Chris Craft (shipyard)
| Chris Craft Boats | |
|---|---|
| legal form | Cooperation |
| Seat | Sarasota, Florida |
| management | Stephen M. Julius |
| Number of employees | 75 |
| sales | $ 40 million (2004 est.) |
| Branch | Boat building |
| Website | http://www.chriscraft.com/ |
Chris-Craft Boats , formerly Smith and Sons Boat Company, is an American manufacturer of motor boats .
history
In 1876 the brothers Henry "Hank", (* 1851 ) and Christopher Columbus Smith, (* 1861 ) began building boats for duck hunting and fishing. Her father James Smith, born in 1823, ran an armory and as a hunter in the surrounding shallow waters of the St. Clair River , he took his sons with him, where Chris began building rowing boats, sailing boats and small motor boats.
After founding the American Powerboat Association in 1904, Chris Smith built his first “real” motorboat in 1906, with a 7.90 m length and a top speed of 30 km / h due to the great interest in fast boats. In 1910 Chris Smith met John J. "Baldy" Ryan, who bought a 30 mph boat as an investor and founded the Smith-Ryan-Boat-Company with Chris in 1911. They built fast gliders called Baby Reliance that could go up to 80 km / h and cost about $ 20,000.
A friend of Ryan, J. Stuart Blackton from England, supported the company by buying the racing boat version called Baby Speed Demon II, which won the 1914 Gold Cup regatta with an average speed of 80 km / h. Another success was winning the Gold Cup in 1915 with the 7.75 m long successor racing boat called "Miss Detroit" and 250 hp.
As an experienced and wealthy engineer, Gar Wood bought the "Miss Detroit" and later also the C. C. Smith & Sons Boat & Engine Company and in 1917 had Chris Smith build a "Miss Detroit II" with a top speed of 90 km / h. The "Miss Detroit III" got a Curtiss Model 12 aircraft engine, which secured the Gold Cup victory in 1918. The boat with a new Liberty aero engine from Packard also won in 1919. After the fifth victory with a world speed record of 129 km / h, the rules committee changed the qualification rules in 1921 under pressure from the yacht clubs.
In 1921 Chris Smith's sons Jay W. and Bernard took over the management and together founded the Chris Smith & Sons Boat Company in 1922 . They no longer wanted to build one-offs for rich customers, but instead set up a series production in the style of Henry Ford . Together with William MacKerer as an experienced shipbuilding engineer , the numbers increased until the company became the market leader under the name Chris Craft. After the onset of the economic depression in 1930, the old sales figures were reached again in 1935, which rose steadily until the Second World War and made the company the most successful motorboat manufacturer in the USA even after the end of the war.
In 1962 the company was sold to NAFI for $ 40 million.
Motor boats were built in various lengths and designs, " runabouts " as noble versions with closed decks, and later utility boats as slimmed-down, simple, open versions that were more in line with the buyers' financial possibilities and "family ideas". "Cruisers" as yachts for financially strong customers and kit boats as well as the "Cavalier" series for the "common people" consolidated the market position. "Sea Skiffs" as rough water boats complemented the offer and the construction of our own engines also led to an optimization of the manufacturing process.
In 1962 NAFI bought the missing know-how with the Thompson Boat Company in order to be able to exist in the future as a manufacturer of fiberglass boats and in 1969 the era of wooden boats ended at Chris Craft.
After several changes of ownership and bankruptcies, Chris Craft still exists today.
It is noteworthy that the " Runabouts " by Chris Craft became the model for the boats by Carlo Riva , who modified them tailor-made for the Dolce Vita in Italy with a sunbathing area for sunbathing and as a water-ski tow boat for the "upper ten thousand". Today Riva's “replicas” are much more sought-after and valuable than the original runabouts. The Italian boat builders Arcangeli , Rio and Abbate also followed Carlo Riva's example.
In June 2018, Chris Craft was acquired by Winnebago Industries .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Winnebago acquires Chris-Craft. In: .tradeonlytoday.com. June 27, 2018, accessed on August 12, 2020 .
swell
- Anthony Mollica Jr. / Jack Savage: Chris Craft Legends in Mahogany . 1st edition. Delius Klasing, 2003, ISBN 3-7688-1459-9 .
- Chris-Craft Corporation - Company Profile, Information, Business Description, History, Background Information on Chris-Craft Corporation. Retrieved April 19, 2011 .