Information about Chris Craft Industries
Chris-Craft Industries is a privately held American manufacturer of civilian powerboats based in Sarasota, Florida. The company was founded in the late 19th century by Christopher Columbus Smith and became famous for its mahogany hulled powerboats of the 1920s through the 1950s.
The Detroit area company became well known for their sleek racing boats in the 1910s and 1920s. Chris-Craft sold high end powerboats to wealthy patrons such as Henry Ford and William Randolph Hearst. In the late 1920s, Chris-Craft extended its market into the middle class when it became one of the first mass producers of civilian pleasure boats. The company began assembly line production at their Algonac, Michigan plant dramatically lowering productions costs. Until then, most powerboats had been built by hand.
In 1927 the company introduced the Cadet, an affordable 22' runabout. At the time, the domain of speed boats was largely confined to the wealthy. Its innovative advertising campaign promised a piece of "the good life" to the growing American middle class. The fact that the company sold its boats on installment made them among the first powerboats available to the general population.
The Great Depression robbed many Americans of discretionary income and Chris-Craft sales suffered. The company introduced a line of low priced powerboats to stay solvent. By 1935, a 15.5' Utility boat could be bought for as little as US$406. During World War II, the company produced small patrol boats and launches for the U.S. Navy.
After the war, Chris Craft introduced an all new lineup of civilian pleasure boats just in time for the massive American consumer expansion of the 1950s. That decade marked the height of company prestige and the brand name Chris-Craft became virtually synonymous with pleasure boating. The company offered 159 different models and was the sales leader in many categories of small civilian powerboats.
The company sold high end boats to famous customers and Hollywood stars such as Dean Martin, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley. Their boats were often made from the finest mahogany and were considered to be among the best available. They were also easy to operate, a must for their "weekend sailor" owners. In some circles, owning a Chris-Craft was considered de rigueur. Even their lower priced boats were considered to be of high quality, often featuring such luxury items as a liberal use of as mahogany, teak, and brass.
In 1957, Chris-Craft Corporation added a metal boats division, designated the Roamer Steel Boats Division (RSBD) - founded upon its purchase of the Roamer Boat Company, now known as Chris Craft Roamers.
The company continued to be independent until it was acquired by Shields & Company and National Automotive Fibers in 1960. They renamed the company Chris-Craft Industries, Incorporated.
In 1964, Chris-Craft launched the all fiberglass Chris-Craft Commander. This dramatic new design was unveiled at the New York City National Boat show - perched at the top of the escalator on a giant, castered cradle. This first Commander was a 38' express hardtop with a 13' beam. The line of Commanders soon grew to include sizes ranging from 19' to 60' - all 'styled in fiberglass.' The greatest legacy of the Chris-Craft Commander is the [Chris-Craft Commander Club][1] a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, study and appreciation of the classic fiberglass cruisers built by this world-renowned company in the 1960's and 1970's.
Perhaps in homage to Chris-Craft's rich history—and in acknowledgment that traditional wood boat building methods were quickly yielding to fiberglass construction, Chris-Craft employees established the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club [2] in 1970. As the longest-standing boat marque club in the U.S., the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club has grown to over 3,000 members worldwide with members in over 35 countries. The mission of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club is much the same today as it was back in 1970:
The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club is dedicated to research, documentation, and preservation of all classic Chris-Craft boats. As the longest-standing marque club in the world, our purpose is to exchange information, build camaraderie among members, and provide education about classic Chris-Crafts.
The establishment of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club foreshadowed by a number of years the end of the wooden boat era.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, Chris-Craft lost market share as competitors with more innovative designs and less expensive manufacturing techniques such as fiberglass hulls came on the scene. Chris-Craft ended production of its last mahogany hulled boat, the 57' Constellation, in 1971.
The company's ownership changed several times during the next several decades until it was purchased by partners Stephen Julius and Stephen Heese in 2001.
The Chris-Craft name and distinctive look of its mahogany hull has become such American icons the boat has been used in numerous films and television shows. The boat was featured in the films House Boat, Donavan's Reef, Back to School, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Godfather II, On Golden Pond, The Dirty Dozen, Striking Distance and on the television series The Sopranos. A Chris-Craft also made an appearance in the film Pearl Harbor, but experts note that the film, set in 1941, anachronistically featured a 1950's era Capri. Of current models, the Corsair 25 was seen in and the Launch 25 will be seen in Fool's Gold in Spring 2008.
In the late 1950s, a predecessor to today's Chris-Craft Industries, the NAFI Corporation (a company partially controlled by singer/actor Bing Crosby), expanded its business portfolio with television broadcasting. NAFI purchased its first TV station, KCOP in Los Angeles, in 1957. Two years later KPTV in Portland, Oregon, was acquired. Chris-Craft Industries (which resulted from the merger between NAFI and Chris-Craft Boats) owned only these two stations for nearly a quarter-century (they were joined by a Fort Worth station for eleven years and a Minneapolis station for eight years) before merging them with three stations owned by United Television in 1981 (see chart below). United Television then became a subsidiary of Chris-Craft Industries, and the group (which also went by the name BHC Communications) became one of the country's leading operators of independent television stations.
In the early 1990's, Chris-Craft Television formed an alternative programming consortium, Prime Time Entertainment Network, with other station groups and Warner Bros. Domestic Television that was planned to expand into the fifth television network but fizzled into a syndication brand.
In January 1995, Chris-Craft/United affiliated all of its stations, except KTVX in Salt Lake City, Utah and KMOL-TV in San Antonio, Texas (which had long-term affiliation contracts with ABC and NBC, respectively), with the newly-launched United Paramount Network, which it co-owned (50 percent) with Viacom. (KMOL later aired UPN programming as a secondary affiliation from 1998 to 2000.) Chris-Craft however, suffered large financial losses attributed to UPN, and in 2000, Viacom bought out Chris-Craft's share of the network. Shortly thereafter, Chris-Craft announced that it was getting out of broadcasting. Many industry observers thought Viacom would end up getting the stations, but Viacom's bid lost out to News Corporation's Fox Television Stations, resulting in a sale which closed in 2001.
Footnotes:
..... Click the link for more information.
2nd millennium
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
- -
- The 1950s
..... Click the link for more information.
Disposable income is the total amount of income an individual makes after direct taxes.
..... Click the link for more information.
2nd millennium
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
- -
- The 1950s
..... Click the link for more information.
History
Smith built his first wooden boat in 1874 when he was 13 years old. He soon began to build more boats and joined his brother Henry in 1881 to begin producing boats full time. In 1910, the brothers joined with other partners to form the Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Company. The company name was changed to Chris-Craft in 1924.The Detroit area company became well known for their sleek racing boats in the 1910s and 1920s. Chris-Craft sold high end powerboats to wealthy patrons such as Henry Ford and William Randolph Hearst. In the late 1920s, Chris-Craft extended its market into the middle class when it became one of the first mass producers of civilian pleasure boats. The company began assembly line production at their Algonac, Michigan plant dramatically lowering productions costs. Until then, most powerboats had been built by hand.
In 1927 the company introduced the Cadet, an affordable 22' runabout. At the time, the domain of speed boats was largely confined to the wealthy. Its innovative advertising campaign promised a piece of "the good life" to the growing American middle class. The fact that the company sold its boats on installment made them among the first powerboats available to the general population.
The Great Depression robbed many Americans of discretionary income and Chris-Craft sales suffered. The company introduced a line of low priced powerboats to stay solvent. By 1935, a 15.5' Utility boat could be bought for as little as US$406. During World War II, the company produced small patrol boats and launches for the U.S. Navy.
After the war, Chris Craft introduced an all new lineup of civilian pleasure boats just in time for the massive American consumer expansion of the 1950s. That decade marked the height of company prestige and the brand name Chris-Craft became virtually synonymous with pleasure boating. The company offered 159 different models and was the sales leader in many categories of small civilian powerboats.
The company sold high end boats to famous customers and Hollywood stars such as Dean Martin, Katharine Hepburn, Frank Sinatra, and Elvis Presley. Their boats were often made from the finest mahogany and were considered to be among the best available. They were also easy to operate, a must for their "weekend sailor" owners. In some circles, owning a Chris-Craft was considered de rigueur. Even their lower priced boats were considered to be of high quality, often featuring such luxury items as a liberal use of as mahogany, teak, and brass.
In 1957, Chris-Craft Corporation added a metal boats division, designated the Roamer Steel Boats Division (RSBD) - founded upon its purchase of the Roamer Boat Company, now known as Chris Craft Roamers.
The company continued to be independent until it was acquired by Shields & Company and National Automotive Fibers in 1960. They renamed the company Chris-Craft Industries, Incorporated.
In 1964, Chris-Craft launched the all fiberglass Chris-Craft Commander. This dramatic new design was unveiled at the New York City National Boat show - perched at the top of the escalator on a giant, castered cradle. This first Commander was a 38' express hardtop with a 13' beam. The line of Commanders soon grew to include sizes ranging from 19' to 60' - all 'styled in fiberglass.' The greatest legacy of the Chris-Craft Commander is the [Chris-Craft Commander Club][1] a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation, study and appreciation of the classic fiberglass cruisers built by this world-renowned company in the 1960's and 1970's.
Perhaps in homage to Chris-Craft's rich history—and in acknowledgment that traditional wood boat building methods were quickly yielding to fiberglass construction, Chris-Craft employees established the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club [2] in 1970. As the longest-standing boat marque club in the U.S., the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club has grown to over 3,000 members worldwide with members in over 35 countries. The mission of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club is much the same today as it was back in 1970:
The Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club is dedicated to research, documentation, and preservation of all classic Chris-Craft boats. As the longest-standing marque club in the world, our purpose is to exchange information, build camaraderie among members, and provide education about classic Chris-Crafts.
The establishment of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club foreshadowed by a number of years the end of the wooden boat era.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, Chris-Craft lost market share as competitors with more innovative designs and less expensive manufacturing techniques such as fiberglass hulls came on the scene. Chris-Craft ended production of its last mahogany hulled boat, the 57' Constellation, in 1971.
The company's ownership changed several times during the next several decades until it was purchased by partners Stephen Julius and Stephen Heese in 2001.
Chris-Craft Today
The company currently offers fourteen models ranging from 20' to 43' with MSRPs starting at around US$42,000. The management plans to continue to expand the model range in the future.The Chris-Craft name and distinctive look of its mahogany hull has become such American icons the boat has been used in numerous films and television shows. The boat was featured in the films House Boat, Donavan's Reef, Back to School, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Godfather II, On Golden Pond, The Dirty Dozen, Striking Distance and on the television series The Sopranos. A Chris-Craft also made an appearance in the film Pearl Harbor, but experts note that the film, set in 1941, anachronistically featured a 1950's era Capri. Of current models, the Corsair 25 was seen in and the Launch 25 will be seen in Fool's Gold in Spring 2008.
Chris-Craft/United Television
)
Chris-Craft in the broadcasting business
In the early 1990's, Chris-Craft Television formed an alternative programming consortium, Prime Time Entertainment Network, with other station groups and Warner Bros. Domestic Television that was planned to expand into the fifth television network but fizzled into a syndication brand.
In January 1995, Chris-Craft/United affiliated all of its stations, except KTVX in Salt Lake City, Utah and KMOL-TV in San Antonio, Texas (which had long-term affiliation contracts with ABC and NBC, respectively), with the newly-launched United Paramount Network, which it co-owned (50 percent) with Viacom. (KMOL later aired UPN programming as a secondary affiliation from 1998 to 2000.) Chris-Craft however, suffered large financial losses attributed to UPN, and in 2000, Viacom bought out Chris-Craft's share of the network. Shortly thereafter, Chris-Craft announced that it was getting out of broadcasting. Many industry observers thought Viacom would end up getting the stations, but Viacom's bid lost out to News Corporation's Fox Television Stations, resulting in a sale which closed in 2001.
Former Chris-Craft/United television stations
| Current DMA# | Market | Station | Years Owned | Current Affiliation |
| 1. | Secaucus, N.J.-New York City | WWOR-TV 9 | 1993-2001 | My Network TV affiliate owned by Fox |
| 2. | Los Angeles | KCOP 13 | 1957-2001 | My Network TV affiliate owned by Fox |
| 5. | Fort Worth-Dallas | KTVT 11 | 1960-1971 | CBS owned-and-operated (O&O) |
| 6. | San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose | KBHK-TV 44 (now KBCW) | 1982-2001 | CW affiliate owned by CBS Corporation |
| 12. | Phoenix | KUTP 45 1 | 1985-2001 | My Network TV affiliate owned by Fox |
| 15. | Minneapolis-St. Paul | WTCN-TV 11 (now KARE) | 1964-1972 | NBC affiliate owned by Gannett Company |
| KMSP-TV 9 ² | 1981-2001 | Fox owned-and-operated (O&O) | ||
| 19. | Orlando - Daytona Beach | WRBW 65 | 1998-2001 | My Network TV affiliate owned by Fox |
| 23. | Portland, Oregon | KPTV 12 | 1959-2001 | Fox affiliate owned by Meredith Corporation |
| 24. | Baltimore | WUTB 24 | 1998-2001 | My Network TV affiliate owned by Fox |
| 35. | Salt Lake City | KTVX 4 ²³ | 1981-2001 | ABC affiliate owned by Clear Channel (Pending sale to Providence Equity Partners) |
| 37. | San Antonio | KMOL-TV 4 ²4 (now WOAI-TV) | 1981-2001 | NBC affiliate owned by Clear Channel (Pending sale to Providence Equity Partners) |
Footnotes:
- 1 KUTP is the only station built and signed-on by Chris-Craft/United.
- ² KMSP-TV, KTVX, and KMOL-TV were owned by United Television prior to its merger with Chris-Craft in 1981.
- ³ KTVX is the only station that never affiliated with UPN in the timeframe Chris-Craft owned stations in the mid-to-late 1990's.
- 4 KMOL, a primary NBC affiliate, had a secondary affiliation to UPN in 1998-2000 when another station dropped it.
External links
- Chris-Craft
- Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club
- Trading Dock, Antique Boat Marketplace
- Here are many Chris-Craft classic boats for sale, Antique Boat Marketplace
The term privately held company refers to ownership of a business company in two different ways—first, referring to ownership by non-governmental organizations; and second, referring to ownership of the company's stock by a relatively small number of holders who do not trade
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Powerboat may refer to:
..... Click the link for more information.
- Powerboating
- F1 Powerboat Racing
- Offshore powerboat racing
..... Click the link for more information.
Sarasota
Downtown Sarasota from the John Ringling Bridge
Location in Sarasota County and the state of Florida
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Florida
..... Click the link for more information.
Downtown Sarasota from the John Ringling Bridge
Location in Sarasota County and the state of Florida
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Florida
..... Click the link for more information.
For the periodical, see .
The 19th Century (also written XIX century) lasted from 1801 through 1900 in the Gregorian calendar. It is often referred to as the "1800s...... Click the link for more information.
mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood, originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban Mahogany.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
- -
..... Click the link for more information.
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1920 1921 1922 1923 1924
1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
- -
..... Click the link for more information.
worldwide view.
2nd millennium
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
- -
- The 1950s
..... Click the link for more information.
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1840s 1850s 1860s - 1870s - 1880s 1890s 1900s
1871 1872 1873 - 1874 - 1875 1876 1877
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
1840s 1850s 1860s - 1870s - 1880s 1890s 1900s
1871 1872 1873 - 1874 - 1875 1876 1877
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s
1878 1879 1880 - 1881 - 1882 1883 1884
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
1850s 1860s 1870s - 1880s - 1890s 1900s 1910s
1878 1879 1880 - 1881 - 1882 1883 1884
:
Subjects: Archaeology - Architecture -
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s
1907 1908 1909 - 1910 - 1911 1912 1913
Year 1910 (MCMX
..... Click the link for more information.
1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s
1907 1908 1909 - 1910 - 1911 1912 1913
Year 1910 (MCMX
..... Click the link for more information.
20th century - 21st century
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1921 1922 1923 - 1924 - 1925 1926 1927
Year 1924 (MCMXXIV
..... Click the link for more information.
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1921 1922 1923 - 1924 - 1925 1926 1927
Year 1924 (MCMXXIV
..... Click the link for more information.
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914
1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
- -
-
..... Click the link for more information.
1880s 1890s 1900s - 1910s - 1920s 1930s 1940s
1910 1911 1912 1913 1914
1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
- -
-
Events and trends
..... Click the link for more information.
Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was the founder of the Ford Motor Company and father of modern assembly lines used in mass production. His introduction of the Model T automobile revolutionized transportation and American industry.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
William Randolph Hearst I (29 April 1863 – 14 August 1951) was an American newspaper magnate.
Hearst was a leading newspaper publisher. The son of a self-made millionaire, he became aware that his father had received a northern California newspaper,
..... Click the link for more information.
Hearst was a leading newspaper publisher. The son of a self-made millionaire, he became aware that his father had received a northern California newspaper,
..... Click the link for more information.
middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independence, but not a great deal of social influence or power. The term often encompasses merchants and professionals, bureaucrats, and some farmers and skilled workers.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
An assembly line is a manufacturing process in which interchangeable parts are added to a product in a sequential manner to create a finished product. The best known form of the assembly line, the moving assembly line, was created by Henry Ford.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Algonac, Michigan
Seal
Motto:
Location of Algonac, Michigan
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Michigan
County St.
..... Click the link for more information.
Seal
Motto:
Location of Algonac, Michigan
Coordinates:
Country United States
State Michigan
County St.
..... Click the link for more information.
20th century - 21st century
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1924 1925 1926 - 1927 - 1928 1929 1930
Year 1927 (MCMXXVII
..... Click the link for more information.
1890s 1900s 1910s - 1920s - 1930s 1940s 1950s
1924 1925 1926 - 1927 - 1928 1929 1930
Year 1927 (MCMXXVII
..... Click the link for more information.
middle class, in colloquial usage, consists of those people who have a degree of economic independence, but not a great deal of social influence or power. The term often encompasses merchants and professionals, bureaucrats, and some farmers and skilled workers.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
If you are prevented from editing this page, and you wish to make a change, please discuss changes on the talk page, request unprotection, log in, or .
..... Click the link for more information.
For the album by punk rock band, Snuff, see Disposable Income (album)
Disposable income is the total amount of income an individual makes after direct taxes.
..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1900s 1910s 1920s - 1930s - 1940s 1950s 1960s
1932 1933 1934 - 1935 - 1936 1937 1938
Year 1935 (MCMXXXV
..... Click the link for more information.
1900s 1910s 1920s - 1930s - 1940s 1950s 1960s
1932 1933 1934 - 1935 - 1936 1937 1938
Year 1935 (MCMXXXV
..... Click the link for more information.
Allied powers:
Soviet Union
United States
United Kingdom
China
France
...et al. Axis powers:
Germany
Japan
Italy
...et al.
..... Click the link for more information.
Soviet Union
United States
United Kingdom
China
France
...et al. Axis powers:
Germany
Japan
Italy
...et al.
..... Click the link for more information.
United States Navy (USN) is the branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. The U.S. Navy currently has over 340,000 personnel on active duty and nearly 128,000 in the Navy Reserve.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
worldwide view.
2nd millennium
Centuries: 19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1920s 1930s 1940s - 1950s - 1960s 1970s 1980s
1950 1951 1952 1953 1954
1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
- -
- The 1950s
..... Click the link for more information.
Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti, June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an Italian American singer, film actor, and comedian. He was one of the most famous music artists in the 1950s and 1960s.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
Katharine Hepburn
from the trailer for The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Birth name Katharine Houghton Hepburn
Born November 8 1906
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
from the trailer for The Philadelphia Story (1940)
Birth name Katharine Houghton Hepburn
Born November 8 1906
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Francis Albert Sinatra (December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an Italian American jazz-oriented popular singer and Academy Award-winning actor.
Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great
..... Click the link for more information.
Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became a solo artist with great
..... Click the link for more information.
Elvis Aaron Presley[1][2] (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977), was an American singer, musician, actor, writer, and producer. He is a cultural icon, often known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or simply "The King".
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
de rigueur is a French expression that literally means "of rigor" or "of strictness". In English language usage, it means, "necessary according to etiquette, protocol or fashion.
..... Click the link for more information.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus
