Chris-Craft: 1922, Chris Smith & Sons Boat Co.
From ClassicBoatWiki
By 1914, World War I had started. 1914 also marked the end of the cash flow from wealthy Smith Ryan Boat & Engine Company partner, John "Baldy" Ryan. With Mr. Ryan's financial support no longer an available option, Christopher Columbus Smith and his sons, Jay and Bernard had little choice but to forge ahead on their own, as they continued to perfect their boatbuilding craft, and to protect their fledgling racing reputation.
Chris Smith's next operation was known as the C.C. Smith Boat and Engine Company. The first successful boat by this operation was the Miss Detroit, which was built on spec for a group of Detroit businessmen.
A developing theme in Chris Smith's early boatbuilding operations was not just producing winners, but not getting paid for them. Miss Detroit easily walked away with the Gold Cup, but the group of businessmen who had commissioned her, walked away from their financial commitment to build her.
With his company once again in financial dire straits, and with his family growing with new sons Owen and Hamilton, Chris Smith reluctantly put Miss Detroit up for auction hoping to raise enough money to pay her related bills and to keep the C.C. Smith Boat and Engine Company and his family afloat.
Miss Detroit was purchased at auction by wealthy Algonac, Michigan native, Gar Wood. Not only did Mr. Wood buy Miss Detroit relieving Smith and his sons of the financial burden surrounding her construction, he also became a new financial partner in their operation, allowing them to continue in their dominance of the sport of powerboat racing.
With Gar Wood's financial support, and with his own keen interest in powerboat racing, the C.C. Smith Boat and Engine Company went on to dominate the powerboat racing circuit winning five APBA Gold Cup Trophies, and the 1920 Harmsworth Trophy. The boats produced during this time were legendary—like Miss America I and MIss Detroit V, and Miss America II which set a new world speed record at over 80 miles per hour.
During this period of time, Chris Smith and his sons were perfecting more than just race boats. Despite all his racing success, Smith was laying the groundwork for the families' entry into pleasure boat manufacturing.
By 1921, Smith was marketing a standardized 26-foot express runabout through a boat broker, the Central Marine Service Corporation, Detroit, Michigan. There are no existing records to indicate how many of these boats were built, but there again is clear evidence that Chris Smith was anticipating a move into pleasure boat production before the storied dissolution of his racing partnership with Gar Wood.
The following year, Chris Smith and his four sons, Jay W., Bernard, Owen, and Hamilton, established the new Chris Smith & Sons Boat Company, and sold their remaining interest in the family boat yard to Gar Wood for $8,000.00.
The Smiths' decision to part with Gar Wood may have been well considered. After years of powerboat racing dominance by the Smith-Wood partnership, the American Power Boat Association (APBA) put into place new rules that would end the sports dominance by those with the deepest pockets.
As written by noted Gar Wood historian, Anthony Mollica, "During the winter of 1921-22 the rules governing the Gold Cup Races were changed dramatically by the American Power Boat Association. The changes limited engine size, length and configuration of hulls. The rules committee said that they wished to encourage "Gentlemen's Runabouts" that could be used for family recreation as well as racing. However, the intended target of these changes was Gar Wood whose advanced technology and use of aircraft engines had totally dominated the Gold Cup since 1917. It was clear the rules were designed to frustrate Gar Wood.
Gar Wood was always ready for a challenge. In this case he and chief designer Nap Lisee developed an entirely new boat as their version of the Gentleman's Runabout. The result was the legendary 33' Baby Gar Runabout.
The new Baby Gar was a superb design. It was a comfortable, safe runabout with 3 cockpits and a bottom that incorporated all of the characteristics of the Miss Americas with the step. So great was the performance of this Baby Gar that from the time it was introduced some of America's wealthiest sportsmen appealed to Gar Wood to build one for them. Edward Noble, William Randolph Hearst, John Dodge, Col. Vincent and P. K. Wrigley were among the first to purchase Baby Gars. Soon Gar Wood had to set up a whole section of his Algonac plant to build Baby Gars just to fill special orders. By 1924 Howard Lyon of New York City had convinced Gar Wood that he should place Baby Gars in regular production and he would sell all he could build. Two years later Howard Lyon ran a double page ad in Motor Boating magazine that listed the names of 60 of the world's most prominent sportsmen who were already Baby Gar owners.
What began as an attempt by the APBA to end Gar Wood's domination of the Gold Cup competition resulted in an entire new line of runabouts that became the playthings of millionaires. Gar Wood was now in the boat building business and the small Algonac plant was stretched to the seams."
What may be of interest to many is that In fact, many of these very early Baby Gar hulls were built for the new Gar Wood Boat Company by the Chris Smith & Sons Boat Company.
Again, former Mariners' Museum Archivist, Tom Crew writes, "Many of us have conformed to the popular notion that the standard 26-foot runabout was the only boat model initially offered by Chris Smith and Sons. An early ad contradicts that misconception by listing four different models available. First, there was a 24-foot, 18-mile-per-hour runabout which sold for $2,200. There were also two different 26-foot models, a forward drive double cockpit and a rear drive single cockpit. They sold for $3,000 and $2,800, respectively. These two models reflected the Smiths' transition from the traditional rear cockpit design to the modern forward cockpit steering. It also indicated their awareness of what was in demand by the popular market. The fourth model offered, a 33-foot Baby Gar, may be a complete surprise to many, This boat achieved advertised high performance speeds from 50 to 60 miles per hour and sold for $7,500. It is true, the first 33-foot Baby Gar runabouts were built by Chris Smith for Gar Wood."
By April 1922, there were 30 men on Smith payroll. Production averaged one power boat and one rowboat per week. By September of 1922, Chris Smith & Sons Boat Company had built 22 26-foot powerboats, and 22 rowboats. The Smiths also continued to build 33-foot Baby Gar hulls for Gar Wood at a bargain price. The bare hulls were then transported to Wood's facilities where the hulls received their powerplants, and final rigging and finishing.
