Uniflite (United Boat Builders) was founded in

Bellingham, Washington Bellingham ( ) is the county seat of Whatcom County, Washington, Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. It lies south of the Canada–United States border, U.S.–Canada border, between Vancouver, British Columbia, ...

, by Art Nordtvedt in October 1957. Although the company is best remembered as a maker of recreational powerboats, its initial products were small

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English) is a common type of fibre-reinforced plastic, fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened i ...

runabouts. The company also supplied river patrol craft to the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Patrol Boat - River between 1965 and 1972 for use in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

. Uniflite was acquired by

Chris-Craft Boats Chris-Craft Boats was an American boat manufacturer founded by Christopher Columbus Smith (1861–1939). The company was sold by the Smith family in 1960 to NAFI Corporation, which changed its name to Chris-Craft Industries in 1962. The curren ...

in 1984 who continued to build the boats under their brand until they ceased production in 1989. After the company's demise, Art's son, Gary Nordtvedt, went on to found Norstar Boats.

History

Uniflite (United Boat Builders) was started in Bellingham, WA, by Art "Papa" Nordtvedt in October 1957. The first Uniflite boat an all fiberglass 17' outboard. Uniflite soon added a 14', an 18' and a 20' outboard and inboard/outboard boats, followed by a 25' express cruiser followed by a 31' and a 34' boat. Uniflite was the only boat builder exclusively using fire-retardant resins in the production of pleasure boats. In January 1959, the plant and office moved into the old plywood plant in

Fairhaven, Washington Fairhaven (or Fairhaven Village) was a settlement in Washington state founded in 1883 by Dan Harris. In 1903, it became part of the city of Bellingham and remains a historic neighborhood. Description The Fairhaven area is situated on the so ...

(in Bellingham). This became Uniflite's permanent home. In 1962, Uniflite became a public company trading on the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

, thus becoming eligible for Navy contracts. In 1965, the Navy awarded Uniflite with a contract to build

Patrol Boat, River Patrol Boat, River, or PBR, is the United States Navy designation for a small rigid- hulled patrol boat used in the Vietnam War from March 1966 until 1975. They were deployed in a force that grew to 250 boats, the most common craft in the Ri ...

s (PBRs). The PBRs were powered by twin Detroit 6V53 diesel engines with water jets and they cruised between 25 and 31 knots. There were approximately 718 PBRs built, at least 418 of which were built by Uniflite. At the height of production two PBRs were rolling off the assembly line along with one 36' landing craft each day. In addition to the Navy contracts, in the 1960s and early 1970s Uniflite had numerous other military contract building 14' and 50' boats: patrol craft, landing craft, and personnel boats. Uniflite also built commercial fishing boats, and sailboats besides the more widely recognized pleasure boats. In 1977, Uniflite acquired boat molds from Pacemaker Boat Co. Pacemaker Boat company was founded in 1949 by Charles Platt (C.P.) Leek in New Jersey from his company C.P. Leek & Sons, Inc. who also later established Egg Harbor boat company. It was at this time that Uniflite started a second Uniflite plant in

Swansboro, North Carolina Swansboro is a resort town in Onslow County, North Carolina, United States. It is located along the Crystal Coast. The population was 3,744 at the 2020 census. History Swansboro started as a settlement around the plantation of Theophilus Weeks ...

. In 1980, a fire almost totally destroyed the Uniflite plant in Bellingham. However, since they had molds in Swansboro, NC, they were able to continue production of their boats. In 1984, Uniflite was acquired by Chris Craft for $10 per share. Chris Craft built many of the identical boats under the Chris Craft label until they stopped production in 1989.

References

American boat builders Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1957 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1989 Defunct companies based in Washington (state) 1957 establishments in Washington (state) 1989 disestablishments in North Carolina 1984 mergers and acquisitions {{US-manufacturing-company-stub