Cruisers Yachts is a brand of pleasure boats owned by MarineMax. The company builds boats ranging from 33 feet - 60 feet, and is headquartered in Oconto, Wisconsin. The company was one of the first boat builders to utilize the Volvo Penta IPS propulsion system.
The company was founded in 1953 in Oconto by Ray, Glenn, brothers Roy and Grant, and brothers Bob and Ted Thompson. They were second-generation members of the Thompson family, involved in boat building at Peshtigo, WI and Cortland, New York. Roy and Grant were following in their father Chris's footsteps, as he had co-founded the Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Company in 1904 in nearby Peshtigo, Wisconsin. The company was originally known as "Cruisers Incorporated", or "Cruisers Inc." for short. They set up operations in the former Holt Lumber planing mill in Oconto. In the first year of operation, Cruisers constructed 14- and 16-foot lapstrake boats, and sold them to the Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg Co. with the Thompson name badge on the hulls. The first shipment left the Oconto factory on November 18, 1953. The first cabin-cruiser model was a 19-foot 3-inch lapstrake boat, which was introduced at the 1954 New York Boat Show; she featured a sink, alcohol stove, water closet, cushioned bunks to sleep four, cabin lights and a collapsible table.[ citation needed ]
In 1956, the first Cruisers product catalog debuted. The company was producing 60 boats per week then, and the work force had grown from 20 to 101, over 5 times its size, in three years. By 1961, 300 people were employed at the company. At this time they were producing 12 different models, ranging from 14 feet to 20 feet long. Cruisers claimed to be the foremost lapstrake boat builder in the world. In 1959 and 1960, they made 3,000 boats annually. Then the bottom fell out of the wooden-boat market.[ citation needed ]
A reorganization of the three Thompson family owned boat plants at Peshtigo, Cortland, NY and Oconto went into effect on 1 January 1959. Cruisers, Inc. became the sole property of Roy and Grant Thompson. Ray Thompson and family gained control of Thompson Bros. boat Mfg. Co. at Peshtigo. A new corporation was formed at Cortland, NY to run that operation; Thompson Boat Company of New York, Inc. with Bob, Ted and Glenn Thompson as owners.
As fiberglass boats hit the scene, customers abandoned wooden vessels en masse. Cruisers resisted the change, with the Thompsons believing firmly that a well-built wooden boat would outperform and outlive any fiberglass version of itself. Cruisers sold less than 800 boats in the 1965 season, and wooden boats were eliminated from the line by the end of 1966. [1]
In 1982, Cruisers acquired the fiberglass portion of the boat division of Mirro Aluminum Company. [2]
Cruisers International in Coventry was set up in 1985, creating 24 ft – 30 ft fiberglass cruising boats for the European market. The best sellers were the Cruisers Intl 224 Holiday and Vee Express 267. The Vee Express 267 was a smaller 6–8-berth version of the USA constructed Vee Express 296. Cruisers International folded in 1992 as the result of a fault in the 267 mouldings that occurred when the UK company moved to a smaller location and left the mould outside in the elements.
In the early 1990s, the boat-building business suffered as the economy worsened. Venture Capitalist K.C. Stock, an experienced businessman in the Oconto area, saw potential in the struggling company and knew that if the biggest employer in the town were to close, it would be devastating to the town's economy. In 1993, his company KCS International purchased the company and renamed it Cruisers Yachts. Soon after, the industry saw an upswing in sales and an increasing demand. The company expanded its model lineup year after year. Today, the company builds express cruiser and flybridge style yachts, and has recently introduced new models that fit into the new sport coupe class of express boat. [3] The company currently employs approximately 1,000 people, with an annual sales figure exceeding $94 million. [4]
The Pearson Triton, sometimes referred to as a Triton 28, is an American sailboat that was designed by Carl Alberg as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1958. It was introduced at the 1959 National Boat Show in New York City and was one of the first fiberglass boat designs built. The design also launched Alberg's career as a naval architect.
Cal Yachts was a manufacturer of performance oriented fiberglass sailboats from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Costa Mesa, California, headquartered company was founded in 1957, among the earliest of all-fiberglass, mass-production sailboat builders. Although the brand has been out of production since 1989, the existing fleet is still substantially active in racing and cruising.
The Glasspar boat-building company was started in 1947 when Bill Tritt began building small fiberglass boat hulls in his Costa Mesa, California fiberglass shop.
Chris-Craft Commander is the name of a range of cruisers built by Chris-Craft Industries. The first Commander was built in 1963 and debuted at the 1964 New York Boat Show. At the time, none of the large main line motor yacht builders were building in fiberglass. Hatteras Yachts, which had started as a partnership between two North Carolina furniture makers, and Pearson, generally noted for their fiberglass auxiliary sailboat cruisers, were the only companies making fiberglass boats over 30' in length.
Carver is a yacht builder located in Pulaski, Wisconsin in the United States and a "recognized leader in the luxury motoryacht market".
Stephens Brothers Boat Builders and Designers company, an American boat designer, began in the back yard of brothers Theodore and Robert Stephens. Their boatbuilding firm in Stockton, California operated from 1902 to 1987. Over the years the company became famous for its elegantly designed pleasure craft, including sailboats, speedboats, cruisers and private yachts. Stephens Bros. also built many vessels for the U.S. military, especially during World War II. The company's first vessel was the sloop Dorothy, in 1902.
Hinckley Yachts, founded in 1928, manufactures, services and sells luxury sail and powerboats. The company is based in Maine, United States. The company has developed yacht technologies including JetStick and Dual Guard composite material, and was an early developer of the fiberglass hull. Currently, Hinckley operates service yards in seven locations along the east coast of the United States, making it one of the most integrated boating concerns in the United States. Hinckley’s present yacht line includes boats ranging in size from 29 to 55 feet. All of Hinckley’s yachts are built to order with customization of the interior and exterior cosmetics as required by the purchaser.
The Dolphin 24 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by William Shaw of Sparkman & Stephens as a Midget Ocean Racing Club (MORC) racer-cruiser and first built in 1959. Shaw had been one of the instigators of the MORC rules. The boat is Sparkman & Stephens' design #1497.
The Thompson Brothers Boat Manufacturing Company of Peshtigo, Wisconsin was a manufacturer of pleasure boats and canoes. Founded by brothers Peter and Christ Thompson in 1904, the company became prominent in the field and built boats for nearly one hundred years. The Thompson Antique & Classic Boat Rally celebrates the company's history with a boat show every other year and in 2013 the Thompson Brothers canoe was celebrated at the Annual Assembly of the Wooden Canoe Heritage Association.
Trojan Yachts is (1949–present) a US manufacturer of motorboats, with offices and production facilities in Lancaster Pennsylvania, Elkton Maryland and Niagara-on-the-Lake Ontario Canada.
The Dockrell 37 is a British sailboat that was designed by Dockrell Yachts as a cruiser and first built in 1981.
The Herreshoff Bull's Eye or Bullseye, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Nathanael Greene Herreshoff and first built in 1914.
The Allegra 24 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Fred Bingham and Lou Nagy and based upon the work of Fred Bingham's son, Bruce Bingham. The boat is intended as a cruiser and was first built in 1984.
The Bay Hen 21 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Reuben Trane as a pocket cruiser and first built in 1984.
The Bristol Corsair 24, also called the Bristol 24, Bristol 24 Corsair, Sailstar Corsair 24, Sailstar 24 and just the Corsair 24, is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Paul Coble as a cruiser and first built in 1964.
The Capri 26 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Frank W. Butler and Gerry Douglas as a cruiser-racer and first built in 1990.
The Captiva 240 is an American trailerable sailboat that was first built in 1984. The boat is a development of the O.H. Rodgers-designed Rodgers 24 racer, modified for use as a racer-cruiser by Walter Scott by giving it a new keel and sailing rig.
The Montgomery 15 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Jerry Montgomery as a pocket cruiser and first built in 1980.
The Mark 25 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Canadian George Harding Cuthbertson, as one of the first works under his new design firm Motion Designs Limited after he left C&C Design. The boat was intended as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1984.
The Montgomery 23 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Lyle Hess as a cruiser and first built in 1979.