Chris-Craft, from Algonac Mahogany to Sarasota Fiberglass

A 13-year-old boatbuilder on the St. Clair River

Christopher Columbus Smith built his first wooden boat in 1874, at age 13, in Algonac, Michigan, on the St. Clair River. His family business became the Smith Ryan Boat Company in 1910 and took the Chris-Craft name in 1924. In the late 1920s it pioneered assembly-line production of pleasure boats, introducing the affordable Cadet and making a motorboat something a middle-class family could own.

After World War II Chris-Craft became the dominant American boat brand. The 1955 21-foot Cobra and the Capri and Riviera runabouts became icons, and owners ranged from Henry Ford and William Randolph Hearst to Frank Sinatra and Elvis Presley. The company built its first fiberglass boat by 1955 and added a steel boat division in 1957, but the Smith family sold in 1960 and the brand went through decades of corporate ownership, from Chris-Craft Industries to Murray Industries and Outboard Marine Corporation.

The Commander and the move to fiberglass cruisers

Between the mahogany era and the Sarasota revival sits a chapter many buyers overlook. In 1962 Chris-Craft set up fiberglass research in Pompano, Florida, and a tooling operation in Holland, Michigan, and two years later it launched the Commander 38, the first inboard cruiser the company built entirely of fiberglass. The hull laminate was about an inch thick, and 262 of the 38s left the plant between 1964 and 1969 in express, sedan and sportfish forms.

The Commander name then spread across a whole family of boats. The 35 Commander, a sport bridge cruiser with a 13 foot beam and twin 230 hp V-8 gas inboards, followed in 1969 and more than 164 were built by 1972, while a redesigned 38 stayed in the catalog into the mid-1970s. Owners formed the Chris-Craft Commander Club online in 1999, and the factory briefly revived the name in 2016 on a Commander 42 open boat developed with the Italian builder Austin Parker.

Our Commander guide treats these boats as classics first and cruisers second. Their thick hulls tend to survive, but old gas engines, wiring and fuel tanks decide whether a given boat is a bargain or a long project, so prices swing from very little to restored showpieces.

The Stellican revival and today's range

When OMC collapsed in 2000, investment firm Stellican bought Chris-Craft and relaunched it in Sarasota, Florida as a premium brand that borrows classic styling cues, such as the tumblehome transom, varnished accents and chrome, but builds in modern fiberglass. Winnebago Industries, the recreational vehicle company, later bought the brand and owns it today.

The Chris-Craft Launch 27, which we also cover, sums up the modern formula: a bowrider of just under 28 feet with a deep-V hull, a long foredeck and a finish level well above mainstream runabouts. It took the Launch 27 name for the 2018 model year, the same year Winnebago bought the company, and was reworked for 2026 with a 21 degree hull. The Launch series spans several sizes, alongside the Calypso dual consoles, Catalina center consoles and Corsair cabin boats, with sterndrive and outboard versions.

• Launch, premium bowriders such as the Launch 27
• Calypso and Catalina, outboard dual and center consoles
• Corsair, cuddy and cabin day boats

Two very different used markets

Vintage wooden Chris-Crafts are collector items. Values depend on originality, restoration quality and model rarity, and the Antique and Classic Boat Society community is the best place to learn. Restorations are expensive and a cheap wooden boat is rarely cheap to own. Early fiberglass Commanders form a middle market of their own, cheaper to keep than wood but still old boats with old systems.

Modern fiberglass Chris-Crafts hold value well because production is limited and the styling ages gracefully. Dealers are fewer than for Sea Ray or Cobalt, so check service options near you.

• Vintage boats: plank and frame condition, bottom refastening, original engine and hardware
• Classic fiberglass Commanders: gas engines, fuel tanks, wiring and any deck or bridge core rot
• Modern boats: varnished teak and caprails, which need regular care
• Sterndrive bellows and outdrive service on Volvo or Mercury sterndrive boats
• Outboard hours on newer outboard models
• Canvas, upholstery and chrome condition, which drive resale