The MasterCraft Boat Company is a United States-based manufacturer of luxury high-performance boats. The company was founded in 1968 in Maryville, Tennessee, and is currently headquartered in Vonore, Tennessee. MasterCraft boats are used in waterskiing, wakeboarding and wakesurfing, though the company has also produced several boats that are not focused on water sports.
History
MasterCraft's founder Rob Shirley was a young waterskiing instructor who opened a waterskiing school in Florida 1965. In 1968, with the help of a few fellow waterskiers, he modified a Ski Nautique boat manufactured by Correct Craft. The boat was completed in August, and debuted at the U.S. Nationals in Canton, Ohio. In that same year Rob had to close the school and moved to his wife's parent's farm in Maryville, Tennessee. There he founded the MasterCraft Boat Company, which initially operated out of a two-horse barn. During its first year of operation, MasterCraft only built 12 boats using the modified hull design. The operating facility was moved to Vonore, Tennessee and now has approximately 600 employees. As of 2006, MasterCraft produced over 3,000 boats per year, sold in 25 different countries by over 100 domestic and international dealers. Some of its most popular boats today are the Prostar series of direct drive ski boats, and the X-Series Wakeboard boats, many of which share hulls with the Prostar series, but come equipped with wakeboard-specific features such as ballast tanks and a wakeboard tower. All MasterCraft Models use Ilmor inboard marine engines built on the General Motors 5.7, 6.0, 6.2, and 7.4-liter V8 engine blocks. In 2007, the company was acquired by two private equity firms: Charlesbank Capital Partners and Transportation Resource Partners. In 2010, the company was recapitalized by Wayzata Investment Partners. In May 2015, MasterCraft filed for an IPO to raise $100M. On July 17, 2015, Nasdaq announced that trading of MCBC Holdings Inc., operator of MasterCraft Boat Company, commenced on The Nasdaq Stock Markettrading as.
