StanCraft Boat Company

History

StanCraft was founded in 1933 by W.H. "Billy" Young and his son Stanley Young, when they handcrafted their first mahogany wood speedster in Lakeside, Montana, on the shore of Flathead Lake. Over the next 35 years, they constructed over 800 wooden boats, with Stanley Young as head designer and builder.

In 1937, when StanCraft built its first factory near Somers, Montana, it was the only boat-building factory in Montana. Stanley and his brother Donald Young operated the factory until the beginning of World War II, and resumed operations after the war. During the war, Stanley operated a plant on the West Coast, building boats for the US Coast Guard. In 1948, StanCraft's sales offices and headquarters were moved from Somers to nearby Polson, Montana. On March 9, 1966, a fire burned down the StanCraft manufacturing plant in Somers, destroying 11 boats that were in storage.

Stanley Young and his wife Delores had three children, including Syd Young, who took over the business in 1970. As fiberglass boats grew in popularity, the company began building fiberglass boats in addition to wooden boats. Syd Young moved the company to Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, in 1981. The company's main business at the time was restoring wooden boats, building only a few new boats per year. The 1981 film On Golden Pond, which features vintage wooden boats, was credited in part with sparking renewed interest in the vessels. In 1997, Syd Young cut back on operations and sold much of the company's assets to Hagadone Marine Group. Robb and Amy Bloem (Billy Young's great-granddaughter) took over what remained of StanCraft in 2003, rebuilding the custom manufacturing operations while expanding the company's storage and restoration services and adding three brands of fiberglass boats to its offerings.

In March 2016, the company moved into its newly-constructed headquarters in Hayden, Idaho, for offices, manufacturing, operations and storage, with plans to double its production of wooden boats.

Products

The company builds approximately 10 wooden mahogany boats under 20 feet long, and another 12 large custom designs annually. StanCraft boats range in length from 14 to 46 feet. Each boat is handmade and takes about nine months to complete. From its founding through 2015, the company has produced over 1,000 wooden boats.

In 2006, John Elway purchased The Missile, a 36-foot missile-shaped wooden speedboat capable of cruising at 85 mph. Wayne Gretzky purchased the Discovery II, a 30-foot Deluxe Sport Low Boy originally built for the Discovery Land Company, with a body made of African mahogany and featuring custom silicon-bronze cast and chrome-plated hardware. The Low Boy series introduced the use of a starboard-side door for easy entry and a deadrise that lifts and launches the boat smoothly onto plane as it accelerates.

The company also operates StanCraft Marine Center pro shops and showrooms in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; Mesa, Arizona; and Portland, Oregon. The shops sell MasterCraft, Formula and Chris-Craft performance boats; Manitou Pontoons; ski and wakeboard equipment; and boating accessories.

Partnerships

Starting in 2014, StanCraft has collaborated with MasterCraft on a limited line of wooden wakeboard boats, with StanCraft constructing the wooden bodies for the boats. MasterCraft provides materials like interior seating, towers and helms. StanCraft built a limited production of the X30 MasterCraft Edition, debuting it at the 2014 Miami International Boat Show.

StanCraft also has an agreement with pontoon boat maker Bennington, where StanCraft lends design and construction work on around 35 boats per year.