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As a young boy, Chris-Craft founder Chris Smith was interested in duck hunting and carved his own decoys out of wood, which likely nurtured his interest in building boats. He built his very first boat, along with his brother, Henry, in 1874. It was a modest 13-foot skiff, but this first experience was the beginning of what became one of the greatest boating empires in the world. The two brothers went on to build canoes and duck boats and became avid duck hunters and sportsmen. These small boats had no motors and could be rowed or pushed along the seabed with a pole. The resourceful brothers of modest means then started a small business supplying fresh ducks to local restaurants and markets in Detroit.

The Smith brothers slowly expanded their boatbuilding operation; they opened a small boathouse