Chris Craft Boats - Looking Back Over the Landscape of Americana

Carving a Dream: The History of Chris Craft Through Photos and Story
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[@williamstamper442]

Being native to michigan and into boats for most of my 54 years, these "Chris Craft" vessels played a huge inspiration in life itself. I honor every single one of these vessels I come across to this day.

[@volt8684]

Skied behind many of these beauties

[@paultaktikian1485]

Best years of my life were spent with 45 foot ChrisCraft Tournament Sport Fisherman. Sold it 11 years ago and still miss it

[@thomasallen3818]

In 1955, my dad bought a 21’ Chris Craft Capri. Most beautiful boat ever. I’d give anything to have that boat again. Smooth as silk on the water.

[@dgrant7291]

Im 70 and grew up on boats in western Michigan. Chris Craft was real nice quality and appearance. Groundbreakers too. I loved our decorated up boat parades on the lake on the 4th of July. The Chris Crafts always looked the best, hands down.

[@northerniltree]

The Lake Geneva (Wisconsin) classic wooden boat show was a superb way to see the various Chris Crafts, Garwoods, Hacker Crafts, etc., in one place-as well as meeting the owners. This drew entrants and visitors from a wide geographic range, and was always much anticipated by everyone. During Covid, the show was "temporarily" suspended. It has not returned, sadly. The folks who ran the show were up in years to begin with, and the hiatus became an unintended undoing. I own a 17' 1940 Chris Craft racing boat (3 carburetors on a 155HP MBL engine) and a 1957 20' Continental. Both are pristine and have "no soak" hulls. These boats ply the waters of Lake Geneva, and will do so as long as I can still turn the wheel.

[@dobermanpac1064]

Terrific memories for me in the 50-60’s on Cape Cod. If you had an inboard CC you had arrived! 😎

[@fldmail1]

Always loved Chris-Craft...

[@joebrown1382]

Unmatched quality in it's time. Beautiful boats.

[@dannywoody5497]

Magnificent boats I remember as a kid, seeing them incredibly beautiful, mixed with power, America style

[@dorismikolajczyk3802]

TFS. I loved seeing mahogany Chris Craft boats on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin over the years.

[@davidholmgren659]

Nothing better than a Chris craft!

[@Mr550403]

In my late teens my family would vacation in southern Ontario and take trips on the Trent canal system.I always loved to see the Chris Crafts very stylish,classy and even when docked seemed like the boat could not wait to get out to open water!

[@daveweir6407]

Thanks for the memories. I owned 2 CC's in the 80's. The first was a 27' Constellation. We had that til my 2 kids were born and then moved up to a 36' Connie. Both were wonderful boats. I recently built a 30" scale replica of the 36. Now I can look at it every day.😂

[@normanalvarez5751]

In 1982 I bought a cross craft scorpion. I still have it.❤

[@stevenr2463]

Im from Guernsey, Channel Islands and adored Chris Crafts back in the 1960s. There were only a few, two of them were fibreglass. But still fast and beautiful.

[@dennisrediske6338]

My first time Water Ski-ing was behind a Chris Craft

[@marbleman52]

@dennisrediske6338....Me too...!! It was back in the late 1950's, I think, when I was about 7 or 8. I think the CC that my Grandfather had looked similar to the one shown here at 1:18.

[@griffhenshaw5631]

A great jumpable wake

[@1_TRICK_Pony]

Memory Mountain is always an edutaining experience 😁 While I'm not into boats, I am familiar with many of the well known names in the industry. It was very interesting to learn that Chris-Craft was started my my home state.

[@pauljanssen7594]

There's a gentleman in rancho Cordova that does make boats like these he's a brilliant designer and builder.

[@MWR-lg9qp]

Awesome video, great American story.

[@griffhenshaw5631]

I grew up at lake Tahoe. We had a fiberglass boat but our cousins and other friends had a Chris-Craft. I spent many hours in that boat. In the eighties and nineties got really popular for people to get classic Chris-Craft and centurys. My cousins start importing Wooden boats from Italy. One summer I worked sanding and refinishing shop of a boat works. Yes the memories. Thank you for your piece.

[@jackriley5974]

In the early 50s a friend owned a Chris Craft Cavalier rigged for skiing. He would try to throw me off my skies using full power and that would cause my hands to lock up. I had to intentionally fall and let that rip the rope from my hands at the end of the run. That boat was the fastest on that river every summer.

[@chrisnurczyk8239]

When I was a kid (back about 1960) our family couldn't afford a boat - but when we went fishing, I would go down by the docks and browse. Seeing a Chris Craft was always a treat - to me they looked like floating jewels. Fiberglas boats were nice, but just didn't compare. And owners really took care of them - never saw one that wasn't polished up & clean - you could always see right down into the grain of the mahogany - like you you could fall right in. I can still smell the wood & varnish.

[@cryptokicker3649]

In Los Angeles "Chris Craft" years ago owed and operated a local T.V. station KCOP ch.13 and during their scheduled sign off each night it would end with the announcer saying "KCOP channel 13 a CHRIS CRAFT STATION".

[@griffhenshaw5631]

Wowmi remember that

[@JohnShinn1960]

👍👍

[@JEM133]

Very freaking awesome!

[@davidj.7227]

I had relatives who worked at the plant here in Cadillac Mi.

[@coloradomountainman8659]

Confused. At 0:24 you state that the skiffs had a "square bow". Methinks you meant "square stern", but then again I've been known to be wrong before.

[@finnsaarinen3471]

sweet

[@tmorton922]

At least one of these photo's was taken at Priest Lake Idaho. I have been going there for 55+ years. They have an annual wooden boat gathering there. Elkins Resort is a great place to see lots of amazing classics. 8:01

[@cheyennestandish7599]

I've always thought C Cs were the best looking boats on the water. They look fast just sitting at the dock. Beautiful workmanship.

[@b.b.grenade1407]

My Dad Sold Chris Craft boats at Hayward Marine Center in Cos Cob, Connecticut.

[@barryh.9913]

My father in-law built boats for them in Algonac. Then GM came in and hired a bunch of wood model makers.

[@jeffreypinder9398]

Grew up with Chris Craft boats. Owned and sold an XK-19 and an XK-22.

[@jimcarter4929]

They also made outboard engines for a short time. Had a 5.5 hp.made in 1952.

[@4literv6]

Funny to imagine those first fast for the time tiny cc boats would get passed by the uss new jersey BB which once did 35mph in trials. 😀

[@user-lk2cj2qs1d]

A friend of the family had a 16-18 foot Mahogany plank Wanted me to restore it Turned it down because I didn't have enough experience to take on such a task

[@fredliperson9171]

3 billion in sales! Are you sure?

[@bobbates7343]

They should bring back some all wooden boats.

[@griffhenshaw5631]

Riva of Italy makes and sierra boat imports

[@sjTHEfirst]

3 Billion Dollars? Really, in 1930? I don’t the GNP was that much in 1930.

[@MemoryMountain]

Million. Not billion. 😬 👍 Thanks for the update!

[@danielgregg2530]

I watched this hoping vaguely to see the boat I lost my boat-driving cherry on (in the Panama Canal, no less), and am still amazed it was actually there. Anybody know anything about the long boat (it was 65') in background from 5:07 to 5:11?

[@rjwintl]

Bring back wooden boats !!!

[@noexcuses6727]

Not the Bow that is square - its the Stern

[@MemoryMountain]

As Chris-Craft evolved, the flat stern is what we recognize today, but early on when he first started the early punts/sciffs did have a square bow. I know the photo shown at that time showed them building a flat stern, but I couldn’t find a photo of the boats he built in 1874. Sorry for any confusion. Thanks for watching!

[@zeusapollo8688]

They became heavy users of plywood after the fifties

[@BB-je8hm]

that you, Zach?

[@2010mistersoftee]

Was that million or billion dollars?

[@MemoryMountain]

Should be million!

[@Steve-jq4st]

Even that seems too high for 1930s.

[@dickrice6583]

I was a graphics sales and catalog subcontractor to Chris-Craft in the late 1960. I can tell you that sales were in the millions (NOT BILLIONS)

[@SurfBandFan]

Try transporting a +3000 lb boat onto the roof of today's cars....says enough about modern cars and boats!

[@chhindz]

How many billions in 20s on a thousand boat sales? unlikely

[@ronaldfazekas6492]

Please try to have your photos have some relation to your narration!--By the way, I cannot believe that Chris Craft EVER sold $3 BILLION worth in any year, let alone the 1920's

[@carlsaganlives6086]

That's how much booze they carried back in the day. 🍸🍹

[@garycody1929]

Another where images do not match narrative

[@fredturner7787]

As a Chris Craft owner I can attest to their quality