MEET KIT DENSION
Christopher W. (“Kit”) Denison literally grew up in the yachting and marina industry. He
worked in the family boat-building and repair business of Broward Marine, in Fort Lauderdale
and at Saugatuck Marine in Saugatuck, Michigan. He worked in all phases of both operations,
and learned enough of the trade to build his first three boats (2 Lightning sailboats and a small
hydroplane) before graduating from high school. He also taught sailing and raced sailboats
during the summers.
After graduating from Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale in 1961, he attended and graduated
from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1965. From 1966 to 1971,
Denison worked in New York City for ABC as the Director of Research and ultimately as the
National Sales Director for the ABC Radio Station Group.
After getting this “outside” experience, Kit was then invited back into the family business
by his father. For the next 12 years (1971-1983), he helped build Broward Marine from a
respectable $1 million/year custom wooden yacht builder to the leading, and very profitable,
U.S. manufacturer of custom aluminum motoryachts in 1983, with 300+ employees, two
plants, and over $20 million in sales.
He left Broward Marine in 1983 to start Denison Marine, which became the recognized leader
in 100’+, high-performance (30+ knots) aluminum motoryachts. Denison Marine was built
from scratch, and it included a 76,000 square foot manufacturing facility and a megayacht
marina for yachts up to 200 feet.
Denison Marine pioneered the use of jet and surface drive systems in the U.S. Kit estimates
that he was involved in the building of approximately 100 motoryachts between Broward and
Denison Marine, from 38’ to 140’.
In 1993, Denison Marine merged into Broward Marine, after which Kit founded Denison Yacht
Sales – now owned and operated by his son Bob. In the fall of 2012, Bob asked Kit to come
back aboard DYS as a yacht broker, where Kit now is a member of the Superyacht Division and
specializes in Broward and Denison yachts.
K i t D e n s i o n l | 9 5 4 . 6 1 4 . 2 8 8 8 | K i t @ D e n i s o nYa c h t S a l e s . c o m