In the very early 1920's boat manufacturers were producing fine looking, "decked over"
boats, with the bow, stern and engine compartments completely covered over with decking.
The seats were in cockpits, forward and sometimes, aft of the engine compartment decking. There were, and still are, single, double and triple cockpit models that were given the name
runabouts. Their primary purpose was running about the lake to visit friends at another summer cottage, going into town or just plain zooming around the lake having fun with the wind and the spray in your face. Throughout the entire wooden
boat era of
Chris Craft, Garwood, Hackercraft, Century, etc., decked over boats with seating in cockpits were called
runabouts.
However, at this same time, some of these boats were built with only a covered foredeck and a box covering the engine. This arrangement was much better for activities such as fishing, picnics, swimming and water sports. These boats were called an "open utility". These, originally bare bones, utility
boats, soon came equipped with deluxe interiors including windshields, upholstered seats, large engines and in some cases, even small hard top enclosures. As a matter of fact, the most popular boat that Chris Craft Corporation ever built was the "22 Utility".
Runabouts could run from 12 ft. to more than 35 ft. in length. They did not, and still don't, have berths, galleys or heads. As a modern example, the purest would call the Chris Craft 18' Speedster, a
runabout. On the other hand, inboard ski boats like a Correct Craft or Master Craft, would be called an "open utility". As the years passed, the two distinct designs began to blur and now almost all boats 26 ft. and under, without berths, galleys, etc, are generally referred to as
runabouts/ Chris Craft's single, double and triple cockpit models were always named
runabouts, but their open boats, originally named "utilities", in later years were called "sport"
boats.
To this day, old
boat drivers still differentiate between
runabouts and "utilities", but the rest of the world has pretty much lumped them into the
runabout category. So, if you use your small boat (26 ft. and under) just for running about and having a good time and it has no sleeping or dinning facilities, it is now OK to call it a
runabout.
