Chris Craft Inboard

History of the company Chris Smith built his first wooden boat in 1874, when he was only 13 years old. A few years later he made another boat for hunting and fishing. The model was liked by his friends, and they asked to build a similar vessel for them, this marked the beginning of the world-famous shipyard Chris-Craft. Among the lucky owners were such famous personalities as Henry Ford (Henry Ford) and William Randolph Hearst (William Randolph Hearst). Gradually, the company expanded its influence and entered the market of middle-class boats, and during the Great Depression, the model lines were replenished with low-cost boats. Also, to cope with the crisis of those years, Chris-Craft began taking orders for the US Army and produced more than a thousand small ships.

Chris Craft Inboard parts book

www.marineengine.com

History of the company

Chris Smith built his first wooden boat in 1874, when he was only 13 years old. A few years later he made another boat for hunting and fishing. The model was liked by his friends, and they asked to build a similar vessel for them, this marked the beginning of the world-famous shipyard Chris-Craft. Among the lucky owners were such famous personalities as Henry Ford (Henry Ford) and William Randolph Hearst (William Randolph Hearst). Gradually, the company expanded its influence and entered the market of middle-class boats, and during the Great Depression, the model lines were replenished with low-cost boats. Also, to cope with the crisis of those years, Chris-Craft began taking orders for the US Army and produced more than a thousand small ships.In the 1960s, the Smith family sold the company to NAFI, after which the company changed ownership several times.

Status

Today the shipyard continues to work. In 2018, Chris-Craft once again changed the owner, it became Winnebago Industries, which manufactures trailers and motorhomes.

Production

The shipyard’s boats are being built at a modern plant in Sarasota, Florida, employing more than 340 people. On an area of 15 800 square meters. m is the headquarters, design office, workshops, assembly shops and artificial reservoir for testing.

The lineup

Modern Chris-Craft boats are made of fiberglass, the company builds models from 6 to 13.5 meters long. Corsair, Calypso and Launch series boats include classic raebouts, bowriders and caddy-cabin boats.

The Catalina range includes center console models with an outboard motor designed specifically for fishing enthusiasts. The smallest models have entered the Carina series, they are distinguished by an interesting design of classical forms in modern processing. The Commander line consists of lobster bots and Gozzo.

Features

Despite large production volumes, the shipyard finds time to test every boat on the water, so customers get quality proven boats and yachts. Chris-Craft is one of the few North American shipbuilders who produces boats in the style of European classics.