Re: Big 3

Trojan built some VERY NICE BOATS. We had one in the mid 30 foot range at our harbor a few years ago, it was markedly different than a Chris, but the interior was just as good or better than any Chris I've been on. Trojan boats were built in "Pennsylvania Dutch" country (Amish, Mennonite) and the quality was very high.

The ownership of Trojan boats, however, said that "if God wanted us to build boats out of fiberglass, he would have given us fiberglass trees". While that was a catchy byline, it eventually drove the company into bankrupcy, because the time eventually arrived when fiberglass Commanders were hitting the marketplace, and people just lost interest in buying a high quality wood cruiser. Chris Craft assured the Commanders had tons of character, early models have lots of wood on the interior (a trick Chris Craft used VERY successfully to transition their customers from wood to fiberglass, and it sure worked on me when I bought my 1966 38 Express), and they were priced competitively.

Trojan had the build and finish quality, but they suffered from a lack of proactive management and a failure to recognize market trends. It's sad, because Trojan built some VERY NICE BOATS. Chris Craft dominated the marketplace when it came to volume, cost, performance, and overall value, but Trojan never took a back seat when it came to quality of construction.

Regards,

Paul