Yacht repair
Yacht repair in San Diego, by Navy-qualified welders.
The welders who repair U.S. Navy hulls work on private vessels too. Nautilus brings Navy-grade fabrication to San Diego's yachts — the same qualified procedures, the same documentation, applied to your boat instead of a warship.
We're metalwork specialists: structural aluminum and steel, custom 316 stainless, tanks, and the fittings that make a vessel yours. Mobile at your slip anywhere on San Diego Bay — Shelter Island, Harbor Island, Coronado, the Embarcadero — or in our fabrication shop on the South Bay in Chula Vista, fifteen minutes from Point Loma.
Yacht services we handle
- Structural repair — aluminum and steel hulls, decks, transoms
- Custom 316 stainless — rails, davits, mounts, deck hardware
- Tank repair and fabrication — fuel, water, and holding
- TIG welding for cosmetic-critical joints that will be seen and judged
- Watertight doors, hatches, and closures
- Dockside mobile welding at your slip — no haul-out for many repairs
Where we work on San Diego Bay
San Diego's yacht repair map runs from Point Loma to the South Bay, and our mobile crew covers all of it. Slip-side welding and stainless work at these marinas is routine; anything that needs the shop comes to Chula Vista and goes back the same way.
- Shelter IslandKona Kai, Shelter Island Marina, Half Moon, Bay Club
- Harbor IslandSunroad Resort Marina, Harbor Island West, Cabrillo Isle
- Point LomaDriscoll's, Shelter Cove, Southwestern Yacht Club
- Downtown & EmbarcaderoMarriott Marquis Marina, Fifth Avenue Landing
- CoronadoGlorietta Bay, Coronado Cays, Coronado Yacht Club
- South BayChula Vista Marina, National City Marina, Pier 32
- Mission BayDana Landing, Marina Village, Driscoll Mission Bay
Why yacht owners choose Navy-grade welders
Two welds look identical at the dock; procedure decides which one is still holding five years of salt and vibration later. Our welders are qualified to NAVSEA procedures across FCAW, GMAW, and GTAW and work to documented procedures daily — your davit mount gets the same discipline as a Navy watertight door. We focus on metalwork; for trades outside our lane, we'll tell you straight and point you to the right specialist.
NAVSEA-qualified welding procedures and documentation
Clean, discreet work on high-end vessels
Slip-side service across San Diego Bay
Estimates from photos — send what you've got
White-glove standards aboard
A yacht is not a job site — it's someone's pride, and often their home. Our crews board accordingly: foot booties on before stepping aboard, drop cloths and surface protection laid around every work area, and tools staged in trays rather than loose on your teak or gelcoat.
We hold a clean-as-you-go discipline through the day — grinding dust captured, slag swept, materials secured — and every visit ends with a wipe-down and an end-of-shift walkthrough. When the job is finished, the only evidence we were aboard should be the work itself. It's the same housekeeping standard the Navy expects on its ships, applied with a lighter touch on yours.
- Foot booties and deck protection on every boarding
- Drop cloths and masking around all work areas
- Clean-as-you-go — dust captured, slag swept, daily wipe-down
- Final walkthrough with you before we call it done
Photo: Myrabella, CC BY-SA 3.0
Frequently asked questions
Are you in San Diego?
Yes. Our shop is on San Diego Bay's South Bay in Chula Vista, and our mobile crew works slips from Point Loma and Shelter Island to Coronado, downtown, and Mission Bay — the whole of San Diego. Most yacht jobs are done at the boat.
Do you come to my slip, or does the boat come to you?
Both. Dockside mobile welding at Shelter Island, Harbor Island, Coronado, and around the bay is routine; larger fabrication runs through our Chula Vista shop.
Can you match existing stainless or aluminum work?
Yes — matching filler, finish, and profile on existing rails and hardware is a specialty. TIG procedures keep joints clean where they'll be seen.
Do you do fiberglass, teak, or engine work?
We're metal specialists — structural welding, stainless, and fabrication. Machinery work runs through our vetted partner, and for fiberglass or brightwork we'll point you to trades we trust.
How do I get an estimate?
Send photos of the job to [email protected] or call (619) 990-2250 — most yacht repairs can be quoted from pictures and dimensions.