Yar-Craft Boats

Back in 2004, I got a call from a gentleman named Corey Suthers. Corey had recently bought a boat company that built specialized walleye boats called Yar-Craft Boats in Menominee, Michigan. Yar-Craft had a reputation for building some of the finest walleye fishing boats you could buy. Corey was a customer who liked his boat, so he bought the company. To help Yar-Craft grow, he needed some new models as the existing line was getting a bit old. We started out with an 18 footer, but that grew into what became the 2197 DC.

The Yar-Craft 2197 DC is a high performance, rough water walleye boat. Over a year of design work was invested in her to make sure everything was right. Yar-Craft boats are prized for their ability to troll straight at the very low speeds favored by walleye anglers. This is due to a hull shape with certain special characteristics that I had to include in the design of the new hull. This was tricky as the things that would make it troll well could also hurt its handling at high speeds. As her top speed ended up being over 60 mph, it was critical to get the handling right!

Her deck was arranged for serious fishing, with all the features a serious walleye fisherman would expect. She featured all composite construction and a full inner liner, something that was a little unique in the walleye market at that time.

The 2197 DC was followed up by the Yar-Craft 2197 CC, a center console for walleye fishing. This boat could also be rigged and sold as a bay boat in the South and Corey was hoping it could be used to expand Yar-Craft's traditional market into other areas and customers. I thought this boat had great potential, but evidently the customers disagreed as the sales were not what we had hoped. This is still my favorite version.

After the two 2197 models, I was asked to design a slightly smaller model, the Yar-Craft 2097 DC. Although only a foot smaller, her hull was unique and not a shortened version of the 2197. She featured a T-shaped motor well that would allow the trolling motor to be mounted directly to the transom. The 2097 DC proved to be very popular and I believe was the biggest selling model of the three.

There were some other designs that were started and never finished, including a couple that were meant to be Thompson Boats as Corey had also bought that company as well. I think at some point he got too busy running his other business and couldn't devote the time and resources required by Yar-Craft. In 2011, Yar-Craft was sold to the makers of Bass Cat Boats and production moved to Mountain Home, Arkansas. The 2197 DC is now known as the 219TFX and the 2097 DC is now the 209TFX. The 2197 CC is no longer made. I contacted the new owners and offered to help in any way I could, but they declined. I understand they are known for building quality boats and wish them luck with Yar-Craft Boats.

For more information, contact:

Yar-Craft Boats

P.O. Drawer 1688
Mountain Home, AR 72654
Phone: 870-481-5142