Uniflite Boats

About Uniflite Yachts

Established: 1957

Located: Bellingham, Washington

Construction: Fiberglass

Category:  Runabouts, Powerboats

Worth Noting: Art’s son, Gary Nordtvedt, founded Norstar Boats after Uniflite went out of business.

Uniflite (United Boat Builders) was founded by Art Nordtvedt in 1957 in Bellingham, Washington in. Before starting Uniflite, Art and members of his crew worked for Bellingham Shipyards building Navy Mine Sweepers and Bell Boy Boats. The name Uniflite came from a “united crew”.

Uniflite’s first boat was a fiberglass 17’ outboard. Shortly after, 15’, 19’, and 20’ boats were added before Art and his crew built a 25’ express cruiser, which was followed by 31’ and 34’ boats. At the time, Uniflite was the only boat builder exclusively using fire-retardant resins in the production of pleasure boats.

In 1962, Uniflite became a public company trading on the New York Stock Exchange and was eligible for Navy contracts. Uniflite built Patrol Boats (PBR's) for the U.S Navy between 1965 and 1972 for use in the Vietnam War. By the early 1970’s, Uniflite had numerous military contracts building 14’ and 50’ vessels including patrol craft, landing craft, and personnel boats.

In 1977, Uniflite acquired boat molds from Pacemaker Boat Co. and started a second manufacturing plant in Swansboro, North Carolina. Chris-Craft acquired Uniflite in 1984, and they continued to build the boats under their brand until 1989 when they ceased production.