Christopher Columbus Smith
Motor Boat Pioneer and Founder of Chris Craft
Chis Smith had a natural talent for building boats that were both functional and beautiful, and he built that into a very successful business.
At the age of 13 in 1874, a young boy in Michigan built himself a wooden boat to hunt ducks on the Lake. This young man would go on to found a world famous company, and be responsible for the construction of some of the best boats ever built. Like his namesake, young Christopher Columbus Smith would break new ground, and make wonderful discoveries. With a natural talent for building boats already demonstrated, young Chris Smith and his brother soon started a business to build boats.
Before long they were experimenting with installing gasoline engines on their boats, a launch built in 1911 achieved a mere seven miles an hour (mph), but they got the knack of it before long, and Chris Smith was soon building world champion speedboats. By 1919 the Miss America set a world record speed of 76.65 mph. From just before the turn of the Century until 1960 the Smith Brother’s company, eventually named Chris Craft, had a reputation for building high quality wooden boats. A boat built by Chris Smith won the American Power Boat Association Gold Cup many times, once for six years in a row. Boats such as the Miss Detroit, Baby Speed Demon, and Baby Reliance won Smith a national reputation as a boat builder who really understood his craft.
Speed boats were their initial line, but before long luxurious cabin cruisers built by Chris craft could be seen on the waters all over the world. Anybody looking to buy a used boat today is very likely to recognize the beautiful lines of the old wooden Chris Craft launches and cruisers. For over 60 years in the middle of the 20th Century Chris Craft built more boats than any other company. They were known for their craftsmanship, and their smooth integration of power and speed. Chris Craft even built landing craft for the U.S. Navy during World War II.
A 1930’s print ad ends, Chris Craft- The World’s Largest Builder of Mahogany Motor Boats, and shows prices between 2,000 and 4,000 dollars. That was a veritable fortune in those depression years, and remained a lot of money through the next decade. In the last days of the gold standard, before income taxes, Keynesian Economics, and inflation really got a hold you could own a Chris Craft for a couple of thousand. Even today, a careful shopper who likes to fix things up can own an old Chris Craft today for a similar price tag, but fully restored wooden Chris Crafts cost a lot more, and are priceless things of beauty on the water.
