Key West insurance,
through NBOA.

What makes Key West different. Family-owned since 1980.

Key West Boats has built center consoles in Ridgeville, South Carolina for more than 40 years, still under the same family ownership. That continuity shows up in the product: incremental refinement rather than year-over-year redesigns, and a lineup that sits deliberately in the middle of the CC market.

The positioning is clear once you shop the segment. Sea Hunt anchors the value end — similar size, lower price, lighter build. Grady-White anchors the premium end — SeaV² hulls, deep-V offshore DNA, a 30–40% price premium. Key West sits between them: more boat than a comparable Sea Hunt, meaningfully less money than a comparable Grady, and a dealer network that stretches from the Gulf Coast up the Atlantic through the Great Lakes.

Stringerless hull, foam-filled core.

Key West uses a stringerless hull design with a closed-cell foam-filled core in many models — a construction approach that provides stiffness without a traditional stringer grid and adds a degree of reserve buoyancy. It's not the fully-encapsulated foam sandwich Boston Whaler uses, and the buoyancy reserve is more limited, but it's a step above basic open-hull fiberglass builds at the price point.

• Stringerless fiberglass hull with closed-cell foam core in most models — stiffens the hull and adds limited reserve buoyancy
• Hand-laid fiberglass construction in Ridgeville, SC — single production facility under continuous family ownership since 1980
• Self-bailing cockpits on the Center Console and Billistic lines — scuppered decks drain without relying solely on bilge pumps
• Single or twin outboard transoms across the lineup — 176/186/203 typically run singles; 219/239 and Billistic commonly rigged with twins

Coastal fishermen, and families who follow them.

Key West owners cluster along the Gulf Coast, Southeast Atlantic, and Great Lakes — markets where a 20–24 foot center console is the practical default for inshore and near-shore fishing. The typical buyer is a second- or third-boat owner stepping up from a smaller skiff or down from a bigger cruiser, often with family use (tubing, sandbar days) alongside the fishing mission. Resale is healthy in-region but softer outside the brand's dealer footprint.

The insurance angle. Where Key West shapes the policy.

Key Wests are mid-market coastal CCs, and the coverage questions reflect that: agreed-value pays off on hulls above about $40K, lightning is a real claim driver in Southeast markets, and the twin-outboard setups on larger models represent a meaningful share of total vessel value that deserves its own coverage conversation.

• Agreed-value over ACV above ~$40K hull — Key Wests depreciate more steeply than Grady or Whaler, which makes ACV settlements painful on 8–12 year old boats. Agreed-value is worth the small premium bump on any hull over roughly $40K.
• Survey thresholds are standard — carriers typically require a marine survey on boats 10+ years old for loan amounts above $50K or hull values above $50K. Budget ~$18–22 per foot for a qualified coastal surveyor.
• Lightning strike coverage matters — the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf Coast, where most Key Wests are berthed, lead the country in marine lightning claims. Confirm the policy covers electronics replacement and doesn't exclude lightning-adjacent electrical fires.
• Outboard-specific coverage — twin-outboard setups on the 219, 239, and Billistic lines represent 30–40% of vessel value. Mechanical breakdown coverage and lower-unit coverage are worth evaluating, especially on boats out of factory warranty.
• Typical carrier panel — we see Key Wests placed most often with Progressive and BoatUS. Each has different appetite for coastal navigation territories and older hulls; NBOA shops the full panel.

This is where an expert at NBOA can step in. As an independent marine insurance brokerage, NBOA quotes Key West owners across multiple carriers and matches the policy to how the boat is built, where it runs, and how you actually use it.

Key West models we quote.

Beyond the top brands.

NBOA places insurance on 1,100+ boat manufacturers across our catalog — from aluminum skiffs to mega-yachts. If your boat isn't listed here, it's almost certainly one we still write.