Chris-Craft Boats for Sale

From Algonac to Sarasota

Christopher Columbus Smith built his first boat in Algonac, Michigan, in 1874, when he was 13. He went on to build skiffs and punts with his brother Hank. The Smith Ryan Boat Company was formed in 1910 to build fast, affordable runabouts, and it became Chris Smith & Sons Boat Company in 1922. Chris's son Jay Smith ran Chris-Craft for 31 years from 1927, and under him it became the world's largest builder of mahogany powerboats.

During World War II Chris-Craft built 12,000 boats for the US Navy and Army. After the war the lineup reached 139 models. The first fiberglass Chris-Craft came in 1955, and the last mahogany boat, a 57-foot Constellation, was built in 1971.

Chris-Craft has built boats in Sarasota, Florida, since 1988. An investment group bought the company in 2001, and Winnebago Industries bought it in 2018. In 2023 it opened a 70,000-square-foot plant in Sarasota that raised production capacity by 50 percent.

What you'll find for sale

• Classic wooden boats: mahogany runabouts, utilities and cruisers built before 1972. These are a specialist market.
• Older fiberglass boats: cruisers and sport boats from the 1960s through the 1990s, including performance boats from the 1980s and early 1990s.
• Modern Chris-Crafts: the Launch and Launch GT bowriders, the Calypso dual consoles, the Catalina center consoles and the Sportster. In 2023 the range ran from 24 to 35 feet, with sterndrive and outboard power.

For the brand's 150th anniversary in 2024, Chris-Craft built a special edition Launch 27 with aquamarine trim and a 150th burgee. It has the brand's deep-V hull, reverse transom and hand-selected teak.

What to check on a used Chris-Craft

Wooden classics. Get a surveyor who knows wooden boats. Check the planking, frames, bottom and fastenings, and ask what restoration work has been done and when. Original hardware and engines add value.

Older fiberglass. Check the transom, stringers and floors for rot, especially where there is wood inside the fiberglass. Look at the engine mounts and exhaust risers on inboards and sterndrives.

Modern boats. Teak and varnish need regular care, so check the condition of the brightwork. Get engine hours and service records, and on sterndrives check the bellows and gimbal bearing.

Paperwork. Make sure the hull number on the boat matches the title and registration, and ask for any restoration or service invoices.