About
A San Diego ship repair partner, built on craft.
Nautilus is a full-service ship repair, modernization, and fabrication company in San Diego — serving the fleet, research institutions, commercial operators, and private vessel owners since 2017.
Who we are
Complex shipboard work, executed end to end.
We offer a comprehensive range of capabilities, including metal fabrication, structural steel manufacturing, welding, pipefitting, electrical work, machinery services through our vetted partner, watertight door and hatch fabrication, and cable pulling.
We take on shipboard work in support of Navy repair availabilities — planned, staffed, and documented to qualified procedures.
Our welders are qualified to NAVSEA procedures across SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, GTAW, and GTAW pipe — and the same procedures and documentation carry into the commercial, research, and private vessels we work on.
Nautilus was founded in 2017 by Samuel Reyes Sr., whose San Diego ship-repair career began in the 1980s. Our core crew has worked together since the mid-2000s, aboard research and Navy vessels on both U.S. coasts, in Hawaiʻi, and in Guam.
Today we work from the shop he opened in Chula Vista, on San Diego's South Bay — shipboard and dockside around San Diego Bay, and aboard ship wherever the job needs us.
Where we come from
Our founder, Samuel Reyes Sr.
Before there was a Nautilus, there was Sam Reyes on the waterfront, and a reputation everyone who ever hired him would repeat: the job got done.
Forty years on the waterfront
- 1980sLearned the trade in marine boiler work.
- 1990sShip repair at Bay City Marine in San Diego.
- 2000sSAIC, the defense contractor.
- 2010sNavy repair work at Triple M Marine, to SUPSHIP-qualified HY-100 weld procedures.
- 2017Opened his own shop on Main Street in Chula Vista.
A shop of his own
At the end of 2017 Sam opened his own shop at 2822 Main Street in Chula Vista, where we still work today. He didn't ease in. By February 1, 2018, the Navy's Southwest Regional Maintenance Center had approved seven of his weld procedures, from mild steel through HY-100, and by that summer he was negotiating for more room on Main Street.
Whatever the waterfront needed
His job folders read like a map of San Diego's working waterfront:
- Ladders and seals for SEAL Tours' amphibious boats
- Machined and fabricated parts for Navy programs, through JSL Technologies and Marine Group
- Ship's-force weld repairs on USS Higgins, Lake Erie, and Somerset
- Work for the Navy's LCS training facility and SPAWAR
- Small boats, water-park rails, and casino gates
The way he worked
Sam didn't do anything quietly. He was outspoken, he said what he thought, and then he got it done — and that reputation brought work in the door. In 2018 a port engineer who trusted his crew brought Columbia University's research ship, R/V Marcus G. Langseth, to the shop. In 2020, with much of the country shut down, his welders were driving to Newport, Oregon, to work on that ship, and fixing Navy ships at home.
What he left us
Sam passed away in 2021. The business carried on under his son, Samuel Reyes Jr., and in 2023 it became the Nautilus Industrial Marine of today, with Sam Jr. as a co-owner. Much of what Sam built is still here: the shop on Main Street, the Navy-approved weld procedures, and customers who have been with us since his first years, including SEAL Tours and the Langseth.
Every job we take still starts the way his did: say plainly what it will take, then get it done. That's the standard Sam set, and it's the one we hold ourselves to.
Clients & partners
Trusted by government and industry.
U.S. Navy
SWRMC prime — Diving Support Vehicle service & repair
City of Vista
Municipal projects partner
City of San Diego
Prime — citywide welding services
Teaming & contracting
Built to team with primes and agencies.
Our identifiers, NAICS and PSC codes, past performance, and a one-page capability statement are on the Primes & Government page.
Counts toward your subcontracting goals
Small business, self-certified SDB, and minority-owned per SAM.gov.
Welders qualified to NAVSEA procedures
SMAW, FCAW, GMAW, GTAW, and GTAW pipe, in the shop or aboard ship.
An active government prime
Prime to SWRMC for Diving Support Vehicle service and repair, and to the City of San Diego for citywide welding services.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions.
What welding processes does Nautilus use?
Our welders are qualified to NAVSEA procedures across SMAW (stick), FCAW (flux-cored), GMAW (MIG), GTAW (TIG), and GTAW pipe (TIG pipe), and they work in our Chula Vista shop, dockside, or aboard ship.
What welding qualifications does Nautilus hold?
Our welders are qualified to NAVSEA welding procedures, and every job leaves a record — procedure, welder, and inspection — that a Navy inspector or a marine surveyor can audit. Primes and agencies evaluating us can request our procedure and qualification list from [email protected].
Does Nautilus work on commercial boats and private yachts?
Yes. The welders on our Navy and research-vessel work are the same crews on commercial boats and private yachts — dockside at your slip or in our Chula Vista shop. Photos are enough to start a quote.
Where does Nautilus work?
Our shop is at 2822 Main St, Ste A, Chula Vista, CA 91911, on San Diego's South Bay, and we work shipboard and dockside around San Diego Bay. When the ship can't come to us we go to it — our crew worked aboard R/V Marcus G. Langseth in Newport, Oregon — and we ship finished parts to vessels wherever they are. Our core crew has worked aboard research and Navy vessels on both U.S. coasts, in Hawaiʻi, and in Guam.
Does Nautilus do residential work?
No. Our focus is marine, industrial, and municipal work.
How do I partner with Nautilus?
For teaming, RFPs, and solicitations, email our contracts desk at [email protected]; our UEI, CAGE, NAICS codes, and capability statement are on our Primes & Government page. For anything else, email [email protected] or call +1 619-990-2250.
Is Nautilus hiring?
Yes — see our Careers page for the trades we hire and how to apply.
Something else on your mind? Get in touch or email [email protected].