Richmond Yachts, owned by Texas businessman Don Davis, began operations April 2004 in Richmond BC, Canada, at the facility that was formerly Sovereign Yachts.

When Sovereign Yachts, Canada ceased operations in September 2003 Davis funded the completion of his 138-foot tri-deck yacht Status Quo. It was one of two hulls under construction by Sovereign at the time.

Davis subsequently purchased the yard’s infrastructure, leased the space, retained a 50 person workforce and in April, 2004 commenced operations as Richmond Yachts. He immediately resumed construction of a 142-foot hull, started by Sovereign, that is scheduled to launch December 2005. A lifelong yachtsman who has owned several yachts, Davis said he plans to begin building each yacht on speculation.

The six-acre yard features a new 70,000 square foot, climate controlled state of the art facility, and has the capacity to simultaneously build four composite yachts from 120 feet to 155 feet in length. Situated on the Fraser River in Vancouver, the yard has in excess of 500 feet of deep water dockage. In addition, a separate laminating facility contains all of the tooling as well as fiberglassing operations. Richmond Yachts is only a 15 minute drive from the Vancouver International Airport, and 30 minutes from all the amenities of the downtown core.

As Richmond Yacht’s President and CEO Davis is the majority owner of the yard and has assembled a group of experienced professionals to manage the operations.

Keith Kiselback, Vice President of Operations, spent four years in that position at Crescent Custom Yachts before coming to Sovereign seven years ago. During his 25 years in the business Kiselback has been involved in building more than 50 yachts. He and Davis work together on the design and detail of every yacht.

Gavin Ericksen will be responsible for the naval architecture. Ericksen spent three years in charge of the design department at Crescent Custom Yachts. He has extensive experience with composite construction and was responsible for numerous independent design projects as large as 150 feet.

Warren Hutson will head up Richmond’s engineering department for all projects. Hutson has designed and controlled construction of numerous high tech manufacturing facilities. His troubleshooting expertise permit him to develop and implement design solutions. Hutson and Davis have been partners in numerous other businesses for over 25 years and Hutson has joined Richmond Yachts as a stock holder. back to top