Frank Magazine

Kit Denison: Celebrating 80 Years and 100+ Yachts

Sarah Nadler | November 21, 2023

The Denison family celebrates Kit’s 80th birthday.

Kit Denison grew up around boats in Saugatuck, Michigan and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. From the very start, he was fascinated by the boating industry and apprenticed in many boatbuilding trades, including: lofting, laminating, planking, welding, design, mechanical, and electrical. You name it, he did it.

However, after graduating from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in 1965, he started his career in radio! He spent five years at ABC Radio, first as Research Director and then as National Sales Director, in New York.

But his true passion always beckoned him back to boat building. So, he left ABC Radio in 1971 for Broward Marine and built his first Broward, a wooden 46-foot sportfish, in 1972. In 1974, he was also responsible for helping Broward transition to building aluminum boats.

Kit pioneered plasma-arc cutting of aluminum for yachts, and was the first to build a yacht with Kamewa water jet drives when he founded Denison Marine in 1983. He launched and delivered the largest motor yacht ever built in the in the United States in 1986 (it was 43 meters long). He also built the aptly named Thunderball, which is still the fastest twin diesel engine motor yacht over 35 meters long that was built in the US.

Building on his legacy of introducing new designs, Kit is still an integral part of Denison Yachting, serving as a superyacht broker since 1994.

Besides his technical experience, Kit has also been extremely involved in his local community, including holding titles on numerous boards over the years, such as the Nova Oceanographic Research Advisory Board, City of Fort Lauderdale Economic Development Advisory Board, and the Fort Lauderdale Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Committee, where he served as Chairman.

With an avid professional and personal resume, Kit, together with his wife Ann, somehow managed to also have a fulfilling home life. They have four sons and ten grandchildren who continue Kit’s legacy and carry on the Denison name.