Kinetic Catamarans upgrades Knysna yard while multiple hulls stay in build

Kinetic Catamarans said its Knysna yard was being upgraded while multiple hulls stayed in build at different stages of completion, a useful signal for buyers watching whether a boutique carbon-cat builder can expand without slowing deliveries. The April 2026 update framed the work as a live production story, not a pause for construction, with the company saying production had not missed a beat even as the facility evolved.

That matters because Kinetic’s business has been built around a narrow, performance-first lineup. The company says all of its models are built in Knysna, South Africa, and it describes itself as a 2018 joint venture between Bob Hayward, a U.S. real estate developer and entrepreneur, and Leon Scheepers, a South African boatbuilder with multihull experience. Its KC54 is positioned as a high-performance luxury carbon-fiber catamaran for a cruising couple and for fast coastal and offshore sailing, while the KC62 uses carbon-fiber resin-infused hulls and requires thousands of man-hours to complete.

The latest yard note fits a pattern of sustained activity rather than a one-off burst. In late 2023, Kinetic described the yard as "stacked," with four boats in rotation and plans to launch two boats in 2024 while beginning work on new facilities. A later update said the company was "weeks from the launch of 5405" with hulls 5406-08 in production. By April 2026, the message had shifted from a single launch window to ongoing throughput, with multiple hulls still moving through the yard as upgrades continued.

That kind of cadence gives the brand a credibility boost with prospective owners. Kinetic has already used public milestones to reinforce its market position, including the first KC54 hull’s debut at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis and the handover of the KC54 SV Happy Together in Knysna. The company also says the KC54 won Sail Magazine’s Best Large Multihull award in 2022, a marker that helped define the model’s place in the performance-cruising market.

The broader footprint is also growing. A 2025 assessment document referenced a proposed Kinetic Catamarans industrial facility on Erf 1339 in Knysna, pointing to a formal expansion track alongside the yard work already underway. Taken together, the April 2026 update reads less like routine housekeeping and more like evidence of a builder trying to scale capacity, protect delivery flow, and keep its carbon-cat program moving at full pace.