Switzer family ready for their boats to motor on the Chain, Fox again during Fiesta Days

Nearly 50 years after the Switzer family sold their namesake boat-making business, the family and its boats will be seen again during Fiesta Days in McHenry this weekend.

There was a time, Steve Switzer said, that a majority of the boats one would see on the Chain O’ Lakes were made by his family. It’s been 44 years since the family sold Switzer Craft – both the company and its name – and got out of the boat-making business. But that doesn’t mean their name isn’t still recognized, Switzer said.

When people see him or other family members out on the water in one of the boats, they often hear how the brand was the first boat their family owned, he said. There was also a time when McHenry ’s Fiesta Days – set this year for July 9 through July 19 – was called Marine Day, John Smith said. He is president of the McHenry Riverwalk Foundation.

A highlight of the festival back then was boat races – often featuring Switzer boats. “We used to have boat races right off the Weber Park beach. The river was closed while the races were being conducted,” Smith said.

“They were a huge part of the history of Fiesta Days and also a huge part of McHenry’s history, as a boat-building family.” That is why he asked the Switzers to be a part of the 2026 festival. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 18, the boats will return to McHenry, including a demonstration of their Wing racing boat on the Fox River from noon to 12:30 p.m.

The river will be closed for that time. At 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., Peter Switzer – Steve’s brother and the family historian – will give talks about the company and its racing background. Then, at 9 a.m. Sunday, July 19, Switzer boat owners are invited to participate in a ride on the Fox and Chain O’ Lakes, starting from Miller Point Park.

“During Marine Day, Dad would race out here,” Steve Switzer said. “He was a very accomplished racer.” The company got its start in the 1940s, when his grandparents had a cottage on Pistakee Lake, and his uncle Dave Switzer came back from World War II.

Going off a plan he bought prewar from the back of a magazine, Dave built his first boat – then built and sold two to neighbors. In 1946, Dave and his parents, Roma and Russell, leased the basement of Gladstone’s Department Store – now The Green Street Cafe – and started Switzer Craft. At age 15, younger brother Robert “Bob” Switzer – Steve and Peter’s father – starts racing the boats Dave Switzer designed.

They mostly made motor boats for tooling around in lakes and rivers, Switzer said. The racing boats were advertising for the business, and his father excelled in the racing. “He saw it as marketing, and he had a passion for racing,” Switzer said.

“Dad was the racer, and David was the designer,” he said. The racing boats – like the Wing they will put on the Fox River on Saturday – were different from the boats they made for families. The racing boats were the first ones they made from fiberglass.

“The brand was known for innovative designs. Most people in those days would consider them futuristic, Switzer said. ”They were very original with their styling and ahead of their time."

Later, the company moved to Crystal Lake , and the power boats switched from wood to fiberglass construction, too. The fiberglass holds up better over the long term and is less prone to rot, Switzer said. Between 1946 and 1982, the company built about 10,000 boats, Switzer said.

Of those, he guesses 10 or 20% are still around. He sees ads for them online from time to time. Sometimes, they also get lucky.

They got a phone call from a woman in St. Charles who had a Switzer boat in the garage, Steve’s wife, Jami Switzer, said. The family’s boat had been destroyed in an accident, and the boat in her garage was its replacement. It had never been put in the water and did not have a motor, but was otherwise in pristine condition, Jami Switzer said.

That powerboat will be one of those on the water Sunday, too. In total, the remaining Switzer uncles, aunts and cousins own upwards of a dozen boats they are bringing for Fiesta Days. They were a little surprised at the invitation, Steve Switzer said.

“It has been a long time ... but it is nice when they expressed interest. We have been out of business for a long time, and I have a lot of personal pride in the company.”

Back when his uncle decided it was time to sell – because it was time for him to retire – Steve was barely out of high school. It is still something the cousins talk about from time to time – whether they would want to start up another boat company with their name, he said. “It will be after I retire,” Switzer said.