The other day we had a reader inquire about a Commander model called the 480. Upon looking into this situation we discovered, with the help of another reader, that the boat is actually a Uniflite hull mold, as purchased by Chris Craft, and manufactured by Chris Craft after Uniflite folded. Here is the relevant thread for reference
http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1168023479
I found this to be very interesting and did a little digging on my own. Here is the history of Uniflite, posted here as a point of information, because some of the later Commanders are actually rebadged Uniflite hulls, as manufactured as a Chris Craft. (They're good looking boats, by the way !)
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Uniflite History
Uniflite (United Boat Builders) was started in Bellingham, WA by Art Nordtvedt in October of 1957, with the first boat an all fiberglass 17' outboard. Uniflite then went on to build a 14', an 18' and a 20' outboard and inboard/outboard boats. Art and many of his crew had worked for Bellingham Shipyards building Navy Mine Sweepers and Bell Boy Boats before starting Uniflite. Art said the name came from a united crew. One of Art's crew was Bob Moors who worked at Uniflite almost from the beginning and was Production Manager from 1970 until 1984 and then Vice-President and General Manager of Chris Craft from 1984 until 1989. Another of Art's original crew members was Paul Jansen who worked in fiberglass production.
After building the initial 17', 15' (picture above), 18' and 20' boats, Art and his crew then built a 25' express cruiser followed by an 31' and a 34' boat. Uniflite was the only boat builder exclusively using fire-retardant resins in the production of pleasure boats (see below). In January of 1959, the plant and office moved into the old plywood plant in Fairhaven (in Bellingham). This became Uniflite's permanent home.
In 1962, Uniflite became a public company trading on the New York Stock Exchange, thus becoming eligible for Navy contracts.
In 1965, the Navy awarded Uniflite with a contract to build 120 - 31' River Patrol Boats (PBR's). The PBR's were powered by twin Detroit 6V53's with water jets and they cruised between 25 and 31 knots. There were over 750 PBR's built and at the height of production two PBR's were rolling off the assembly line along with one 36' landing craft each day! In addition to the Navy contracts, in the 1960's and early 1970's Uniflite had numerous other military contract building 14' and 50' boats: patrol craft, landing craft and personnel boats. Uniflite also built commercial fishing boats, and sailboats besides the pleasure boats we know today.
As you can see, the 31’ Navy PBR (right) used the same hull as the 31’ Express Cruiser (left).
"The Famous (infamous) Blister Problem" The issue regarding the fire-retardant resins causing blisters in later years (1975+) was a result of a change in suppliers of the fire retardant resin (Hetron). Earlier models (prior to 1975) contained a fire retardant called "Hetron" manufactured by Dupont Chemical and these boats did not have any blistering problems. When Dupont ceased production of Hetron 1975, a different fire retardant was used from a different manufacturer. Unfortunately, the new fire retardant contained a solid form of the chemical bromine which, unfortunately, evolved into a gas when the fiberglass was warmed sufficiently. This happened to Uniflites in warmer climates like Florida and California more then it did in the Pacific Northwest. This bromine gas created an acid that ate its way out of the gel coat. For this reason, if you were to grind out a deep blister you would notice a "gooey" material. The only way to remove a blister properly is to grind it out, let it dry, then fill the hole with a vinylester resin ($$). It doesn't solve the problem entirely but should provide a strong barrier (plug) to prevent the blister from reaching the surface again. In reality, the blisters will likely return.
In 1946, a group of experienced boat builders, Russell Post, Phil Boyd, Harold Care and C.P. Leek, came together to found Egg Harbor Boat Company. Their original model, a 28 foot wooden sea skiff, was designed and built to the highest standards of the time, catering to the more affluent and experienced boaters.
During the 1950's, C.P. Leek purchased the remainder of the company's stock from his partners and merged Egg Harbor with Pacemaker Yachts. By the 1960's, this combined organization had become one of the largest manufacturers of pleasure boats in the country.
Despite being part of Pacemaker Yachts, Inc., Egg Harbor managed to maintain its own identity. While Pacemaker concentrated on manufacturing products for the mid-priced, high volume end of the market, Egg Harbor steadfastly maintained its focus as a limited quantity builder of high quality cruising and sportfishing yachts. Egg Harbor's reputation grew through the 1960's and 1970's, with offerings that ranged in size from 30 to 48 feet. Both companies converted from wood to fiberglass construction during the 1970's.
When it first became fashionable for conglomerates to acquire boat companies, Fuqua Industries purchased Pacemaker Yachts, Inc. (including Egg Harbor) in 1965. Both companies were subsequently sold to Mission Marine & Associates in 1976.
In 1977, Uniflite acquired boat molds from Pacemaker Boat Co. on the East Coast and started a second Uniflite plant in Swansboro, North Carolina.
In 1980, a fire almost totally destroyed the Uniflite plant in Bellingham. However, since they had molds in Swansboro they were able to continue production of their boats.
In 1984, Uniflite was acquired by Chris Craft for $10 per share. Chris Craft built many of the same boats under the Chris Craft label. Unfortunately, Chris Craft stopped production in 1989.