We get it. Our favorite boats combine competent function with graceful lines-they give good dock. And so, we were drawn to the Burnham, a new handcrafted wooden runabout from Grand Craft. From the curve of its prow to its tumblehome aft, the look is Great Lakes classic. This boat was not shaped to pop out of a mold. And any boat made of wood is unique simply because the tone and grain of each piece of planking is unique.
The beauty of classic wood boats always sparked childhood memories for Patrick Gallagher, who spent his youth boating in his family's Streblow runabout. In 2020, at age 49, Gallagher was a third-generation co-owner of Gallagher Asphalt in suburban Chicago. After 20 years and needing a change, he cashed out and in 2021, with his wife, Rose, as a partner, acquired Grand Craft, a struggling wooden boatbuilder in Holland, Michigan. He moved the company to Genoa City, Wisconsin, and began building boats using modern techniques "that don't look like the same white fiberglass minivan."
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He acquired plans for four existing Grand Craft models, but the Burnham is a new design that he considers the flagship and the future-of the company. The 26-foot4-inch runabout is 8 feet, 2 inches wide, weighs about 4,500 pounds, and is powered by a 430 hp 6.2-liter Ilmor V-8 engine through a ZF V-drive. With the engine aft, the Burnham offers a sun pad over the hatch and U-shaped central cockpit seating that better lends itself to socializing than a straight inboard with its intruding doghouse. The forward cockpit has a bench seat split by a walk-through. The helm features a Livorsi digital control and digital instruments with classic analog faces for a vintage look. Since a joystick would look out of place, a standard bow thruster is controlled by two chrome push buttons. The boat also features a stepdown transom to a swim platform, a teak sole and a premium audio system, with custom features available on request. Grand Craft says top speed is in the low 50 mph range. Base price for the Burnham model is $449,000.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1679907137/articles/nMy-ZZ6081679988971838/x-qCzZEKq1679989242919.jpg]
Seeking to create the most efficient construction process possible, Gallagher hired industrial engineer Jeff Podhajsky as VP of operations. With past marine experience at BRP, Podhajsky digitized design drawings for the Burnham in Rhino CAD and arranged to have the clear vertical-grain ...
The beauty of classic wood boats always sparked childhood memories for Patrick Gallagher, who spent his youth boating in his family's Streblow runabout. In 2020, at age 49, Gallagher was a third-generation co-owner of Gallagher Asphalt in suburban Chicago. After 20 years and needing a change, he cashed out and in 2021, with his wife, Rose, as a partner, acquired Grand Craft, a struggling wooden boatbuilder in Holland, Michigan. He moved the company to Genoa City, Wisconsin, and began building boats using modern techniques "that don't look like the same white fiberglass minivan."
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1679907137/articles/nMy-ZZ6081679988971838/6696177536.jpg]
He acquired plans for four existing Grand Craft models, but the Burnham is a new design that he considers the flagship and the future-of the company. The 26-foot4-inch runabout is 8 feet, 2 inches wide, weighs about 4,500 pounds, and is powered by a 430 hp 6.2-liter Ilmor V-8 engine through a ZF V-drive. With the engine aft, the Burnham offers a sun pad over the hatch and U-shaped central cockpit seating that better lends itself to socializing than a straight inboard with its intruding doghouse. The forward cockpit has a bench seat split by a walk-through. The helm features a Livorsi digital control and digital instruments with classic analog faces for a vintage look. Since a joystick would look out of place, a standard bow thruster is controlled by two chrome push buttons. The boat also features a stepdown transom to a swim platform, a teak sole and a premium audio system, with custom features available on request. Grand Craft says top speed is in the low 50 mph range. Base price for the Burnham model is $449,000.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1679907137/articles/nMy-ZZ6081679988971838/x-qCzZEKq1679989242919.jpg]
Seeking to create the most efficient construction process possible, Gallagher hired industrial engineer Jeff Podhajsky as VP of operations. With past marine experience at BRP, Podhajsky digitized design drawings for the Burnham in Rhino CAD and arranged to have the clear vertical-grain ...
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Boating (Digital) - 1 Issue, April 2023