Chris-Craft:1964 to 1977, Commander Division
From ClassicBoatWiki
The story of the R and D of the Chris-Craft Commander is a fascinating one indeed, in the annals of boating and more specifically, Chris-Craft history.
A letter exists in the Chris-Craft archives at the Mariner's Museum, (in Newport News, VA) from the (then) President of Owens-Corning Fiberglas, to Harry H. Coll, the (then) President of Chris-Craft, dated late 1959, inviting Mr. Coll to participate in a symposium parading the advantages of fiberglas in large cruiser design. Mr Coll politely declined Owens-Corning's invitation, stating that Chris-Craft was "currently steeped in the development and production of steel, aluminum, and wood cruisers at that time and had no immediate plans to delve into fiberglas"
So much for forward planning....
The invitation was duly noted by Willis Slane, who went on to form the Hatteras Yacht Corporation in High Point, NC.... basically "beating Chris to the punch". Chris-Craft executives quickly took notice of the progress of Hatteras, along with a couple large cruisers built by Pearson yachts, and eventually decided to attempt a design themselves. A design team headed by William (Mac) MacKerer, along with Fred L. Hudson, (freshly recruited from the Imperial Studio at Chrysler) they designed a 36 ft hull and built a prototype, and while sea trialing this boat off the Hillsboro Inlet, near Pompano Beach, FL, it was disappointing to learn that this boat had a very "dirty hull" that did not plane or cruise very well.
The design team went back to the drawing boards and stretched the hull two feet to a full 38 feet, and tried again. With a full length and very pronounced spray rail just above the waterline, and a very bold pointed transom, this was a very uniquely designed boat. One very easily recognizable.
The announcement was to be a very elaborate affair all kept very secret and under wraps until the first day of the New York Boat Show in January of 1964.
Unfortunately, due to a disagreement regarding salary, Fred Hudson had departed Chris-Craft just prior to this grand unveiling. His protege', A very young Richard D. Avery (recruited away from Elwood Engel's prestigious Advanced Studio at Ford two years earlier) was given the top spot at Design at Chris-Craft, and was on hand at the unveiling of the 38 Commander Express. Design guru extraordinaire Raymond Loewy himself was on hand for this grand unveiling at the NY Boat Show, and was spotted "swishing" through the aisles, and was heard to declare (in his thick French accent) as he boarded the 38' Commander... "Now ZEESE EES A BOAT!!!!" Dick Avery still tells this story to this day.
Dick Avery immediately set out to design a sedan version of this very successful 38 Commander along with a Sport Fisherman model. Shortly thereafter, he successfully penned a 27 ft and a 31 ft Commander model, both in Express and Sport Fisherman models. A 35 ft model, and a 42, and a 47 ft model shortly followed.
Riding very high on a wave of success, these Commanders were excellent boats, luxuriously appointed, with all the early models being trimmed richly and completely in mahogany interiors. By the later sixties, Chris-Craft had been receiving feedback from its customers that the varnishing and upkeep of the mahogany interiors was a little labor intensive, so in turn, Chris-Craft began evolving to simulated wood paneled formica interiors and painted wood trim vs. the traditional stained and varnished mahogany. This was met with much dismay from the purist Chris-Craft owners, but following the way of Bertram, Hatteras and Pacemaker, they decided low to "no" interior maintenance was the key.
By the mid seventies, many of the traditional Commanders had been replaced by newer (and fewer) models. A few models worth honorable mention were the 30 ft Tournament Fisherman, the 41 ft Flush Deck Motor Yacht and the superb 45 ft Sport Fisherman. All three of these yachts are still popular today and demand big money for pristine examples. Chris-Craft had gone through a number of corporate acquisitions by the end of the seventies, many of the men at the helm had trimmed down and bled the company dry. Unfortunately, by the dawning of the eighties, Chris-Craft was barely a shadow of its former self. Gone were the days of the halcyon sixties when Chris-Craft built a boat for every budget and every customer. Back then, they were the undisputed "General Motors" of the boating industry.
