June 2, 2020

In the early days of powerboating, among the most attractive and now classic builders, was Century. Their mahogany planked runabouts were elegant and powerful. The brand earned an excellent reputation and today, classic mahogany Centuries are sought-after collector boats.

Times and tastes have changed and new Century boats are fiberglass vee bottom boats with an emphasis on family activity and fishing. Several of the larger new Century models are salt-water centre console boats and the current flagship is a beamy and deep 3200 Center Console model with high-end features like side doors, hardtops, private head and more.

On the entry level are boats like their 24 Resorter, a dual console design that delivers luxury and versatility while carrying on the famous Century Resorter name and style.

Now, Century has acquired the luxury brand, Vanquish and Vanquish-founder Morgan Huntley has joined to carry on as the Chief Operating Officer guiding the development of that line which now will be offered under the heritage Century model name, Coronado.

Boating Industry Canada editor, Andy Adams had the pleasure of interviewing new CEO Lloyd, R. “Skip” Sorenson who is now leading the organization. He is a fourth-generation ship builder, MBA marketer and leads a private equity firm with a division called Anchors Aweigh Capital that was created eight years ago to help boat manufacturers.

Plans are coming together quickly to expand the Century, and Coronado brands into Canada with a new national dealer network. Part of that foundation is the creation of a Century Museum and Customer Center at their Florida facilities. Potential new Century buyers can both learn the news about the brand online and also to visit the production facilities in person.

Skip Sorenson told us that, “We have not had much of a presence in the Canadian market recently and we are trying to bolster that. In the meantime, we are doing a lot more social media and outreach in Canada in the hope that they will express an interest in the boats, and we can help them directly for now. We are also creating an online store where people can see the boats and even purchase directly until we set up Canadian dealers. There is still a significant following of Century owners in Canada. We have 8,000 different past and present Century owners that we have names and contact information for, and we are creating a Century Club that they can become members of since we have a past relationship with them.”

Expect to hear a lot more from Century in the coming months as they expand the line to both larger and smaller models.

Visit www.centuryboats.com to learn more.