Formula Boats, the Family-Run Indiana Performance Builder

From Aronow's winning formula to Vic Porter

Don Aronow founded Formula in Miami in 1962, naming the company for the winning formula he saw in his partnership with Dave Stirrat, Jim Wynne, Walt Walters, Buddy Smith and Jake Trotter. He sold the company to Alliance Machine in Ohio and moved on to Donzi, Magnum and Cigarette. Formula eventually became part of Thunderbird Products, which ended up under Fuqua Industries.

Vic Porter, who ran Thunderbird, Formula and Signa as president under Fuqua from 1973, then formed Porter, Inc. and bought all three; the company dates Porter family ownership to 1976. By 1979 Signa was dropped and Porter was moving the business toward the Formula deep-V series and the 302 LS high-performance model. Thunderbird Products, whose corporate entity Porter, Inc. does business as Formula Boats, still owns and runs Formula from its headquarters in Decatur, Indiana, and the Porter family's long tenure gives the brand a consistency that few American builders can match.

Bowriders to sport yachts

The current Formula lineup includes bowriders from about 24 to 31 feet, crossover bowriders, Super Sport Crossover models up to about 50 feet, Sun Sport boats and center consoles. Formula's reputation rests on finish: deep gelcoat, carefully executed interiors and well-engineered systems that make its boats feel more expensive than many rivals.

We review two discontinued cruisers from the John Adams era, and they show the two sides of the brand. The Formula 400 Super Sport, which surfaces on the used market from 2005 builds, is the sporting one: a 40 foot, 11 foot beam sterndrive boat on the FAS3Tech double-step hull with 22 degrees of deadrise aft, a single aft stateroom and power from big-block MerCruiser gas engines, Mercury Racing 525s or Volvo Penta D6 diesels. Around 2018 Formula moved the Super Sport name to the outboard 400 SSC Crossover, which is a different and beamier boat, so check the model year and drive type before comparing prices.

The Formula 45 Yacht is the cruising side. Introduced in 2006, with about 190 hulls built by 2018, it pairs an express layout and coupe hardtop with a full salon and two staterooms below, on V-drive diesels or later Volvo IPS pods. Couples and families use it for weekends or weeks, mainly on the Great Lakes, in the Northeast and in Florida. It is no longer in the lineup, so every 45 Yacht is now a used boat, and Formula's 45 foot slot today belongs to the triple-outboard 457 center consoles.

Choosing between them is mostly about the crew. The 400 SS suits a couple who value speed and a driver's helm over space, while the 45 Yacht gives a second couple their own cabin and a calmer ride on longer trips.

• Bowriders and crossovers for day use
• Super Sport Crossover and Sun Sport models, including the outboard 400 SSC
• Center consoles from the 387 to the 457
• Formula 400 Super Sport, the stepped-hull sterndrive cruiser we review
• Formula 45 Yacht, the discontinued express cruiser we review

Resale and used-boat checks

Formulas consistently trade at or near the top of their segment on the US used market, helped by finish quality, family ownership and a dealer network that has been stable for decades. The Great Lakes and Midwest are strongholds, and dealers there know the boats well. The company also offers a FormulaFlex program and dealer locator support for new buyers.

Inspection priorities depend on propulsion and size.

• Sterndrive bellows, gimbal bearings and outdrive service on the 400 Super Sport and smaller boats
• Exhaust risers and manifolds on big-block gas engines
• Inboard or pod drive records on the 45 Yacht
• Generator and air conditioning hours
• Hardtop and windshield seals, plus canvas condition
• Gelcoat and hull graphics, which affect resale as much as mechanicals