In July, it was reported that Kadey-Krogen would be filing for Chapter 7—a total liquidation of the company. Fingers are pointing, and opinions are being cast on docks around the world.
In recent years, the builder aimed to branch out and evolve the 50-year-old trawler brand to include a motoryacht company with its line of Summit yachts, while also diversifying through the acquisition of American Tug. As armchair experts debate whether those were the right moves for the brand, I’m reminded of Theodore Roosevelt’s now-famous “Man in the Arena” speech, in which he said: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming…”
From where I’m sitting, the loss of Kadey-Krogen is a loss for the trawler market at large. A stalwart of the category, it was a formidable player that offered stiff competition—a good thing for both businesses and consumers—to the remaining trawler brands.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the brand and the grief its closure leaves in its wake. I feel for the employees, the builders, the customers, and the passionate Kadey-Krogen faithful who ply the seas.
When I was still new to Power & Motoryacht, I joined the crew of a Kadey-Krogen 55 Expedition on a nearly week-long delivery from Stuart, Florida, to Coinjock, North Carolina. It proved to be a formative experience. It was the longest delivery I had done at that point and included my first night passages. I learned why trawlers are so beloved and discovered that life at eight knots carries with it many hidden rewards. I concluded my story about that trip by writing:
“Looking back on my experience helping to deliver Olympia, I have to say I learned a lot. I learned not just about the seaworthiness of a Kadey-Krogen, but the importance of regular engine checks and log entries. I learned about navigating and course planning at night. But more importantly, I learned the value of turning your phone (and the world) off for a while and enjoying the simple things, like a long conversation in the salon, a mid-afternoon nap, or a starry night alone in the pilothouse. I guess slowing down isn’t such a bad thing after all.”
Like all of you, I’m left to ponder what comes next for this once-proud brand. While the short-term certainly isn’t pretty, it’s not impossible that someone with deep pockets and a love for Kadey-Krogen will try to bring it back from the dead. I can think of many far less storied builders that have risen from the ashes and mounted successful second acts.
But until then, to all those who say the Kadey-Krogen brand is dead, I have to respectfully disagree. The company may be out of production for now, but as long as those boats continue to chase the horizon and help their owners make lifelong memories, the brand lives on. This may be the end of one chapter, but the story itself continues.
See you on the water,
Dan
daniel.harding@firecrown.com
@danhardingboating
