We gave our Gear Lovers one job:
Find the best and most popular Chris-Craft Boats and review them.
Our review team always considers durability, price, quality, and value in their reviews.
Chris-Craft Boats is one of the only makers of true luxury wooden boats—fiberglass boats with tons of gleaming teak and hardwood trim. You buy a Chris-Craft because you value quality and appreciate the passengers you have on board.
To complement all that elegant wood on Chris-Craft boats, they design their Launch models, dual console craft, and center console boats with curvy, eye-catching designs worthy of the company’s history—all 150 years of it. The result is a beautiful boat with timeless style and modern amenities.
The Top 4 Chris-Craft Boats in 2025
-
1
Classic Sterndrive Dayboat or Modern Outboard...: Chris-Craft Launch 35GT -
2
Luxury Center Console: Chris-Craft Catalina 30 -
3
Modern Dual Console: Chris-Craft Calypso 28 -
4
Timeless Beauty: Chris Craft Launch 27
All the Chris-Craft Boats We've tested:
Where to buy Chris-Craft Launch 35GT:
Chris-Craft Boats
A luxury dayboat with plenty of social space, Chris-Craft’s Launch 35GT is a great cruiser and entertainer. The design of the Launch 35GT marries traditional looks with functional features for better, safer boating. A vessel with quality and craftsmanship of this caliber starts at just under $590k.
The 35GT is the largest in the company’s Launch series, its flagship. Several propulsion options are available, including Volvo Penta and Mercury sterndrive, Mercury and Yamaha OB options, and all with joystick control.
The bow seating area is voluminous with a high-low settee for sunpadding or dining. It features a head in the port console and a small double berth in the starboard one.
Seating is comfortable throughout, with a large L-shaped settee in the cockpit around a fold-away teak table. The sun pad has multiple forward or aft seating positions, and the swim deck is wide-open for swimming and sunbathing. The boat has an optional hardtop (add $50k) with additional sunshades and lighting options for the type of boating desired.
- Length: 34 feet, 9 inches
- Beam: 10 feet, 10 inches
- Draft: 38 inches
- Weight: 12,900 lbs
- Capacity: Yacht Certified
- Power: Twin Mercury or Volvo V-8 sterndrives (max 860 hp) or twin Mercury V-10 Verado outboards (max 800 hp)
Things we like:
-
Stunning, elegant looks with tumblehome transom -
Classic high-class touches: lots of wood trim, classic gauge cluster, and trumpet horns
-
Choice of outboard or sterndrive
-
Good boarding and swimming options
-
Large, fold-out teak table in cockpit easily hides under cushions when not in use
-
High-low table at the bow lowers completely, rises with cusion for sunpad or higher for dining
-
Huge amounts of social seating and entertaining space
Things we don't like:
-
Cruising focus of dual console design limits overnighting space
Where to buy Chris-Craft Launch 35GT:
Chris-Craft Boats
Where to buy Chris-Craft Catalina 30:
Chris-Craft Boats
Chris-Craft’s Catalina series are some of the best-looking center console boats on the market. Like all Chris-Crafts, they’re built to the highest quality standards and outfit with lovely high-end upholstery and wood trim. In short, they’re beautifully designed and comfortable to cruise on.
The helm seat console for the Catalina 30 comes in two versions: one for socialization with a flip-up table, fridge, and cooler compartment. The other option, geared toward anglers, includes a live well, sink, and refrigerator. Below, you’ll find a fairly spacious head and changing area, with a bunk should you be inclined to spend the occasional night aboard.
- Length: 30 feet, 6 inches
- Beam: 10 feet, 2 inches
- Draft: 21 inches (hull)
- Weight: 10,500 pounds
- Capacity: Yacht Certified
- Power: Twin Mercury Verado outboards (300–400 hp each)
Things we like:
-
Full-height glass and hardtop make a pilothouse
-
Huge chaise lounge on the forward console
-
Flip-up table and bench seating in aft cockpit allows you to open the space up for fishing or diving
-
Walk-through transom with large swim platform plus cockpit dive door
Things we don't like:
-
Lacks hardcore fishing features, definitely geared more toward socializing and cruising
Where to buy Chris-Craft Catalina 30:
Chris-Craft Boats
Where to buy Chris-Craft Calypso 28:
Chris-Craft Boats
If you’re looking for a solid bowrider or deck boat with luxury amenities, the Chris-Craft Calypso lineup is for you. These are modern dual console boats with centerline walkthroughs, powered by outboard engines and as functional for fishing as much as social cruising.
As you’d expect, their lines are sleeker than nearly any other bowrider on the market, and they have plenty of wood trim and high-end fixtures.
Dual consoles make excellent do-it-all boats. Like SUVs on the water, the open decks make fishing, diving, or watersports easy. They’re also comfortable to cruise on, with more functional layouts than you’ll find on most center consoles.
- Length: 29 feet, 7 inches
- Beam: 9 feet, 1 inch
- Draft: 1 feet, 11 inches
- Weight: 8,428 feet
- Capacity: 11 people
- Power: Twin Mercury Verado outboards (225 or 300 hp)
Things we like:
-
Convertible social seating flips up and out of the way for fishing
-
Prep galley with drawer fridge, bar sink, trash can, and optional electric grill
-
Head and changing area under starboard console
-
Cockpit dock and dive door with ladder
-
Lots of storage
-
Great multi-tasker boat with a nice mix of social space, open decks, fishing, or diving/swimming features
Where to buy Chris-Craft Calypso 28:
Chris-Craft Boats
Where to buy Chris Craft Launch 27:
Chris Craft
Few boat brands are as iconic as Chris Craft. The company known for its early 20th-century wooden launches is celebrating its 150th anniversary, and as a nod to its heritage, it is offering its retro Launch 27 with a special trim package.
Here’s a runabout that looks great cruising Monoco or any mountain lake, zipping down the ICW, or shuttling guests to private island resorts.
It’s time to appreciate the finer things in life. Let’s dive in and look at the Chris Craft Launch 27 150th Anniversary Edition runabout boat review.
- Length: 26 feet, 8 inches (includes swim platform)
- Beam: 8 feet, 6 inches
- Dry Weight: 6,000 pounds
- Deadrise: 20 degrees
- Capacity: 10 people
- Power: V-8 300–400 hp, choice of Mercury or Volvo
Things we like:
-
Sleek and timeless design
-
Quick, powerful and comfortable cruising experience
-
Comfortable cruising for up to 10 people
-
Plenty of storage space
-
Optional sun pad on engine cover
-
Tons of color and upgrade options
-
Choice of Volvo or Mercury V-8 sterndrive
Things we don't like:
-
Limited number in production
Where to buy Chris Craft Launch 27:
Chris Craft
Related Reviews
The Value of a Chris-Craft Boat
There are two types of boaters in the world—those who love wood trim and those who want none of it. For the first set, real wood harks back to the golden age of boating. It adds classy, beautiful, traditional aesthetics to the modern plastic world. The second set sees it as a waste of time and money; who wants to spend their time, money, or both varnishing and polishing wood trim? Chris-Craft owners, that’s who.
Chris-Craft traces its heritage back to the 1860s when Chris Columbus Smith began building boats in his teenage years. Everyone loved Chris’s wooden skiffs, so he started a company with his brother Hank, building wooden runabouts. In 1927, Chris’s son took over. By then, the company was the world’s largest maker of mahogany powerboats.
The company’s fortunes understandably waned during the Great Depression and World Wars. During World War II, they made 12,000 patrol and utility vessels for the armed forces to keep afloat. After the war, however, the company boomed.
The 1950s were the Golden Era for Chris-Craft, whose boats were favored by A-list celebrities and the wealthy as status symbols. At the same time, the company made 139 different powerboat models, expanding its reach into the growing American middle class and popularizing pleasure boating throughout the country.
Over the following decades, Chris-Craft transitioned to making fiberglass boats. But they kept their core values, never giving up on making hand-crafted, top-end boats that appealed to those looking for the very best vessel they could buy.
Chris-Crafts are now built in Sarasota, Florida. As a well-known luxury brand, they’re priced higher than other vessels, but this also comes from their iconic legacy within the industry. Buying a Chris-Craft is as much buying a piece of history as it is buying a boat.
Iconic Chris-Craft Models
There are three different lines of Chris-Craft models to choose from. Each lineup of luxury wooden boats is targeted at a different sort of boater looking for a different sort of boat. Fundamentally, however, all Chris-Crafts are designed to be the best for social cruising or used as runabouts.
The Launch line consists of classic dayboats in the timeless Chris-Craft style. These boats, ranging from the 25GT to the 35GT, incorporate modern layouts and features in a retro-looking hull. They’re sleek and fast and would look at home cruising the canals of Venice or a marina in Monaco. Launch boats are available with either sterndrive or outboard power.
The exception is the retro Launch 27, which is designed to be a true representation of the original Chris-Craft brand and is only available with a sterndrive.
The Calypso series are dual-console bowrider boats with outboard motors. They have an open floor plan that many describe as an SUV on the water. Flip-up seating allows the cockpit area to be clear for activities like fishing or diving. Convertible seating allows it to be used for social cruises and long days on the water. Despite its utility, it still has stunning good looks and Chris-Craft quality.
Smart storage and beautiful design merge utility and good looks.
Finally, the Catalina series is Chris-Craft’s line of outboard-powered, luxury center console boats built to compete with the likes of Boston Whaler, Everglades, Grady-White, and others. Like the Calypsos, they have flip-up seating and tables, but a full walk-around console allows for easier traffic flow. With these boats, Chris-Craft has raised the bar on what a center console can be—these are far more than bland utilitarian fishing boats.
The Art of Buying Chris-Craft Boats
As a small-volume building, buying Chris-Craft boats is unlike other brands. You aren’t likely to see many on the water—that’s part of the appeal, so working with your local dealer is your best choice. As with boutique builders, you may encounter a substantial delay between the time you place your order and the time you take delivery.
Buying a used Chris-Craft is well worth your consideration. This brand is favored by boaters who care deeply for their vessels, those who are likely to have them professionally maintained and cared for, and who use them lightly. These factors, plus the brand’s prestige, help a Chris-Craft boat retain its value better than other brands.
Performance and Innovation at Chris-Craft
Chris-Craft boat performance proves that these vessels are about more than just good looks. They’re also loaded with the latest technology, fun to drive, and blissful to own.
Engine-wise, Chris-Craft uses the latest sterndrives from Mercruiser and Volvo, or Mercury Verado outboards. These motors have joystick docking and digital engine controls. Most models are also equipped with a bow thruster for easy docking.
The company also does a great job integrating the latest electronics into its designs. Most models include Garmin touchscreens with digital switching for all on-board electrical consumers.
Larger boats favor dual 12-inch or larger touchscreens at the helm. USB and 12-volt chargers are located throughout the boats for your personal devices.
Chris-Craft also prides itself on its innovations in terms of comfort and seating. Their fold-away and adaptable seating arrangements have made their Calypso and Catalina lines more useful for more purposes. They allow you to have a cushy social cruising boat and runabout one day and an open and functional fishing boat the next.
Is a Chris-Craft Boat Right for You?
Chris-Crafts are built to the highest standards for enthusiast owners. Not everyone wants a boat with this much wood trim and flash, and not everyone can afford the luxury the Chris-Craft offers. And that’s exactly how the company wants it—these boats are in demand, offering unmatched elegance and exceptional performance for the discerning boater.
Is all that worth it? Chances are, you already know the answer.
Back
Comments