Crestliner

From Classic Boat Library
Revision as of 03:00, 13 December 2009 by Kensikora (talk | contribs)
Jump to: navigation, search

Crestlinerlogo.jpg

The following excerpt is taken from The Enfield Historical Society, Inc. Newsletter Dated June 2009.

Thompsonville’s Boat Building Giant

For three short years starting in 1960 Thompsonville was home to a major boat manufacturing company. In April of that year the Bigelow Sanford Carpet Co., Inc. acquired an option to buy majority stock interest in Crestliner Inc., which was one of the five largest U.S. manufacturers and distributors of outboard boats at the time. The Bigelow board of directors acted quickly and the $2,250,000 sale was completed on April 28. $600,000 was paid up front in cash, with the remainder to be paid in three annual payments. Crestliner was founded in 1946 and by the time of the sale employed 600 workers at its plants in Strasburg, Virginia, Little Falls, Minnesota, Morrilton, Arkansas, and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. Approximately 40 models of fiberglass and aluminum boats ranging in size from 12 to 19 feet and selling for prices between $215 and $2,300 were built at the plants. Crestliner had about 1,400 dealers nationwide and annual sales of about $5,000,000.

Why did Bigelow Sanford purchase Crestliner? According to company president Lowell Weicker (father of the future Governor) it was part of a plan to diversify Bigelow’s product line, a sound strategy to increase profits and protect against future drops in carpet sales. Just a few days later, in fact, stockholders voted to change the company name to Bigelow-Sanford Inc. to reflect the company's diversified interests.





1958 Catalog/Brochure:

1959 Catalog/Brochure:

1960 Catalog/Brochure:

1961 Catalog/Brochure:

Crestliner Calendar: Crestlinercal.jpg

External Links:

http://www.retrocrestliner.com

Back to Main Page



{{#ev:youtube|QKD--noRx0k}}