Crownline Boat

Crownline fiberglass pleasure boats were built from 1956 to 1966. In the year 2009 there is a Crownline Boat firm located at West Frankfort, Illinois. This company, established in 1992, has no relationship to the original Crownline that operated in the 1950s and 1960s.

Arnold L. O'Hare of Onarga, Illinois started Crownline Mfg. Co. in late 1955 with the purchase of Glas-Star Boat Company of Hayward, Wisconsin. He moved operations to Onarga, AbOUT 90 miles south of Chicago. Boat production began in early 1956 in a portion of the Ford automobile dealership, formerly owned by Mr. O'Hare. His brother Howard O'Hare along with Tommy Thomas of Hayward, Wisconsin and John Wolgast were involved with Crownline.

Crownline made small fiberglass runabout boats and they also made boat trailers. One of their unique boats from circa 1961 was a jet powered rig, using propulsion similar to the Berkely Jet. Also, in lieu of wood stringers and keelson, the boats were built with a fiberglass stringer system. This was fairly unique at the time.

On 21 May 1959 the firms were incorporated as "Crownline, Incorporated" and "Crownline Trailers, Inc." (Iroquois County Register of DEEDS).

In August 1962 Crownline, Incorporated was reorganized with major STOCK ownership being taken over by a group of Springfield, Illinois businessmen.

In July and August 1963 the boat plant was moved from Onarga to Cairo, Illinois. Arnold O'Hare was president. The city leased to them at a very favorable rate an empty manufacturing complex at 43rd and Sycamore. Financial problems plagued the company and the city, thru its Industrial Fund, became a stockholder in early 1965. This infusion of capital and new Board of Director members did not solve the problems.

While at Cairo, Crownline worked out a deal with Thompson Bros. Boat Mfg. Co. of Peshtigo, Wisconsin to make fiberglass boats for Thompson. This was a fast and low cost means for Thompson to add a fiberglass boat line to their existing wooden lapstrake boats. The deal did not last long.

On 13 July 1966 the US Small Business Administration seized the company's assets and auctioned them off.

Duo Marine, Inc. of Decatur, Indiana purchased some of the boat molds and tooling. Duo owner Vic Porter was courted by city fathers to take over the boat plant at Cairo. Duo did take over operations and for a few months built boats in Cairo.

The boat plant at Cairo was completely shut down sometime in 1967 and the Crownline boat line came to an end.

References

• Iroquois County Register of Deeds
• Sawyer County Register (Hayward, WI) newspaper
• Onarga Leader & Review newspaper
• Cairo Evening Citizen newspaper
• "Boats" magazine
• "Boating Industry" magazine