I’ll never go anywhere else to get my boat worked on, that’s for sure.

I broke my boat’s mast in May 2007. Called around various yards all around the bay but KKMI stood out as the one with best customer service from the get go.
After the initial phone call, we arranged to take the boat next day to the yard in Richmond and after motoring for 3 hours from Coyote Point, we arrived at their dock and found a place they had reserved to accomodate us immediately. As soon as we checked in with the office, they had 3 riggers on hand taking the rigging apart so we can head back to home port with the favorable tide. In less than 3 hours, the broken mast was taken off the boat and we were able to motor home.
The action that stood out the most was while they were taking the mast down, we asked the project manager if there’s any place we can grab a bit, the project manager radioed the office and the office replied they will find someone to drive us down town to a restaurant of our choosing. It’s one thing to get good service from someone you are dealing with directly, but to get a response from the rest of the organization, now that’s good customer service culture!