CC Hull Number 40644 State Registration WN 2966 LH VHF Call Sign WUT 4323
Maranee's Story
Click on each image for more information and photos
The clue that helped us unravel Maranee's history: finding her listing under a different spelling in the "Former Names" index of Lloyd's Register of American Yachts. We had been looking for Sunny Dee, as listed in the Chris-Craft archives, but her name was actually spelled Sonny D. Now that we had the name of a former owner and his yacht club, our research went forward quickly.
Historical images, magazine advertisements and pages from the 1940 Chris-Craft catalog
Conceptual Drawing
Chris-Craft Corporation, 1939
This drawing was published in the December, 1939 issue of the yachting magazine The Rudder. The design's highlight was that it was totally streamlined - Chris-Craft's new approach for the new decade. The 40's promised change and prosperity in many ways, and this is a fine example of Chris-Craft's contribution.
Sonny D
Ernie Dowd, 1940-1946
Hull #40644 was built in Algonac, Michigan and was delivered to Lakeside, Ohio, on June 28, 1940. She was built for Mr. Ernie Dowd of Bexley, Ohio. The boat was originally named Sonny D by Mr. Dowd, in honor of his only son, Healy ("Sonny") Dowd. The Dowds cruised her extensively on the Great Lakes out of the Lakeside Yacht Club in Cleveland, and sold the boat in 1946.
Doryann II
Virgil Waite,1946-1952.
She served as the flagship of the Vermilion Yacht Club in 1946 under the ownership of Commodore Virgil Waite, who named her Doryann II, after his two daughters. He cruised her extensively with his family throughout the Great Lakes - down the Erie Canal, into the St. Lawrence Seaway and on several occasions up to Georgian Bay. In 1952, the Waites traded in the Doryann II for a 1950 42-foot Chris-Craft Double Cabin Flying Bridge Cruiser, appropriately named Doryann III.
Mary Lynne
Robert F. Wolfe, 1952-1959.
Robert F. Wolfe and his family cruised her as the Mary Lynne out of the Port Clinton, Ohio, Yacht Club from 1952 to 1959. The boat was renamed after Robert and Margaret's only daughter. It would appear that sometime between the Waite and Wolfe ownership, the boat went through a substantial cosmetic change: the cabinsides were completely painted over. It would be another 37 years before the boat would have brightwork on her cabinsides again.
Maranee
Wayne Quinton, 1959-1988.
She was brought by rail out to Seattle in 1959. Wayne Quinton, of Seattle’s Quinton Instrument Company, purchased her and took loving care of her for almost 30 years. He named her Maranee, a combination of Latin and Swahili words meaning "Sea Princess."
Maranee
Jim & Margie Paynton, 1988- present.
Under our ownership, Maranee has cruised extensively throughout the waters between Olympia, Washington and Desolation Sound, B.C. She has proved herself to be a quiet, seaworthy and comfortable boat, equally at home at a classic yacht show or swinging quietly around her anchor.