Here is part of the draft that was cut from the article in Classic Yacht Magazine, March/April 2008 edition, in order to keep the word count down. The article features the 38' Commander and gives an overview of Commander history, and can be found at
http://www.classicyachtmag.com, page 98.
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Chris Craft Commander models include lengths of 19, 23, 27, 28, 30, 31, 35, 36, 38, 41, 42, 45, 47, 55, and 60 feet. A relatively few of the 19’ and 23’ Commanders were built during the two year model run of 1968 and 1969, with 101 and 115 hulls respectively, at which time Chris Craft decided Commanders were going to be limited to larger cruiser type boats. The smaller Commander hulls were produced in larger numbers in later years with different power and interior configurations with Chris Craft Lancer badging, as a part of the Chris Craft Corsair Sport Boat Division.
During the 1965 to 1970 time frame 730 27’ hulls were built with numerous single and twin engine small block power options. The 31’ hulls were the most popular of all, and they came in three types, Express, Sedan, and Sports Express, the latter being available with 427 power. The 31’ Commander production reached 1,110 hulls at the end of a model run that lasted from 1966 and 1974. There were 411 35’ hulls from 1968-72, and 133 36’ hulls from 1973-77.
The icon of the Commander line is the original 38’ hull, produced in an Express, Sedan, and Sport fisherman model, and 592 of these hulls were produced during the 1964-1972 model years. After the 38, the larger boats were produced in lower numbers, with 151 41’ hulls from 1972-77, 290 42’ hulls from 1967-72, and 41 of the wider beam 42’ Tournament Fisherman models built from 1975-77.
Only 63 of the 45’ Commander Flush Deck hulls were built from 1972-77, and 59 of the wider beam 45’ Tournament Fisherman models were produced, the former available with gas or diesel power, and the latter only with 8V71 diesels. A surprising number of 253 47’ hulls were produced during the ten year period from 1966 through 1976, and these 35,000 pound boats were offered with 427 gas power or 8v53 diesels.
The 55’ Commander was produced from 1970-77 and 43 hulls were built, all with 8v71 diesels. Only 9 of the 60’ hulls were built during a two year run of 1969 and 1970, these boats weighed in at 80,000 pounds and were powered by a pair of V12 diesels.
During the 1964-1977 production run 4176 boats were manufactured with the Chris Craft Commander badge, with some notable exceptions like the Hunt designed Commander Sports Express, and some other obscure variants. The definition between the 19’ Commander Super Sport of 1969 and the XK-19 Corsair produced from 1970-75, for instance, is a foggy one because these boats are essentially the same except for the badge on the side. In any case, the Chis Craft Commander series produced quite a remarkable impression on the boating industry, and an eniable reputation with only a little over 4000 hulls during the 14 year production run from 1964-1977.
That legacy lives on today with many of these high quality hulls still providing good service, and most likely capable of lasting another 40 or more years. In subsequent years many Chris Craft Commander models continued production such as the 315, produced from 1983-90; the 360 Sport Sedan, produced from up until 1986; the 392 Sports Sedan of 1985-90; the 410 being produced until 1986; the 422 staying in production until 1990; and 45, 47, 48, and 50’ models continuing production through the 1980’s and as far as 1990.
Regards,
Paul
