Chris-Craft
For the NASA flight director, see Christopher C. Kraft, Jr.
| Type | private |
|---|---|
| Industry | manufacturer |
| Founded | 2000 |
| Founder(s) | Stephen Julius Stephen Heese |
| Headquarters | Sarasota, Florida, United States |
| Products | powerboat |
| Parent | Stellican, Ltd. |
| Website | http://www.chriscraft.com |
Chris-Craft, Inc. is a privately held American manufacturer of civilian powerboats based in Sarasota, Florida. The original company, Chris-Craft Boats was founded in the late 19th century by Christopher Columbus Smith and became famous for its mahogany hulled powerboats of the 1920s through the 1950s.
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[edit] Original Company
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- See main article: Chris-Craft Boats
Smith built his first wooden boat in 1874 when he was 13 years old. He soon began to build more boats and joined his brother Henry in 1881 to begin producing boats full time. In 1910, the brothers joined with other partners to form the Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Company. The company name was changed to Chris-Craft in 1924. The Detroit area company became well known for their sleek racing boats in the 1910s and 1920s. The company continued to be independent until it was acquired by Shields & Company and National Automotive Fibers in 1960. They renamed the company Chris-Craft Industries, Incorporated.
[edit] Licensed out
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- see Main article Chris-Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries sold its boat division to Murray Industries in 1981, but retained the Chris-Craft trademark and licensed it to Murray. Chris-Craft Industries was acquired by News Corporation in 2000 for its television subsidiaries.
[edit] New Chris-Craft
Outboard Marine Corporation acquired Chris-Craft Boats in 1989. OMC went into bankruptcy in 2000 and was purchased by Genmar. Genmar sold the Chris-Craft division to Stellican, Ltd., then Stellican purchased the Chris-Craft trademark from News Corporation, thus reuniting the two parts of the company to form Chris-Craft, Inc..[1]
[edit] References
- ^ "Everything Old Is New Again: The New Chris Craft" (html). boat digest.com. Force 12 Media, LLC. January 7, 2007. http://www.boatdigest.com/node/151. Retrieved 2009-07-20.[dead link]
