Back in the 60’s my dad used to take me fishing to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. The lake was loaded with wood Chris Crafts. I never cared if we caught anything because this 10 year old was always in awe seeing these beautiful boats and hearing their powerful sounding engines. They didn’t go fast so all the better for me.
Visited a boatyard near Minneapolis that specialized in restoring classic Chris-Craft boats. they had a beautiful '30s boat with a WWI Liberty V-12 for power. Now that was a powerboat! The mechanic stated the Libertys were very smooth running engines when properly tuned.
I’m a newer boater and last year we bought an ‘86 Chris Craft 381 and love the room for my family. We put about 55 hours on it last summer around Lake Michigan & St. Joe.
In the very early sixties my family had a 1955 Chris Craft 16' 4 cylinder two bench seats. Such a beautiful boat. Throttle lever in the center of the steering wheel.
Gene Eckfield, my grandfather, was VP of Engineering during the later wooden boat years for Chris Craft. He retired as fiber glass was taking over, when the art of wood craftmanship was replaced with new technology. He began his career in Algonac, working with Chris Smith and his sons. Chris used to hand carve his boat designs in small scale. My father Chuck Eckfield also remembered the duck hunting. Wonderful stories from the past!
I have a 2015 launch 27! my neighbours have a restored 1940s Christ craft mahogany boat and it’s gorgeous. We have old posters for chris craft and blueprints of their wooden boats framed in our lake house tho, the Chris craft brand means a lot to my family, it’s basically a tradition lol.
Back in the early 60's, my family owned a 19' Chris, that we completely revarnished, inside and out, and added a layer of fiberglass below the waterline. We had the engine, a 6 cylinder Gray-Marine of about 475 cubic inches, also rebuilt. White button tuck upholstery was going back into it. Taking the boat up to Santa Monica, the trailer detached from the truck. The boat and trailer went into a concrete storm drain. The engine ripped loose, crashed through the bow and left a huge hole. We sold the hole mess to a guy cheap, who wanted the engine, which was undamaged.
Great video - My mom Regina Berger when she was a teenage in Algonac, Michigan in the 1940's watched Chris Smith's grand kids - Bernard & Neil Smith. Their father also worked at the Chris Craft factory in Algonac. Chris Smith who was a duck hunter and made his own boats made some really neat wood fast boats. They just glided on the water too! Tony Trotta
My grandfather worked for Chris-Craft for most of his life. He worked in the Caruthersville, Missouri plant and then later moved his family to Salisbury, Maryland when Chris-Craft opened the plant there. For a number of years the Salisbury plant was the largest and most modern boat building factory in the world. My father also worked in the Salisbury plant for a time as well. He hooked up instrumentation and associated wiring between the engines and controls, while my grandfather worked in the hull dept.
Grew up on these boats. 42 foot back in the 60s trickling then a 58 foot Romer aluminum hull. Twin Detroit 671s flybrige awesome boat. Best childhood a boy could have. Kept in South Jersey shore
I have never gotten any argument about this - so here goes - The 1957 38 foot Constellation we had (and I had to varnish so many times) was/is the most beautiful wooden power boat ever made. I sure miss it now, yet it looks to have gone to LA and was seen in a few TV commercials; still named after me and my brother & sister "Timarlin".
for most of us old blokes we remember the times a speed boat was called a Chris Craft n not just in America, first time i saw a Christ Craft was in Greece in 1959 n i thought then oh my God this is Not just a boat this is art on the water, so really he should be called the father of speed boats the world over thanks to him we now all have the chance to enjoy the water at its best
enjoyed the video, tho you did not show any of the larger Chris-Craft boats! Grampa had a 1955 42' Chris Craft Sea Cloud, (with the classic bull nose) we grew up on, Chris-Craft is the gold standard of boats and you missed showing most of the these timeless beauties.
my friend Dave works at one if not the first dealership for Chris -Caft at Gregory's Marina in Detroit on the river they have an actual rail road track in the water to being the boats out-of rhe water up to 75 foot long !
My Mother’s first cousin Rex Heideman was a VP of Chris Craft stationed at Chattanooga Tennessee ( sales division, I think ). He was from the Peck , Michigan area.
I just bought a 1971 31 foot Chris Craft looking for a lot of enjoyment for me and my family she has been stored for 20 years only been on the water for two like new got a great deal on it and I know she is a good boat
On Lake Erie many bootleggers used Chris Craft boats, there was a guy in Windsor that had a huge one and dug out side of shoreline and hid 20 feet of the boathouse under the lawn. LOL!
when I was a little boy Mother and Daddy bought a new Chris Craft out of Salt Air in Miami Beach it was a roamer or was it a constellation I think it was a constellation that boat li we had many many fun times in that boat I miss our boat but hopefully she's on the sea somewhere
I can't understand why when you talk about the Chris Craft History there is no mention of GREW! I can distinctly remember seeing old 50's era cabin cruisers which bared the name Grew Chris Craft. What is that all about?
Our 1947 SwissCraft ZWASLI is just a copy of CrisCraft 👍 It is powered with an OSCO Flathead V8 of 100hp. It has the absolut the best sound of all boats on the lake Zürich!
This video sure breezed over the 1960's quickly, when Chris Craft was the dominant builder of boats . . . in wood, fiberglass, steel and aluminium. Runabouts to 60 foot plus yachts. Regrettably, the brand started to fade rather rapidly in the 70's. Conglomerate ownership and lack of innovation took hold, not a lot different from the fate of OMC. Both companies lost their high status from the 60's. The cycle of corporations, from the top of the hill to the bottom, be it Sears, Kodak, Pan American, or a host of others
Thanks. I guess fiberglass is king at the end of the day. Interestingly enough is that there are a few that still build these old styled woodies like Van Dam and a few others and you can clearly see how the way they build them today is far superior to the way they did back then with the added layers of resin and fiberglass inside the wooden hulls to prevent that eventual leaking for the wood expanding and contracting or whatever.
GoMiGman Chris Craft Craft was actually one of the last companies to switch over to fiberglass by 72 pretty much everybody else stopped wood boat production
Interesting, I see a lot of fiberglass boats built with a balsa core and a lot of modern-day woodies built with African mahogany and lots of resin to keep it from moving or leaking on the inside.
@@J_M3444 Yes. "Made in Switzerland" cannot be topped, in watches, weapons, mechanical engineering! The Swiss product philosophy is: "The best or nothing"! In U.S.-America, on the other hand, products are manufactured with a built-in obsolescence.
Авто/Мото
Back in the 60’s my dad used to take me fishing to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin. The lake was loaded with wood Chris Crafts. I never cared if we caught anything because this 10 year old was always in awe seeing these beautiful boats and hearing their powerful sounding engines. They didn’t go fast so all the better for me.
Visited a boatyard near Minneapolis that specialized in restoring classic Chris-Craft boats. they had a beautiful '30s boat with a WWI Liberty V-12 for power. Now that was a powerboat! The mechanic stated the Libertys were very smooth running engines when properly tuned.
That had to be cool
I’m a newer boater and last year we bought an ‘86 Chris Craft 381 and love the room for my family. We put about 55 hours on it last summer around Lake Michigan & St. Joe.
The most beautiful boats ever made. Currently restoring a 64 constellation 30. My first boat ever
Loved the Chris Craft run a outs of the wooden era of the 1950’s and 60’s.
You just cannot find something more stunning than the mahogany boats made in the 50's. Just jaw dropping.
In the very early sixties my family had a 1955 Chris Craft 16' 4 cylinder two bench seats. Such a beautiful boat. Throttle lever in the center of the steering wheel.
Gene Eckfield, my grandfather, was VP of Engineering during the later wooden boat years for Chris Craft. He retired as fiber glass was taking over, when the art of wood craftmanship was replaced with new technology. He began his career in Algonac, working with Chris Smith and his sons. Chris used to hand carve his boat designs in small scale. My father Chuck Eckfield also remembered the duck hunting. Wonderful stories from the past!
Wow
I thought the Chris-Craft in the 40s and 50s made of mahogany were for more beautiful than the plastic boats of today.
Absolutely
Way Better💥
they were timeless classic beauties, ans still are!
I have a 2015 launch 27! my neighbours have a restored 1940s Christ craft mahogany boat and it’s gorgeous. We have old posters for chris craft and blueprints of their wooden boats framed in our lake house tho, the Chris craft brand means a lot to my family, it’s basically a tradition lol.
The most beautiful ! Inimitable ! French aficionados !
I grew up on the Ohio River aboard several wooden Chris-Craft cruisers. Time well spent.
Back in the early 60's, my family owned a 19' Chris, that we completely revarnished, inside and out, and added a layer of fiberglass below the waterline. We had the engine, a 6 cylinder Gray-Marine of about 475 cubic inches, also rebuilt. White button tuck upholstery was going back into it. Taking the boat up to Santa Monica, the trailer detached from the truck. The boat and trailer went into a concrete storm drain. The engine ripped loose, crashed through the bow and left a huge hole. We sold the hole mess to a guy cheap, who wanted the engine, which was undamaged.
Classic CC engines! Only way they fail is to rust out
I’m proud to have my Chris-Craft Commander 🌱❤️
The Capri's and the Riviera's were my favorite designs.
No other material will ever compare to the beauty of the mahogany boats.
Great video - My mom Regina Berger when she was a teenage in Algonac, Michigan in the 1940's watched Chris Smith's grand kids - Bernard & Neil Smith. Their father also worked at the Chris Craft factory in Algonac.
Chris Smith who was a duck hunter and made his own boats made some really neat wood fast boats. They just glided on the water too!
Tony Trotta
My family still runs a 63 fiberglass Corsair that is a blast
love the narration by RUSH!
MAGNIFICENT
I still own and use my Chriscraft (35 years old)...its made out of fiberglass, however.
I grew up across the street from the factory in Algonac. As a kid I played in the magonahy sawdust piles in the woods behind our house.
That was very interesting,they are still in business with new innovative ideas is wonderful!!!!!!
1950's were my favorite years.
My grandfather worked for Chris-Craft for most of his life. He worked in the Caruthersville, Missouri plant and then later moved his family to Salisbury, Maryland when Chris-Craft opened the plant there. For a number of years the Salisbury plant was the largest and most modern boat building factory in the world. My father also worked in the Salisbury plant for a time as well. He hooked up instrumentation and associated wiring between the engines and controls, while my grandfather worked in the hull dept.
My hometown; Algonac. My uncle moved to Pompano to manage the new boatyard.
Grew up on these boats. 42 foot back in the 60s trickling then a 58 foot Romer aluminum hull. Twin Detroit 671s flybrige awesome boat. Best childhood a boy could have. Kept in South Jersey shore
I have never gotten any argument about this - so here goes -
The 1957 38 foot Constellation we had (and I had to varnish so many times) was/is the most beautiful wooden power boat ever made.
I sure miss it now, yet it looks to have gone to LA and was seen in a few TV commercials; still named after me and my brother & sister "Timarlin".
my brother had a Chris Craft jet boat with a 460 in it. Love that boat, we had so much fun on that boat.
I owned a 1967 36' Constellation. A good boat.
I really enjoyed that. Your boats are so beautiful!
for most of us old blokes we remember the times a speed boat was called a Chris Craft n not just in America, first time i saw a Christ Craft was in Greece in 1959 n i thought then oh my God this is Not just a boat this is art on the water, so really he should be called the father of speed boats the world over thanks to him we now all have the chance to enjoy the water at its best
Great video!
enjoyed the video, tho you did not show any of the larger Chris-Craft boats! Grampa had a 1955 42' Chris Craft Sea Cloud, (with the classic bull nose) we grew up on, Chris-Craft is the gold standard of boats and you missed showing most of the these timeless beauties.
Thanks Andrew I really enjoyed the movie on Chris craft
my friend Dave works at one if not the first dealership for Chris -Caft at Gregory's Marina in Detroit on the river they have an actual rail road track in the water to being the boats out-of rhe water up to 75 foot long !
Ironically, Riva was owned by the same owner that currently owns Chris-Craft.
My Mother’s first cousin Rex Heideman was a VP of Chris Craft stationed at Chattanooga Tennessee ( sales division, I think ). He was from the Peck , Michigan area.
I just bought a 1971 31 foot Chris Craft looking for a lot of enjoyment for me and my family she has been stored for 20 years only been on the water for two like new got a great deal on it and I know she is a good boat
loved my 1947 33’ Sedan
Wow , beautiful Cadillac's
Something about the beauty of a ChrisCraft man is just like a Lincoln.
We have a 1960 50' Chris craft constellation.
On Lake Erie many bootleggers used Chris Craft boats, there was a guy in Windsor that had a huge one and dug out side of shoreline and hid 20 feet of the boathouse under the lawn. LOL!
Where there's a will, there's bills to pay...
There's also some great books on Chris-Craft history too. Pictures, but go into more detail.
Me likey piktyur books, me likey less werds. Werds R hard. Words suk.
when I was a little boy Mother and Daddy bought a new Chris Craft out of Salt Air in Miami Beach it was a roamer or was it a constellation I think it was a constellation that boat li we had many many fun times in that boat I miss our boat but hopefully she's on the sea somewhere
I can't understand why when you talk about the Chris Craft History there is no mention of GREW! I can distinctly remember seeing old 50's era cabin cruisers which bared the name Grew Chris Craft. What is that all about?
Our 1947 SwissCraft ZWASLI is just a copy of CrisCraft 👍
It is powered with an OSCO Flathead V8 of 100hp. It has the absolut the best sound of all boats on the lake Zürich!
Where to find old school aluminium boats manufacturing process?
Chris Craft made a 40' fiberglass boat for the Navy as liberty boats early 60
There will always be a Chris Craft.
I actually worked there for a whole Day!
Chuck Davis what happened you was a slacker lol...joking ...my uncle worked there for a year
This video sure breezed over the 1960's quickly, when Chris Craft was the dominant builder of boats . . . in wood, fiberglass, steel and aluminium. Runabouts to 60 foot plus yachts. Regrettably, the brand started to fade rather rapidly in the 70's. Conglomerate ownership and lack of innovation took hold, not a lot different from the fate of OMC. Both companies lost their high status from the 60's. The cycle of corporations, from the top of the hill to the bottom, be it Sears, Kodak, Pan American, or a host of others
Doug Finlay q
Beautiful boats! I have a 1942 Express for sale.
Theres a great new dealer in Ontario Canada in the 1000 islands. River Rat Marine.
Chris Craft has a long American history, its a great video on the
History of Chris Craft you'll be impressed by the video on you tube
It was in Algonac then...
top boat
scotts real old bass boat
laurie takes order for float
buddie sharons goat
I have a 2009 Launch 22 Chris-Craft with a GM Vortec 8100 Big Block that'll do 63 mph!!!
Check it out !
1961 Chris Craft Continental 19' ***Premium Restoration *** - $29800 (Tacoma)
.that is best described as: Sheer fiberglass xD xD xD
Interesting, so they don't build anymore full, wooden/mahogany boats anymore, just the fiberglass ones they mentioned in the end? That's too bad.
They haven't since the 70's
Thanks. I guess fiberglass is king at the end of the day. Interestingly enough is that there are a few that still build these old styled woodies like Van Dam and a few others and you can clearly see how the way they build them today is far superior to the way they did back then with the added layers of resin and fiberglass inside the wooden hulls to prevent that eventual leaking for the wood expanding and contracting or whatever.
GoMiGman Chris
Craft Craft was actually one of the last companies to switch over to fiberglass by 72 pretty much everybody else stopped wood boat production
resins, epoxy, fiberglass and wood don't mix they trap moisture and cause rot to start quicker
Interesting, I see a lot of fiberglass boats built with a balsa core and a lot of modern-day woodies built with African mahogany and lots of resin to keep it from moving or leaking on the inside.
what? about chattanooga, tn. and chris -craft.
My 2nd.cousin was a Chris Craft VP at Chattanoga
sibling rivalry
walk the beach bill beside me
high society
Chicks dig Chris Craft!
So smarty pants. Tell us the right answers...
CC not longer an American owned company building small high priced run abouts.
Chris Craft is now owned by Winnebago Ind. Very much an American company.
Riva Aquarama and Riva in general: faster, better (quality), far more beautiful and elegant
Chris-Craft, the U.S.-American Boesch Boat. But Boesch is ten times better engineering & craftmanship and 20 times more lasting.
Do you have stats to back up your claim of “10x better engineering” and “20x more lasting”?
@@J_M3444 Yes. "Made in Switzerland" cannot be topped, in watches, weapons, mechanical engineering! The Swiss product philosophy is: "The best or nothing"! In U.S.-America, on the other hand, products are manufactured with a built-in obsolescence.
@@mikbe2579 not always true. I am sitting in a '48 CC and she still runs beautifully
I.had.a.53.sportsman.it.was.bought.brandnew...got..it.from.my.customerhad.the.landaue.roof..lvv.thet.boat.unfornationly.it.had.to.b.sold..man.i.lvv.these.boats.my.grandfather.built..wooden..s iffs.lvv.the.stories
This so called overview is shallower than a mud puddle.
Chris Crafts are just crap now days. Very sad.
Awesome boats 🚣♂️🚣♀️🚤🚤