MasterCraft
- For other uses, see Mastercraft.
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Vessels, Vessel Parts and Supplies |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Headquarters | Vonore, Tennessee, USA |
| Key people | John Dorton- President & CEO, David Kirkland CIO, Parker Stair, VP of Sales, Phil Walker eBusiness Director |
| Website | www.mastercraft.com |
MasterCraft is a United States-based manufacturer of luxury high performance boats that was founded in 1968 and is currently headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee.[1] MasterCraft boats are most popular for use in water skiing and wakeboarding; however, they also produce several boats that are not focused on water sports.
History
MasterCraft was founded when the owners decided to start making their own boats. The owners took a Ski Nautique manufactured by Correct Craft, hung it from a tree, and cut the back of the hull off in order to modify the hull to their preferences. The company's first ski boat was built in 1968 in a two-horse barn on a farm in Maryville, Tennessee.
During the first year of operation, MasterCraft only built 12 boats using the modified hull design. MasterCraft eventually became recognized as a force in the tournament ski boat industry. The operating facility was moved to Vonore, Tennessee and now employs 591 "MasterCraftsmen." As of 2006, MasterCraft produces over 3,000 boats per year, sold in 25 different countries by over 100 domestic and international dealers, making it by far the largest producer of inboard ski, wakeboard, and luxury performance powerboats in the world.
Some of its most popular boats today are the Prostar series of direct drive ski boats, and the X-Series Wakeboard boats, many of which share hulls with the Prostar series, but come equipped with wakeboard-specific features such as ballast tanks and a wakeboard tower. All MasterCraft Models use inboard marine engines built on the General Motors 5.7, 6.0, and 8.1 litre V8 engine blocks.
In 2007, the company was acquired by two private equity firms: Charlesbank Capital Partners and Transportation Resource Partners (affiliated with Roger Penske). In 2010, the company was recapitalized by Wayzata Investment Partners.[2]
Saltwater Series
With a large movement towards costal waters MasterCraft introduced the saltwater series(ss) line of boats. All of the SS engines are fresh-water-cooled, protected with premium multi-coat non-corrosive paint and come with composite motor mounts. In addition to changes to the engines MasterCraft spent hundreds of hours offshore in Florida testing components like stainless steel gas shocks, hydraulic steering, fully sealed wiring, sacrificial anodes, raw water strainers and the engines in the roughest conditions. MasterCraft is currently the only performance towboat manufacturer to produce saltwater specific models.
Current Production Models (2014)
Prostar
Prostar 190
Prostar 197
Prostar 214V
X-Series
X-2
X-10
X-14V
X-25
X-30
X-35
X-46
X-55
X-Star
- ALL CURRENT X SERIES BOATS HAVE AN OPTIONAL SALTWATER ENGINE PACKAGE*
CSX
CSX 220
CSX 220(ss)
CSC 265
CSC 265(ss)
Maristar
MariStar 200(ss)
MariStar 210 VRS
MariStar 215(ss)
MariStar 225(ss)
MariStar 230(ss)
MariStar 235(ss)
MariStar 245(ss)
MariStar 255(ss)
MariStar 280(ss)
(ss)-Denotes a saltwater series boat is available