TOPIC: Chrysler Boats and Engines

I was researching a Chrysler boat and came across this page, it would make a great addition to the Library
Chrsyler Marine

I ran across that once when looking at car stuff and didn’t even think about how things followed both the economy as well as their Car company. Big changes when the big block 440 and all big blocks were no longer in cars and had no idea the boat side stock piled some motors in order to fulfill contracts with builders. Interesting stuff and I have seen lone stars before their purchase. Thanks for posting interesting history.

I was tying to identify a boat that I photographed in 2000. It had a for sale sign on it but unfortunately the photo isn't clear enough to read the sign, but it has a Chrysler Outboard on it and it certainly looks like a Chrysler Tri-hull (cathedral hull) Chyrsler went big into the boat market back in the late 60's and 70's. At one point they had almost 35% of the market. But with the ups and downs of the boat industry they ended up selling it all off. Oddly enough Bayliner bought the outboard engine part of it and those were the first Force outboards. Actually they were a very simple engine, but time passed them by.

There was a Chrysler boat and motor dealer in my small home town that oddly also told RCA TVs. The front shop was TV sales and repair and out the back was marine with outdoor test tank and fenced area that could fit maybe 10-15 boats. It was right across the street from Grandmas front yard, so Dad would always walk us kids across the street to see the latest customer boats from Chrysler. The owner had a special needs child and their home was part of the same building. It was a way he could always be around to help his wife and child. His yellow pages said TV and Marine. I remember when Merc bought Bayliner and Sea Ray so that just having owned 2 builders, they captured over 20 percent of the I/O market to ensure independent boat builders didn’t turn to competitors and leave them out. It wasn’t long until OMC did the same with 4winns and a few other companies for their Cobra I/O market share. Lots of chess being played through those years.

Interesting combination, TVs and Boats.
Those were the glory years of the boating industry. Part of my job with the Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety was tracking boat companies. Who was in business, out of business, who owned who, and who sold what. The big players, Brunswick and Irwin Jacobs (Genmar) were buying up boat companies like buying candy. Chrysler of course was getting out of the business after dominating it for over 20 years. It was a real scramble to sort out who was who. Of course then in the 90's things began to fall apart, sales dropped by almost 25% in the small recession of 90-91 and didn't recover until the mid 2000's. The big three were Brunswick, Genmar and OMC, and we all saw what happened to OMC.

Anyway, after doing some enhancement of the photo I have found that it's definitely a Chrsyler boat, but the engine is a Force 125. Another interesting combination.