StanCraft 260 Day Boat, a Mahogany Runabout From Idaho

What StanCraft means by a 260 Day Boat

Anyone searching for a stancraft boat quickly learns that this Idaho builder does not work like a production yard. Its catalog is a set of hull families, Rivelle, Sleek, Exocet and Hammerhead, that clients customize down to the quilting pattern, plus one-off customs. The 260 Day Boat is the newest and smallest member of the Rivelle family, and it is the most attainable way into a new StanCraft wooden boat.

StanCraft of the Great Lakes, the brand's dealer in Saugatuck, Michigan, lists the boat both as a 2025 StanCraft 260 Rivelle and as the 260 Day Boat Geneva Edition, with an example based on Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. The dealer describes it as an all-new design for the owner who wants the luxury of a wood boat with the functionality of a general runabout, equally suited to watersports, swimming and sunbathing or a dressed-up evening cruise to dinner.

That brief explains the whole concept. The larger Rivelles from 29 to 38 feet carry twin engines and 12 to 20 people. The 260 strips that formula down to one engine and a 26-foot hull, which lowers the price, the fuel bill and the size of the slip or boathouse you need.

Ninety years of StanCraft, from Flathead Lake to Hayden

StanCraft dates to 1933, when W.H. "Billy" Young and his son Stanley C. Young began building wooden boats on the shores of Flathead Lake in Montana. Stan's son Syd later moved the operation to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, where he and his wife Julie ran restoration, storage, service and production. In the late 1990s Syd reworked the boats for better performance and created the look most people now recognize as a StanCraft.

The current, third chapter began in 2003, when Syd and Julie's daughter Amy and her husband Robb Bloem moved back to Coeur d'Alene and restarted building with three craftsmen in a 2,000-square-foot shop. According to the company, that operation has grown to more than 45,000 square feet of manufacturing, over 136,000 square feet of storage and service space and more than 100 employees on its campus in Hayden, Idaho. Today the StanCraft name also covers construction, marine construction and a jet center, but the boats remain the core of the brand.

African mahogany, white oak and a lot of hours

StanCraft is unusual among modern builders in that it still builds the hull from wood rather than molding fiberglass and adding wood trim. The company explains that African mahogany takes center stage for its stability and workability, while frames and battens are white oak for strength, and composite materials such as carbon fiber are used for accessory parts. Rivelle models are described as all-traditional mahogany construction for both the hull and the top deck.

Each hull starts on the lofting table, where the frames are assembled by hand, before moving through what the builder calls the whale stage, planking, fairing, finishing and rigging. StanCraft says a finished boat represents more than 6,000 hours of work. That is the real reason a 26-foot StanCraft costs several times as much as a fiberglass runabout of the same length: you are paying for skilled labor, not for materials.

One engine, a thruster and a runabout cockpit

Where the bigger Rivelles use twin Ilmor V8s on One-Drive units with joystick docking, the 260 uses a single 430 hp engine turning a counter-rotating propeller outdrive. Counter-rotating props give a single-engine boat better grip, straighter tracking and less steering torque, which suits a heavy wooden hull. A bow jet thruster comes with the package to make close-quarters work in a crowded marina or boathouse less stressful, a sensible addition on a boat where a dock rash repair means fresh varnish.

The dealer lists a heater, refrigerator and stereo on the boat. A heater sounds odd for a summer runabout, but on northern lakes such as Coeur d'Alene, Geneva or Lake Michigan, early-season and evening cruises are cool, and StanCraft owners use their boats for dinner runs as much as for afternoon swims.

Across the Rivelle family, StanCraft lists features such as a large floor cooler, a Fusion stereo with Hertz speakers, wireless phone chargers, reverse lounge seating at the engine hatch, a SeaDek-covered swim platform with ladder, and a tower option in all lengths, all with the owner's choice of seat colors, materials and stitching. Expect the 260 to draw from the same menu, scaled to its size.

Performance, what is known and what is not

StanCraft has not released speed or fuel figures for the 260, and no independent test has been published, so this page does not invent them. For context, the builder quotes a 35 mph cruise and 50 to 65 mph top speeds for the twin-engine 29 to 38-foot Rivelles. A 26-foot hull with half the power will be slower than those numbers suggest, but a 430 hp V8 in a runabout this size should still deliver brisk acceleration and comfortable cruising for watersports.

If performance matters to you, ask the dealer for a sea trial with a typical load, note the rpm at your preferred cruise, and ask for the fuel capacity and expected range in writing. With a custom builder, those numbers can vary with options and equipment.

The real cost of owning a varnished wood boat

Owning a StanCraft is closer to owning a classic car than a typical runabout. The finish needs protection from sun and water, which means covered or indoor storage, careful fendering and regular maintenance coats. StanCraft's own listings mention boats needing shine coats every few years, and its service arm offers summer storage, winter storage, restoration and refinishing.

Budget roughly $10,000 to $25,000 a year for a 26-footer, depending on whether you use StanCraft's storage and service, how many hours you run, and how often the varnish needs attention. Insurance should be written on an agreed-value basis by a carrier that understands wooden boats, because repair costs depend on specialist labor.

The upside is longevity. A properly maintained mahogany hull can be refinished and updated many times. StanCraft regularly rebuilds interiors and refinishes older boats, so a well-kept boat keeps looking new.

Shopping for a used StanCraft of similar size

Because the 260 is new, buyers who want a 25 to 27-foot StanCraft today will mostly find earlier models such as the Highboy, Lowboy and Shooter. Listings for stancraft wooden boats on the builder's own site have included a 2005 25-foot Highboy offered at $119,995, a 2007 26-foot Shooter with a 2022 interior rebuild at $250,000, and a 2014 27-foot Lowboy Deluxe with an Ilmor 7.4 V-drive, refinished in 2023, at $219,995 to $299,995.

Those prices show how much refits drive value. A freshly refinished older StanCraft can approach the price of a much newer boat, while one with tired varnish and original upholstery will sell at a deep discount, then need a sizable refit. For stancraft for sale searches, the most valuable document is a service history from StanCraft itself.

• Ask when the boat last had a full refinish versus maintenance coats
• Find out where it was stored, indoor or boathouse storage is best
• Check whether the engine and drive have been replaced or rebuilt
• Confirm what was renewed in any recent refit and who did the work