A Tour Of The Smokercraft Boat Factory

[craigdritchie]

I'm in rural Indiana this week, visiting with the Starcraft / Smokercraft / Sylvan factory and test driving some 2012 boats. At the moment, I'm hiding in my hotel as we ride out yet another wild electrical storm, and wait for the tornado warning to pass. It's been alternating between being beautiful outside and just plain ugly for four days straight.

 

I just spent a half-hour uploading a bunch of photos and descriptions from yesterday's tour of the Smokercraft boat factory, only to have the power go out and lose the whole shebang (laptop kept on running on its battery, but I lost the internet connection). Rather than do all that work again, perhaps the mods will kindly allow me to ask you to just click here to see the pics.

 

The plant tour was great - it's interesting to learn how much work on these boats is done by hand. Just about everyone here has a boat (or three), and a lot of the different features in the boats result from all that time spent on the water. It's nice to see boats designed that way, and not based on what some marketing study says.

 

Hopefully, I will be able to drive some of the 2012 fishing boats later today. Rain rain go away ......

Edited May 26, 2011 by Craig_Ritchie

[Pikeslayer]

Hey Craig,

I have '91 Sylvan Pro Fisherman 2150 that I'm thinking about getting painted this year. Is there anyway you could find out if the original boat graphics/labels/decals could be ordered in any way??

Any information or contact you could provide would be most appreciated.

 

Regards,

Slayer

[craigdritchie]

Slayer - I don't know if they still have the correct 1991 graphics kits available any more, given they're now 21 years old, but if so you should be able to just order them through any Sylvan dealer.

 

If not, they can definitely order the current decal set for you. Not sure on cost.

[irishfield]

Solid rivets... where it's always better to be the buckee.. than the bucker!

 

 

How would you like to do that 8 hours a day? Fella probably wonders why he has migranes all the time!

[johnnyb]

Great report....I love the little Smokercraft we share at the in-law's cottage...very cool to see where it was born

[vance]

Just about how I imagined my Smoker craft was built but I thought they would have painted it first and then the interior done.Mine has painted insides with the carpet over top.But then things have changed in 10 years.I wouldn't want to be either one of those guys pounding rivets,doing hollows with an air gun is bad enough.

 

vance

[lew]

Thanks for the tour Craig, that kinda stuff is always interesting to see.

[kickingfrog]

"Assailant suffers injuries from fall" :rofl2:

[Rattletrap2]

Great tour Craig! Thanks for sharing that with us! Very interesting.

I'm surprised as well that the interior went in before the paint job.

[jimmer]

I love my smokercraft!

[SRT8 smoker craft]

Cool blog Craig I loved my little smoker to great little boat .

[moparhawk]

I love my Smoker too. Bought a Promag 162 new in 99. My dealer was wacked and closed shortly after I purchased mine. Only problem is the factory is my best source for parts as the dealers 200 miles away don't want to mess with em and I don't blame them. Always have to beg and plead to get them to sell me parts.

[OhioFisherman]

Cool Craig, I had my Smokercraft from 1987 until 2009, no complaints.

[corvette1]

thanks for the pictures craig

[fishindevil]

thanks craig !! very interesting,and i do miss my 14ft smoker tinny for sure,it was bullett proof,many rough water adventures,including lake ontario,about 100 times,and never a leak,a buckle nothing i had it for 7yrs,and loved it!! nice to see where they are made as well,i would not ever hesitate to buy one again,i own a lund now,but if i could have got a smoker in the same style i would have got it for sure....

[craigdritchie]

Solid rivets... where it's always better to be the buckee.. than the bucker!

 

 

How would you like to do that 8 hours a day? Fella probably wonders why he has migranes all the time!

No fooling - talk about having the toughest job in the plant!!

Edited May 27, 2011 by Craig_Ritchie

[craigdritchie]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments. It was interesting to take the tour, and I'm glad I can share it.

 

A different building in the same complex builds welded aluminum boats, which in the States are sold under the Starweld brand (Starweld being an offshoot of Starcraft). The construction process is basically the same, except the panels are welded together rather than riveted.

 

Start by assembling the shell ....

 

 

Insert the pre-assembled I-beam framework and weld into place ....

 

 

Add the transom and interior components .....

 

 

And it starts to look like a boat!

 

 

 

They also weld all the jonboats. These boats get beat up hard, so they have to be extremely tough. The basic shell is stamped out of a single piece of very thick gauge aluminum ......

 

 

Then it's folded and welded shut to form the hull.

 

 

 

They jonboats are all made by the same gentleman, who has been building jonboats there for 17 years. The other guys still refer to him as the "new guy." Many of the production staff have been there for 30 or 35 years, so the level of experience and knowledge is right off the charts. I met one man who was about to celebrate his 40th year working there. That's one guy who has forgotten more about boats than most of us will ever know.

 

Another younger guy I met was also new - his father and grandfather both worked at the plant too, making him the third consecutive generation there from that family.

 

Really interesting to see all this stuff, and more interesting is the fact they let me go anywhere and take all the pictures I want. Most companies are very sensitive about that sort of thing, but the folks at Starcraft / Smokercraft / Sylvan are extremely proud of what they do, and it really shows. It's inspiring to see a company have that kind of kind of pride in its workmanship, especially in today's corporate world where the end customer is often just a number, and something that doesn't matter nearly as much as overall profits do.

Edited May 27, 2011 by Craig_Ritchie

[John Bacon]

They jonboats are all made by the same gentleman, who has been building jonboats there for 17 years. The other guys still refer to him as the "new guy." Many of the production staff have been there for 30 or 35 years, so the level of experience and knowledge is right off the charts. I met one man who was about to celebrate his 40th year working there.

 

So if you want one of their boats you better get it soon. Sounds like their entire production staff will be gone in the next 5-10 years.

[coreyhkh]

This year me and my Dad bought a Star craft its a 2008 but it was only used 4 times. This weekend was the fist real test of the boat on lake Muskoka after 5 days using it I have no regrets its a solid well built boat.

[HTHM]

Now that you have seen how the different brands are built, (putting you on the spot), which brand would you buy if you were to get a aluminum boat?

[craigdritchie]

So if you want one of their boats you better get it soon. Sounds like their entire production staff will be gone in the next 5-10 years.

Nah - a couple of hundred people work in that plant, and a lot of them are younger guys learning from the old pros. But they put in their time and learn the trade before they get elevated to the critical positions.

[lew]

This year me and my Dad bought a Star craft its a 2008 but it was only used 4 times. This weekend was the fist real test of the boat on lake Muskoka after 5 days using it I have no regrets its a solid well built boat.

 

I had a couple Starcraft tillers back in the day and they were both excellent boats. You should get alot of good years out of your new boat.

[craigdritchie]

Now that you have seen how the different brands are built, (putting you on the spot), which brand would you buy if you were to get a aluminum boat?

That's a really good question. For me, it would come down to making a list of "must have" and "nice to have" features, then picking the model that came closest. Between Starcraft, Smokercraft and Sylvan, the specific brand on the back of the boat wouldn't be a factor at all. I consider them to be basically one and the same.

 

If I were to look at all manufacturers, then I would demand the boat have a solid warranty, and I would want to know I can get get service in the years to come (meaning I would want them to have a few dealers nearby, and not just one). Based on the features I personally would want in an aluminum boat, and on the dealers located near my home, that leaves me to choose from about a half-dozen manufacturers: Starcraft/Smokercraft/Sylvan; Princecraft; Crestliner; Alumacraft; Lund; G3; and Legend.

Edited May 28, 2011 by Craig_Ritchie

[mbac31]

Assailant suffers injuries from fall

 

That just made my day for sure.