BOAT BUILDINGIN HOLLANDBy Geoffrey ReynolJs

14 I .wcHlGAN HISTORY

for 1758eti.rS, Holltlnd htls served tlS tl i?otlt-i?lAlldln8

center in 'YYllchigtln. froM sloops tlnd schooners thtlt plied

the Ciretlt Lakes to ,"WtlMe vessels thtlt stllled on the

open ocetln to the pletlslAre i?otlts etj08ed~ Modern.-dtl8

Mtlrlners, Holltlnd htls seen-tlnd constrlActed-theM tllL

Right The 5Chooner Kate Howard, buill 01 the Anderson ~ipyord in 1867. Courtesy of the Holland Museum; all aIherimoges From the Join! Archives of Holland. Abov9: An 1875 mop of HoIkmd depicts a yoriety of vessels on Black Lake.

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Holland's boat-building industry had its origins in1836. That is the:: year the Black River Companyplatted the village ofSuperior and em:red a few

stores. houses. and a steam·driven sawmilL Near theeastern edge of the settlement, where the sawmill waslocated, was the construction sire of the lim known boaton Black Lake (the English translarion of the Ottawaname Macatawa). At that site, James Handy built the two·masted A.C. Mitchrl/. named for one of 14 investors in theship. It measured 54 feet long and weighed approximately51 rom.

In 1837. the investors ofboth the village and the v~1became involved in speculative wildcat banking and wentOut of business. It would be 10 years before the site wouldsee another ship slide down a slipway.

The Vutch tr61In February 1847. me DUlch leader Reverend A.C.

Van Raalte led a small band of followers into the area byoxcart from Allegan, about 40 miles to the south. Themajority of his followers traveled to me colony by water.landing al the sand-choked mouth of Black Lake. Herethe weary travelers transferred to the lake's only mode ofwater uansponation: the Rat boaL This primitive vesselwas constructed ofa few beams and some poles, and wasbuilt at the Redgling settlement ofGroningen by workersassociated with Jan Rabbers. With the aid of a sail, pole,

or even oars,boatmen helpedconvey thenewly arrivedimmigrantsfrom the mouthto the headof the lake,points along theshore. or farmerupriver. Inaddition to transporting passengers. these early Holland­made boats were used to move forest products. such ashemlock bark for tanning and barrel staves, out to themouth of the lake and onto waiting steamers and sailvessels bound for Great Lakes portS. This helped fosterthe first entrepreneurs of the colony and also provided anincome of as much as 50 cents a day for immigrant men.

As the Rat~boat construction business continued, theneed for a locally owned Great Lakes v~1 also becameobvious. To remedy this problem, the: fathers of me: colonypurchased the schooner A. V. Knid("bock" in 1847, butthis foray into cooperative: ownership e:nded after eightmonths due: !O poor management and competition fromprivate merchants.

f.6lr~ COl'\>tl'\>terci61l Ship0uildil'\6jIn 1848,]an Slag

purchased twO lakeside:lots on the east end of...Black Lake and proceededto bujld a wharf and

shipyard from which hepracticed a Netherlandsstyle: of shipbuilding.His first creation was asmall, shallow-draftedsailing vessel known asa "coaster," for its abilityto navigate me: channelmouth and to moveup and down the LakeMichigan shoreline inthe safe shallows. Localscalled it The FlyingDutchman. AndriesSteketc=c and his sonsSimon and Camelis alsoreportedly buHr a Durch­style sloop that year. The:Steketees named their

jULY/AUGUS12011 I 15

Above: The Campbell Boot Compony crafted wooden ~ilbocm. storting in !he 193Ch. Below: The Jesiek. Brothers 5p8Ciolized in gosoline launches.

vessel Emsgaindhnd (Unity), but little is known aboutits history. The Stekeu=es perished in the 1857 shipwreckof the schooner Mary near St. Joseph, which probablyprecipitated the early demise of their shipyard.

In 1851, the village of Black Lake officially changednames co Holland, and the brief Dutch-only, boat~building era came to an end.

Gchoo/\ers 'RlAle the 'YV,:tvesDuring the 1860s, the production of ships increased

sharply due to the relocation of Holland's shippingchannel and dredging work that allowed larger vessels topass into and out of the harbor. Schooners were beingproduced at shipyards atthe eastern end of BlackLake, and on the nonheroand southern shores as well.

Holland shipbuilderssuch as Peter De Graff,William Clark, HarmanSlag, and Pascal Taylormanufactured woodenvessels for local shippers ormercantile businesses. Mostlikely, this was an anempt

16 I MICHIGAN HISTORY

at controlling shipping rates, as prices fluctuated wildlyfrom season to season and year to year. As the decadeunfolded, additional shipyards were erected. includingthose named Beckwith, Hopkins, Anderson. and Waring.By 1870, only Anderson's was left.

A second boom and bust played OUt locally from themid-1870s to the mid-1880s.

PlMslAre 13Mts Are I/\wdlAcedSpurred by a technological advance in motive power

in the 1880s, a new type of boat promised to replace thelagging schooner industry in the area.

Wolverine Motor Works was primarily known for itsdominance of the gasoline­engine market when itrelocated its boat divisionfrom Grand Rapids toHolland in 190 I. Situated onthe former Anderson Shipyardsire. the company producedmotorized pleasure boats intown umil ir moved the emireoperation to Bridgepon,Connecticut in 1907. Soonafter its departure, Holland

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WoRen at the Beocon Boat Company IoI.11'1Ch a

minesweeper, circa 1956.

Launch relocated &om its 5th SUttt location to th~ sit~ vacatedby Wolv~rin~. It produced gas-engin~ launches until about 1911.

In 191 0, anoth~r Gr:md Rapids company relocated to BlackLak~. this time in th~ J~nison Park area. Known as th~ JesiekBrothers Boat Yard, this enterprise made gasolin~ launchesand cruisers. They continued in the business until the onset ofWorld War II, when the demand for vessels ofwar forced themto lease their facilities to the Victory Shipbuilding Company, aproducer of submarine chasers.

Durch Craft Boat Works was founded in 1931. and wasowned and operated by Bill Woldering of Holland. Whilelittle is known about the longevity of this company. many ofits 75-pound "Rinky-Dink" rowboats were said to adorn therunning boards and roofs of loca.I automobiles traveling to

nearby lakes.In 1936. a new enterprise appeared on the shores of Lake

Macatawa (renamed from Black Lake in 1935 to sound moreattractive to visitors). Th~ GiI·Boat Company constructedrowboats. unsinkable lifeboats. and futuristic cross·lake f~rries

from rolled steel and aluminum. 1h~ company appeared to 1xdoing well until unpaid bills and th~ f:a.ilure to regist~r with th~

federal government forced its formal demise in 1942.In 1937. th~ Campbell Boat Company set up shop in an old

hotel along the south shore of Lake Macatawa in the VirginiaPark area. The large building served as the design area andoffices for the owner, Kenn~th Campbell. and his crew ofsailboat mak~rs. This marked th~ first time since th~ end of

th~ schooner erathat wind-poweredboats were beingbuilt in Holland.1h~ BeaconBoat Company.headed by OrvilleMunkwin, rentedthe Campbell yaMuntil purchasing itoutright in 1953.Bad managementand lack of funding

forced Beacon to dose its doors in 1960. after making largeand small sailboats fat loca.I consum~rs as well as wooden min~

sweepers and utility boats for the u.s. Navy during and aft~r theKorean War. Robert Dawson Sr. then purchased the propertyand named it South Shore Marine. 1h~ Dawson f:unity operateda marina as w~U a boat-building yard until 2003.

Chris-Cr"ft CoMeS to TownWhil~ most pleaswe--crafr builders in Michigan struggled to

survive the Great Depression, me Chris-Crafi: Boat CompanyofAlgonac mad~ plans to expand. And Holland-with its

Above: The Chri5-Cn:!ft Corporafion Ioctory in HoIlond. Below: A Slid: Craft $01e$ brod1ure promote$ a line af outboard rnoklrboats.

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skilled workforce and lack of labor unions-was companyowner Chris[Qpher Columbus Smith's first choice oflocation. By February 1940. the first 15*112 runabout wascompleted. with more soon ro follow. While in Holland,the company helped produce military landing craft thatwere used at Normandy as well as thousands of Chris­Craft cruisers for a boat-hungry, post-war public. (Asuccessor owner to the Smith family dosed the plant in1988. prompting hundreds ofemployees to retire early.)

The Holland area benefitedfrom the creation of manysmall boat*building firms inthe 1940s and '50s. In 1946,Roben Unn, founder of theRoamer Boat Company,began building and sellingcabin cruisers made ofsteelsheets welded together. Hebecame so suc~fuI that rivalChris*Crafi: purchased thecompany in 1955.

In 1948. George ArthurPe1grim, president ofa localfurniture s[Qre, and his son*in*law, Jim White-who

had spent hours working with local boat builder KennethCampbeU--established the Mac Bay Boat Company.From the beginning. the directors of the new companywere committed to innovation. Instead of following thestandard practice of building with mahogany planks, theyintroduced a sturdy and affordable molded plywood-hulledboat equipped with quality hardware and inboard marinemotors-the first boat company in the United States to

do this. After the company was soldto George and Clifford Dobben ofNorth Muskegon. Mac Bay Boatswere produced on East 7th Street inHolland. then at a small plant onRiley Street. and finally on AirlineRoad in Muskegon Heights in 1956.

Eventually, the Dobbens startedhearing from their distributors thatwood boats were simply tOO muchwork for consumers [Q maintain,and that they should get into theFiberglas boat-making business. ASignificant drop in sales promptedthem to give Fiberglas a try in about1960, but their decision came toolate. They shut their doors in 1964.

In 1952. tw"o co~workers ftom

18 I rWCHIGAN HISTORY

Chris~Craft began making meir own plywood runabouts.The unofficial parrnershjp ofJason Petroelje and LeonSlikkers began mon year during a labor strike, bur was shon­lived due to rdigious differences and differing financialneeds. Th~ twO men are me only known Chris-Craftemployees to stm companies of meir own.

Petroelje produced small inboard- and outboard-motorrunabouts until 1960, when he went lO work forGlenn Eddy's Holland Powerboats Company.Leon Slikkers chose to form the Slick Craft BoatCompany in 1954.

Slick Crt<ft Is f.stt<blishedSlick Crafi altracted many Chris-Craft employees

looking for better wages and a more craftsman­!2ntered work environment. Slikkers continuedmaking sheet- and molded-plywood and Fiberglasoutboard motorboats until convening completelyto Fiberglas in 1962. Fortunately for Sljkkers, hehad been experimenting with this new constructionmaterial before consumers said goodbye to the

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Right. Grond-Crolt is one of two boat builders slill operating on lokeMoookn¥o. AbowI: line waRen lay up a Fiberglos hili.

maintenan!2-intensive wood boats. He initially purchasedFiberglas hulls from Poll Manufacturing-anotherHolland boat company-then finished the boats withhis distinctive wood decks and attractive interiors. (PollManufacturing also provided hulls for Kenneth Cook'scompany, Inland Boat Service, which manufacturedKenCraft boats both in Fiberglas and molded plywood.)

Today, Slikkers' company is called S2 Yachts. It makespowerboats with the TIara Yachrs nameplate in Holland(and Nonh Carolina) and produces Pursuit fishing boatsin Florida.

frOM the .!9'9Js forwt<rdThe volatile economy and mnd toward conglomer.ates

in me pleasure-booting industry over me past 30 yearsworked against the development of new hoat-buildingcompanies in Holland. Two firms that were determined totake on the tough times and succeed were Richard Sligh's

Grand-Crafi Corporation-makers of replica woodenpowerboats-and the Power Play Boat Company,which was founded in 1983.

Like Slikkers, Poll, and Petroelje before them, PowerPlay's owners-Kevin Hirdes and Todd Kamps-­Started by building one boot at a time until meyreached a level of production requiring a factory.Their company-later called PowerQuest Boats-wasconsidered me BMW of the spon~boat industry. Still,that accolade didn't prevent them from shutting downin 2009.

Grand-Craft, however, continues to producerunabouts at its Ottawa Beach Road facility, under theleadership ofJeff Cavanaugh.

One hundred and seventy-five years have passed sincethe A.C MiukD first floated out onto Black Lake. Inthe interim, {he community of Holland grew by leapsand bounds and so did its boar-building industry,which successively accommodated the demand for

commercial ships, military crafi:, and pleasure boats. Froma peak of more than 50 companies, there are now onlytwo: Grand-erafi and S2 Yachts. But both are nationallyrecognized for {heir products, and Holland is proud toclaim them.

Geo1fr9 &ynolJs iJ tk diruwr oftkJoint ArrhiwJ ofHoOand at Ho~ Colkg~, and mjop rntarrhing and writingabout w boat-buitaing industry and vintag~boat nuing.

J,lY/AlOJST 2011 I 19