Hampton Yachts

WHAT IS THE HISTORY OF HAMPTON YACHTS?

Founded more than 50 years ago by C.Y. Chen, Hampton Yachts has built and delivered more than 2,000 luxurious yet rugged ocean-going yachts. Today, under the managing direction of Jeff Chen, C.Y. Chen’s son, the company continues to produce two full lines of vessels, Hampton and Endurance, from 61’ to 83’, with several models currently in development for 2020 delivery to 92’ LOA.

While Hampton Yachts’ history began in Taiwan, the company’s success today, is very much a contemporary international story. Since its inception, Hampton Yachts has maintained a worldwide reputation for high quality design and construction, as well as for world-class fit and finish. Most of the earlier Hampton motor yachts were designed in-house by Jim Chen. He was eventually joined by renown naval architect, Howard Apollonio and award-wining superyacht designer and stylist, Juan Carlos Espinosa. This core design team keeps Hampton at the forefront of contemporary motor yacht development and styling.

Hampton yachts are not rushed through design and production but rather are painstakingly developed to deliver maximum seakeeping capabilities for their type and size. This approach has yielded features such as Hampton’s trademark split-chine system which produces a dry and comfortable ride in a seaway. Which means you won’t find spray drenching the flybridge of a Hampton as soon as the sea kicks up into a two-foot chop. 

It also means that you’ll find design sophistication in the new Endurance hybrid hull that represents an advanced evolution by eliminating the forward part of the chine to create a “soft chine” forebody. This form yields maximum efficiency and fuel economy at below-planing speeds. At the same time, the hull’s aft chines and her straight buttocks lines minimize squat as she approaches and transitions to semi-planing mode. The result is a hull with performance at below-planing speeds and which equals or exceeds the fuel economy of most full-displacement hulls, while retaining the ability to reach, on demand, speeds well into the semi-displacement range.

HAMPTON PERFORMANCE + LUXURY

Notwithstanding the advanced technical features of Hampton and Endurance yachts, the company’s design team does not ignore the matter of creature comfort. The team consistently expends special efforts to ensure that Hampton and Endurance yachts deliver a level of luxury for their size and type, second to none on the production and semi-custom world market.

At Hampton, fine hardwoods and hardwood veneers are blended by deft, award-winning design with high-quality fabrics to produce luxurious, yet eminently usable and durable interiors. Every item of trim and equipment is evaluated for delivering maximum value per unit of cost. All with the yacht’s “mission” kept firmly at the forefront of selection and decision-making.

Moreover, only the best and most reliable fittings and items of equipment make the outfitting list - items like ABT-Trac Zero-Speed stabilizers, SeaTorque propeller shafting systems, and Northern Lights auxiliary power generating systems. 

Although most Hampton-built yachts will spend their time cruising alongshore and island hopping, every Hampton and Endurance yacht is designed and built to make open water passages in comfort and safety. The Hampton line is based on a family of hulls that are more in line with planing forms, while the Endurance line hulls display softer chines for maximized performance in the upper displacement to semi-displacement speed range. The designs in the Endurance line also emphasize increased fuel capacity and longer range, albeit at somewhat lower speeds.

WHAT SETS HAMPTON YACHTS APART FROM ITS COMPETITORS?

Quality at Hampton Yachts is more than skin deep. Hampton builds exclusively to American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) standards for construction, electrical, piping, and equipment selection and installation. Hampton yachts are also engineered and built to meet or exceed the Weather Criterion Stability Standard of the US Coast Guard for licensed passenger vessels in exposed waters service (Subchapter S CFR 46 Part 170.170), which has proven itself over many decades in ensuring passenger safety. 

All Hampton and Endurance yachts are incline tested during a final test launch before heading off to be delivered to their owner, to assure that, as built, they exceed stability standards for both light and fully loaded conditions. 

All Hampton yachts are built 100% in the company’s own factory facilities, where attention and dedication to high quality and the exercise of craftsmanship are absolute core values. Hampton employs more than 200 skilled men and women, including electrical and mechanical engineers, naval architects, FRP laminators, rough and finish carpenters, welders and pipefitters, and journeymen general ship fitters. Just as important, a high percentage of these highly skilled workers have logged more than 20 years’ experience in the boat and yacht building industry.

This high level of skill and experience on Hampton’s shop floors is evident in all aspects of the company’s yachts, from their basic structural details to their luxurious fit and finish - all world class by anyone’s standards. 

Building first-quality yachts involves a lot more than just the manufacturing process itself. Being able to assemble and manage a strong chain of supply for the myriad of materials, fittings, and items of equipment required is also a large part of achieving high quality and value. And it is in this area where Hampton Yachts also excels.

Having a strong foothold in Kaohsiung, as well as in Shanghai, is key. Kaohsiung is a mega-center for auxiliary manufacturing of precisely the kind needed to support world-class yacht building. Highly skilled, computer-driven custom and short-run fabrication of impeccably polished stainless steel fittings - from railings, portlights, and bollards to massive pantograph-type pilothouse door hinges that are works of art in themselves -  whatever is needed in the course of building a top quality yacht is available in and around Kaohsiung.

Currently, Hampton operates production lines in Shanghai, China and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, making the company one of the largest, most well-established yacht building yards in Asia. Privately owned and financially stable, with an active order book, Hampton Yachts has the ability to invest in it’s future which, in turn, means investing in the production of a top-quality at competitive pricing.

WHY ARE HAMPTON YACHTS POPULAR FOR LONG-DISTANCE CRUISING?

Cruising enthusiasts tend to love Hampton Yachts because the boats are engineered around passage-making realities like comfort and luxury, but also stability, durability, and systems that keep working when you’re far from the dock. Each Hampton is designed to meet or exceed the U.S. Coast Guard “Weather Criterion” stability standard and that every yacht is incline-tested as a final check, which speaks directly to the confidence long-distance owners want offshore. They also emphasize robust hull construction (solid fiberglass; vinylester in outer layers; Kevlar reinforcement; a full-length keel that helps protect running gear) and refined hull development by naval architect Howard Apollonio, all of which aligns with what serious cruisers prioritize: predictable handling, fewer worries, and easier repairs if something happens away from home.

Owners also talk about Hampton’s “owner-operator” friendliness - features that make a big yacht feel manageable for a couple. A Cruising Odyssey review of the Endurance 658 highlights wing docking stations with engine controls plus bow/stern thrusters, and even frames the boat’s long-range safety around redundancy (in-line backups for filters/pumps and a spare generator). That same review calls out cruising-first touches like a Portuguese bridge and an aft-deck day head—exactly the kind of practical convenience that matters when you’re living aboard for weeks. Hampton’s own build notes also point to wide side decks and well-placed rails, multiple cockpit control stations, and interior stairs (not ladders) for safer movement underway.

Finally, people who cruise a lot value how the boat feels day after day: quiet, smooth, and thoughtfully finished. Hampton’s customer reviews repeatedly praise fit-and-finish and comfort underway, including comments about stabilizers, low vibration, and an ultra-quiet ride in real sea conditions. And Hampton leans into the “relationship” side of ownership - semi-custom flexibility (layouts/finishes) plus a VIP ownership program with training and ongoing support—two things long-range owners appreciate because they reduce the learning curve and make service less stressful over time.