History of a classical Dutch nautical brand
1900 - 1920 The Start
The 3 brothers Wolfrat; Jan, Johan and Aart decide to begin with their own 'Luxury motorboat company' and organize the first boat tours(Rondvaart) in Amsterdam, with their 4 boats, moored next to the famous 'Amstel Hotel'
In 1904 Jan started a shipyard nearby and experimented with several designs until he developed a series
of smaller sport boats. The company became an exclusive agent for the famous Thornycroft motors, which found their way into the boats.
1920 - 1940 Next Steps
A prosperous company, Wolfrat started building the very modern 'Amstelkruisers' in 1925 (till end of the '30s) . The famous Ford-T-motors were adapted by Jan, who invented the special nautical carburateur which became very popular and built in serie to be put into the boats. The wharf delivered 2 or 3 steel vessels a year. The largest vessel on the Dutch Hiswa nautical fair of 1936 was the Wolfrat Amstelkruiser. The first small international export steps were made.
1936 also marked the entrance of Jan Albert Wolfrat into the company. He started building very fast smaller wooden sportboats (16ft) equipped with the increasingly popular outboard motors(10HP); he was also the first to import them from the USA.
1940 - 1950 Wartime
The '40s were characterized by the decreasing availability of steel and motors and the lack of fuel. Wolfrat transformed during the war into a wharf for sailingboats. After the war, in 1947, Wolfrat picked up where they left and used their extensive experience to build the first inboard-runabouts. They miraculously transformed tankmotors into fast boat-motors. The domestic market for sportboats was difficult and brought to light the export-possibilities. Wolfrat adopted the internationally better sounding name of 'SportCraft' and soon the boats found their way to places like Indonesia, Mozambique and Greece, etc.
1950 - 1960 Waterskiing
Several types of runabouts, varying from 16 to 21ft, were built, among others for international royalty, starting with HRH. Prince Bernhard, who used a SportCraft as a tender for the royal yacht 'Jumbo'
Waterskiing and watersports as a form of leisure became evermore popular and drove the demand. Several brands fought for the market, amongst which, Riva, Boesch and SwissCraft. It's very important to notice that Wolfrat was an established Runabout-builder even before Riva and the others became famous as a film-star-boats. This is often overlooked.
1960 - 1970 Weekends
The '60s were the golden era of Wolfrat boats and several new series saw the light, such as the 'Imperial', the 'Weekender', the 'Express', the 'Continental', the 'Super-Continental' and the 'Impala'. All were 'cabin-cruisers' and characterised by their superstructures which made it comfortable for multi day trips, and transformed Wolfrat into a real yacht-builder. The 'Weekender', the 'Express' and the later 'Traveller' had a hull which consisted of a combination of a polyester underwater hull and a 'Bruynzeel'-wooden visible hull; which meant less maintenance. In 1968, Jan Albert's only son, Jan Christoffel, started working for the family business and soon became CEO.
1970 - 1980 Economy-models
The early '70s brought some economical setbacks and required a more efficient use of resources, which lead to somewhat smaller models and the use of other materials such as polyester. Wolfrat became also agent for the Norwegian Fjordplast brand and restarted the renting-business , which they left in the '30s
The 'Traveller'-models were a big hit in whole of Europe and can still be found today roaming the waters. The 'Senior'(model 23, 26, 31 ft) were fitted with polyester hulls and built with moulds which enabled a higher production rate. The design was a combination of the traditions of the '60's and more 'modern' ideas. In 1976 a tragedy struck Wofrat; Jan Christoffel, who was a mayor player in the Dutch nautical scene died and Jan Albert had to come back from retirement.
1980 - 1985 The End? After the tragedy, Wolfrat still serviced the enormous fleet of their boats, but stopped designing new models. In 1985 Jan Albert terminated the company and left the proud heritage to the young sons of Jan Christoffel, Danny and Ruben, who spent most of their youth amongst the boats on the Wolfrat wharf.
2013 - Now Reviver
Ruben, after a quest of several years, acquired a 1957-model SportCraft runabout and proudly picked up the traditions of his family and is determined to bring back the glory of the past. With his team he decided to restart, literally from the scetches, blueprints and pictures from the remaining family archives, and rebuild open sport boats along the ideas and experiences of his family-heritage. The first result is the 'Wolfrat Reviver', which combines traditions with a modern, maintenance-free aluminium-hull and all the luxury details that are expected of a modern leisure vessel. Classy design, speed, agility and easy handling are still the main charcteristics of the 'revived' Wolfrat, the 'Reviver'. Wolfrat is determined to develop new models and bring together every 'Wolfrat-fan' and all the knowledge about the brand and vessels; feel free to share your experiences with us!
