Kadey-Krogen Yachts Trawlers & Explorer Yachts
Kadey-Krogen 52 Buyer's Guide, an Ocean Trawler After the Builder's Reported Liquidation
A full-displacement, Taiwan-built passagemaker with a Portuguese bridge, an office below and 3,300 nm of range on a single John Deere.
- Length
- 57.8 ft17.6 m
- Beam
- 17.8 ft5.41 m
- Cruise
- 8 kn
- Cabins
- 2 plus an office (office converts to a third stateroom)
- Used price
- $1.2M to $2.4M
On this page
- Overview
- Kadey Krogen in 2026, what the Chapter 7 report means for 52 buyers
- Patterned after the 58, built on all-new tooling
- On deck, a Portuguese bridge and wing stations
- An office below, and two or three staterooms
- Single or twin John Deere, and the numbers
- Owning a 52 when the factory is gone
- Specifications
- Price and value
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Used buyer checklist
- Rivals
- Our verdict
- FAQ
The Krogen 52 is a 57-foot-9-inch full-displacement pilothouse trawler from Kadey-Krogen Yachts, built by Asia Harbor Yacht Builders in Taiwan. It carries 1,400 gallons for a 3,300 nm range at 7 knots. In July 2026 the builder was reported to be filing for Chapter 7.
- Liveaboard couples planning ocean passages
- Bahamas, Caribbean and Inside Passage cruising
- Owners who work aboard and need an office
- Buyers who value seakeeping over speed
Kadey Krogen in 2026, what the Chapter 7 report means for 52 buyers
Anyone researching Kadey Krogen trawlers this year needs to start with the news. In July 2026, Power & Motoryacht reported that Kadey-Krogen would be filing for Chapter 7, which is a total liquidation of the company. The magazine noted that in recent years the builder had expanded into motoryachts with its Summit line and diversified by acquiring American Tug, and said the brand is out of production for now.
For a Krogen 52 buyer, that changes the purchase in practical ways rather than in the boat itself. There are no new 52s to order, factory warranty coverage on late hulls may be in doubt, and parts and technical support will increasingly come from independent yards, the original suppliers and the owner community. The boats themselves were built by Asia Harbor Yacht Builders in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, which PassageMaker described in 2013 as the yard where every Kadey-Krogen had been built for the previous 25 years, and they use mainstream components: John Deere engines, Northern Lights generators and ABT TRAC thrusters and stabilizers.
Kadey-Krogen says its tradition dates to 1977. The 52 was one of its most complete expressions: an all-oceans trawler with liveaboard accommodations for a couple or family.
Kadey-Krogen 52 by the numbers
- Speed to length ratio at cruise
- 1.13Cruises at displacement speed, the most fuel efficient way to cover long distances.
- Estimated range at cruise
- 2,724 nmUsing 90 percent of tank capacity at the cruise speed and fuel burn listed on this page.
- Fuel economy at cruise
- 2.16 nmpgNautical miles per gallon at cruise, both engines combined.
- Horsepower per ton
- 9 hpModest power to weight, efficiency over outright speed.
- Length to beam ratio
- 3.25 : 1Moderate proportions.
Patterned after the 58, built on all-new tooling
When Power & Motoryacht previewed the 52 in 2010, Kadey-Krogen said it would fill the gap between its 48 and 55 but was really patterned after the Krogen 58. It shares the 58's raised pilothouse with reverse-raked windows, its Portuguese bridge and its aft deck shaded by an extended boat deck. It also shares what Kadey-Krogen called a counter-faired keel, shaped to direct counter-rotating water into the propeller for efficiency. The company built entirely new tooling for the 52, and the launch was projected for mid-2011.
PassageMaker's John Wooldridge followed the build from the plugs at Asia Harbor through to the finished boat and tested the 52 in the light winds of a September morning. He described the trademark springy sheer of the tall bow, the stout raised pilothouse behind a large Portuguese bridge and a flybridge deck that extends to the sides, sheltering the starboard side deck and the aft deck.
Kadey-Krogen says the whole boat is built from only three molded pieces, avoiding secondary bonds and caulk joints. The first two laminates below the waterline use blister-resistant vinylester with aramid reinforcement, the hull has six longitudinal stringers, and decks and superstructure are cored and vacuum-bagged.
On deck, a Portuguese bridge and wing stations
The 52 is laid out for short-handed ocean work. Wooldridge found twin wing control stations at the corners of the Portuguese bridge walkway, each with engine start and stop, throttles and thruster controls for docking. Lockers inside the bridge structure store gear, and Dutch doors on each side of the pilothouse and at the galley keep weather out while letting air in.
Forward, the foredeck is a single level behind tall bulwarks and welded stainless rails, with a heavily molded bowsprit carrying two rollers and a Maxwell HWC 3500 windlass with dual chain wheels. The chain locker is divided and reinforced with aramid to act as a collision bulkhead. Aft, the teak-planked aft deck has a transom door and two side gates, with large freeing ports that Kadey-Krogen needed for its CE Category A Ocean rating.
The pilothouse gives the helmsman nearly 270 degrees of visibility, with a full-width electronics console, chart table and a raised settee whose table drops to form a double watch berth. The flybridge has its own helm, an L-shaped settee and a boat deck with a davit for the tender.
An office below, and two or three staterooms
Six full-size household stairs lead down from the pilothouse to the salon and galley, surrounded by large Diamond Sea Glaze windows. The galley used GE and Jenn-Air stainless appliances with a Viking LPG range on the test boat, and Corian or optional granite counters.
Four steps further down is the accommodations level, and here the 52 shows its liveaboard focus. The standard plan puts an open office with a large desk, shelves and file drawers at the foot of the stairs, a master stateroom forward with an island queen, and a guest stateroom to starboard, each with private access to a head. A washer-dryer sits in the companionway.
Kadey-Krogen offered alternatives, including converting the office to a third stateroom and moving a full-beam master amidships. When shopping used boats, the layout matters as much as the engines, because it defines whether the boat suits a cruising couple, a family or charter-style guests.
Single or twin John Deere, and the numbers
The standard engine is a single 231 hp John Deere diesel, with twin John Deeres as an option; the 2010 preview listed twin 121 hp engines, and a 2015 boat on the brokerage market carried twin 160s. Kadey-Krogen's numbers, which PassageMaker verified on its test, show a top speed of 9.6 knots at 2,350 rpm on about 10.2 gallons per hour and a cruise of 8 knots at 1,500 rpm on about 3.7 gph.
With 1,400 gallons of fuel, Kadey-Krogen estimated a range of 3,300 nautical miles at 7 knots with a 10 percent reserve, and about 1,700 nautical miles at 9 knots. To simulate an engine failure, the builder ran hull number three on just one of its twin 121 hp John Deeres and saw 7.5 knots at 2,000 rpm on 3.7 gph, a strong argument for the twin option among offshore owners.
Sound levels on PassageMaker's test were low: 55 dBA at idle in the pilothouse, 61 at 8 knots and 67 at wide open throttle with the generator running. The engine room sits between forward and aft watertight doors with 6 feet 3 inches of headroom at the forward end.
Owning a 52 when the factory is gone
Plan on roughly $70,000 to $140,000 a year to run a Krogen 52, depending on slip, insurance, how far you cruise and whether you use paid help for maintenance. Fuel is a small line at 3 to 4 gallons per hour; haul-outs, bottom paint, stabilizer and thruster service, generators and electronics make up most of the budget.
With the builder's reported liquidation, the Kadey-Krogen owner community becomes even more valuable. Owners have long shared deliveries, upgrades and rendezvous, and a buyer should join that network before closing. Ask for build documentation, wiring diagrams and the standard equipment list for the specific hull, since the factory may not be able to supply them later.
Yachting's 2017 brokerage feature on the 2015 boat Sea Sea gives a sense of how owners use these boats: its shakedown cruise was a 3,200-mile trip from Florida to New England, and it carried two Northern Lights generators, an 800 gallon-per-day watermaker and bow and stern thrusters.
Kadey-Krogen 52 specifications
| Length overall | 57.8 ft17.6 m |
|---|---|
| Beam | 17.8 ft5.41 m |
| Draft | 5.4 ft1.65 m |
| Air draft | 24.7 ft7.52 m |
| Displacement | 70, lbs31,752 kg |
| Fuel capacity | 1,4 gal5,3 L |
| Fresh water | 4 gal1,515 L |
| Cabins | 2 plus an office (office converts to a third stateroom) |
| Berths | Island queen in the master, guest berths, pilothouse settee converts to a double watch berth |
| Heads | 2 |
| Standard engines | Single John Deere diesel, 231 hp |
| Optional engines | Twin John Deere diesels (121 hp each at launch; a 2015 boat was listed with twin 160 hp) |
| Maximum power | 320 hp |
| Cruise speed | 8 knots |
| Top speed | 9.6 knots |
| Range | 3,300 nm |
| Hull type | Full-displacement hull with counter-faired keel |
| Hull construction | Fiberglass with vinylester and aramid reinforcement below the waterline; cored, vacuum-bagged decks and superstructure |
| CE design category | A (Ocean) |
| Builder | Kadey-Krogen Yachts (built by Asia Harbor Yacht Builders, Kaohsiung), Taiwan |
| Naval architect | Kadey-Krogen Yachts in-house design and engineering staff |
| Status | Discontinued |
Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.
Performance data
| RPM | Speed (kn) | Fuel (gph) | Range (nm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1500 | 8 | 3.7 | |
| 2350 | 9.6 | 10.2 |
Kadey-Krogen published figures, verified by PassageMaker on the sea trial it published in 2013, in light winds. Builder range estimates with 10 percent reserve are 3,300 nm at 7 knots and 1,700 nm at 9 knots.
How much does a Kadey-Krogen 52 cost?
A 2015 Krogen 52 with twin 160 hp John Deeres and 530 hours was listed at $1.795 million in 2017, which shows how well these boats held value. With Kadey-Krogen reported in July 2026 to be filing for Chapter 7, no new boats are available and factory warranty and parts support for late hulls is uncertain, which may soften prices for the newest boats while older, proven hulls stay firm. Twin-engine boats, stabilizers, watermakers and a second generator all add value.
Estimate your yearly cost
A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.
Versions and options
- Single-engine Krogen 52
- Standard single 231 hp John Deere, 5 ft 5 in draft.
- Twin-engine Krogen 52
- Optional twin John Deeres (121 hp each at launch, 160 hp on a 2015 example), 4 ft 6 in draft.
- Three-stateroom layout
- Office converted to a third stateroom, with an optional full-beam midship master.
Kadey-Krogen 52 timeline
- 1977Kadey-Krogen traces its line of trawlers to this year
- 2010Kadey-Krogen previews the 52, patterned after the 58, with launch projected for mid-2011
- 2013PassageMaker publishes its sea trial of the new Krogen 52
- 2017A 2015 Krogen 52 is listed on the brokerage market at $1.795 million
- 2026Power & Motoryacht reports in July that Kadey-Krogen will file for Chapter 7 liquidation
Strengths and weaknesses
What owners like
- 3,300 nm range at 7 knots from 1,400 gallons
- Portuguese bridge, wing stations and Dutch doors for offshore work
- Office below that converts to a third stateroom
- Three-piece molded construction with aramid reinforcement
- Quiet pilothouse at cruise
- Mainstream John Deere, Northern Lights and ABT TRAC components
What to weigh up
- Builder reported to be liquidating, so no factory support going forward
- Top speed under 10 knots
- 5 ft 5 in draft with the single engine
- High running and maintenance costs
- Single-engine boats lack inboard redundancy
Used Kadey-Krogen 52 buyer checklist
Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.
Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.
Rivals to consider
Nordhavn 51
Similar ocean mission from a builder with a strong global service network.
Compare side by sideSelene 49
Taiwan-built full-displacement trawler, a little smaller and often less expensive.
Compare side by sideFleming 55
Faster semi-displacement yacht with less range and a premium resale profile.
Compare side by sideKadey-Krogen 44 AE
Smaller sister for couples who do not need the 52's volume or tankage.
Compare side by sideOur verdict on the Kadey-Krogen 52
The Krogen 52 is a superbly thought-out ocean trawler: heavy, quiet, efficient and arranged for a couple who live and work aboard for months at a time. The reported Chapter 7 filing does not change how the boat performs, but it does change how you should buy one. Favor hulls with complete documentation, strong service histories and twin engines if you plan offshore work, and line up independent support before you need it. Buy carefully and a 52 remains one of the most capable passagemakers in its size range.
Kadey-Krogen 52 questions answered
Is Kadey-Krogen still in business?
Power & Motoryacht reported in July 2026 that Kadey-Krogen would file for Chapter 7, a total liquidation, and described the brand as out of production.
Where were Kadey-Krogen trawlers built?
At Asia Harbor Yacht Builders in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, which built every Kadey-Krogen for at least the 25 years before 2013, according to PassageMaker.
What is the range of a Krogen 52?
Kadey-Krogen estimated 3,300 nm at 7 knots and 1,700 nm at 9 knots from 1,400 gallons, with a 10 percent reserve.
How fast is a Kadey-Krogen 52?
About 8 knots at 1,500 rpm on 3.7 gph and a top speed of 9.6 knots at 2,350 rpm, per builder figures verified by PassageMaker.
What does a used Kadey-Krogen 52 cost?
A 2015 boat was listed at $1.795 million in 2017. Our 2026 estimates range from about $1.2 million to $2.4 million depending on age and equipment.
Single or twin engines on a Krogen 52?
The single 231 hp John Deere is standard and most efficient. Twins add redundancy and reduce draft to 4 ft 6 in.
Kadey-Krogen 52 photos
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