German builder of carbon fast cruisers and the world’s largest solar-powered boat
Knierim Yachtbau is a German shipyard specializing in custom-built racing sailboats and carbon composite fast cruisers. Founded in 1965 by Günter Knierim in Laboe on the east shore of Kiel Bay, the yard was taken over in 2000 by his son Gunnar Knierim, who relocated it in 2002 to the Kiel Canal (Uferstrasse 100, Kiel-Holtenau), where it now occupies over 20,000 m².
From wooden cutter repair to high-performance carbon composites
Initially, the Laboe workshop maintained and repaired solid-wood fishing cutters. The shift to high-performance composites occurred under the second generation. Today the yard builds carbon sandwich structures (prepreg, epoxy infusion, foam or Nomex core) for sailboats from 30 feet to 30 meters: maxi racers (Botin 65, Ker 51/56), all-carbon fast cruisers (FC53, FC56), one-designs (6mR), and high-performance cruising projects.
A dedicated tooling division: Knierim Tooling
The group houses a dedicated division, Knierim Tooling, equipped with large-capacity 5-axis milling machines for producing precision molds and patterns for its own boats and external clients. The yard also features a climate-controlled hall, a quay on the Kiel Canal, and lifting capacity up to 25 tonnes.
