Re: What makes my Chris Craft a premium brand?
In the mid 90's I had the absolute luck of being contacted by Mercruiser to be part of a market evaluation for their 2 speed transmission (prior to the bravo III, a two speed transmission was not effective because it would just break the prop loose in "low" gear). I was actually paid to spend the afternoon in a 27' checkmate with a 502 in it going from a dead stop to wide open over and over, with and without the two speed transmission. Really a blast, I then spent about an hour being interviewed by marketing types. I was paid $75 CASH, I figured I used about $100 worth of gas (it was $1.50/gallon at the time) and told the marketing guys I would have paid THEM for having that much fun. In my "small" talk with Merc rep who accompanied me on my ride, the topic of best built boats came up. He said that most boats in their test progams of this type last a maximum of two years. He said they basically rattled or beat themselfs to death... With one exception. He said their current Cobalt boats were on their 8th year of service and still rock solid. He said it would be the only boat he would own. After some research, I had similar thoughts. But for the light duty cycle I have with boats (recreational inland waters), I could not justify the extra dollars they demand. Chris Craft may have been a "premium" brand at one time... But I would not consider their 80's model a premium by any definition... hardware, laminate, vinyl etc. I know of two scorpions that had gas tanks replaced and their interiors were average at best.
