Over two years in the making, The Legend of Chris-Craft probes the surprising history and legacy of America's dean of boat·building. The family and company that made runabout and cabin cruiser household words - and possessions - has a fascinating and colorful heritage which will intrigue and delight even the most ardent landlubbers. From rowboats to the fastest speedboats on earth, from the first combat landing crafts ashore at Normandy to the most coveted family cruisers, from kit boats to sailboats, and from mahogany, aluminum and steel to fiberglass, Chris-Craft pioneered styling and utility in boat-building that has been imitated throughout the maritime world. In this important contribution to marine history, The Legend of Chris-Craft explodes many myths surrounding the emergence during the late nineteenth century of Christopher Columbus Smith as the patriarch of America's first family of boat builders.