An American icon comes to Thailand
It’s not hard to imagine that anyone given the names Christopher and Columbus by his parents would have to be interested in boats. This was certainly the case with Christopher Columbus Smith, born in 1861 in Detroit. He was fascinated by boats, building his first wooden one – a rowboat – at the age of 13. By the time he was 20, he and his brother, Henry, were working full-time building high-quality boats to order.
In 1910, the brothers, with partners, registered the Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Co. The name was changed in 1924 to Chris-Craft Inc. The rest, as they say, is history and the company earned a reputation for producing high-quality, sleek, mahogany powerboats. As early as the 1920s, Chris Craft was offering a one-year warranty against manufacturing defects, claiming its boats were “so nearly trouble-proof that this guarantee has cost an average of only $6.00 a boat”.
The good looks and quality attracted high-profile buyers such as car manufacturer Henry Ford and newspaper magnate William Randolph Hurst. Various members of leading American families – the Vanderbilts and the Firestones, the Sloans and the Morgans – also bought Chris Crafts.
Stars of the stage and screen also had to have a Chris Craft. Among these were movie star Katherine Hepburn and singers Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Elvis Presley. Chris Craft boats also made significant appearances in a variety of movies, particularly On Golden Pond (starring Hepburn), in which the boat is crucial to the plot, as well as Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, The Godfather II and many others.
The boats were not just glamorous, they were also fast. As early as 1915, Smith had built two proven race winners, the Baby Speed Demon and the Baby Reliance which won the American Power Boat Association’s Gold Cup. By 1921 he was advertising a 26-foot runabout that would do 35 knots; the following year he offered four different designs, the largest being the 33-foot Baby Gar, which would hit 50 knots and cost US$7,500.
It wasn’t just moguls and movie stars who dreamed of owning a Chris Craft – and the company tried to ensure that just about anyone could realise this dream. Standardized production – in effect a hand-crafted assembly line – meant that the boats, though of high quality, were also affordable. In addition, Chris Craft offered payment plans, putting its boats within reach of those who could not afford the full price in one go.
In short, thousands of people bought Chris Crafts, each becoming the proud owner of a sleek, graceful, fast icon, the American equivalent of the revered and much-sought-after Rivas made in Italy at the same time. These were the glory days.
Chris Smith died in 1939, but is still revered in the boating community. The Mariners’ Museum of Newport News, Virginia, which acquired the complete company records from 1922 to 1980, describes him as “the dean of American standardized boatbuilding”. His son Jay took over, and then his grandson Harsen.
By that time – the late 1950s – Chris Craft had 10 factories and 5,000 employees making more than 8,000 boats a year and generating income of US$40 million. Harsen appeared on the front cover of Time magazine in early 1959, described as “the man who perhaps, more than any other, put the U.S. family afloat”.
Less than a year later – possibly recognising that the whole industry might be about to change radically with the advent of fibreglass which would mean massively expensive retooling – the family sold the company. The following two decades were less happy. Chris Craft, still making mahogany boats, began to lose out to competitors working in fiberglass. Ironically, it had been the first to make use of fibreglass, in its 19-foot Silver Arrow, launched in 1958, which had a wooden hull covered with a shell of the new material. But less-than-sparkling sales – 92 Silver Arrows sold in two years – had convinced management at that time to go back to timber hulls.
The last wooden-hulled boat, the 57-foot Constellation, was made in 1971, and all hulls were made in fiberglass after that. But the company continued to struggle, changing hands a number of times before going out of business in 2000 when parent company Outboard Marine Corp collapsed.
Chris Craft was swiftly resurrected by turnaround specialist Stephen Julius. In 1988 he had restructured the similarly ailing Riva and then sold it on to Italy’s Ferretti Group. But after the sale he missed having a top-class boat maker and cast around for another legendary brand to make his own. He and friend Steve Heese snapped up Chris Craft, re-hired key employees and set about reviving the company. The following year, Chris Craft – now based in Sarasota, Florida – made its comeback at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. The doors opened on the first day, and a customer walked in and promptly bought a boat. Chris Craft was back on track. Thanks to the company’s lasting reputation for building strong, fast, beautifully finished boats, sales in the first year totalled $26 million.
There are now 20 models in the Chris Craft line, ranging from the 19-foot Silver Bullet, with a top speed of 50 knots, to the 40-foot Roamer express cruiser, which can sleep four or more in luxury (depending on configuration) and has a range of 415 miles. Since its formation almost 130 years ago, the company has built more than 250,000 boats.
The latest development is that boat-lovers in Thailand can now see, try and buy Chris-Craft boats from the company’s new agent, Chris Craft Thailand, based at the Boat Lagoon marina in Phuket. For basic no-extras models, prices range from US$50,000 to US$500,000 plus shipping. Chris Craft Thailand also plans to make boats available for charter and to open more outlets in seaside cities around Thailand.
Frank Van Hooijdonk, Boat Sales Manager of Chris Craft Thailand, said, “We’re honored to be the Chris Craft dealer in Thailand. Now finally people here can experience the boat used by presidents and movie stars.”
As in Florida, Chris Craft made its Thai launch at a boat show – the Phuket International Marine Exhibition and as in Florida, the company sold a boat – a Lancer 20 – almost as soon as the show opened. Mr. Van Hooijdonk was elated. “It’s been fantastic,” he said on the second day of the show. “It was just like Fort Lauderdale. We sold one boat to a client who has a film studio, and we have at least 10 other people who will probably buy. They know the name and the quality – that’s what makes the difference.”
For more information please contact Frank Van Hooijdonk at frank@chriscraft.asia, call +66 (0) 819784740
or visit www.chriscraft.asia.