Moore, Ramaley, Minnetonka Boat Works

One of the earliest boat builders in Wayzata was Royal Corbin Moore. Arriving in Wayzata in the late 1870s, he started Moore Boat Works at the same location that the Boatworks Building stands today. Moore built sailboats, rowboats, fishing boats, canoes, hunting boats, launches, and yachts. Best-known of Moore’s creations were the six “Express Boats” built for the Twin City Rapid Transit Company in 1906. Minnehaha, which still plies Lake Minnetonka today, was one of these boats. Moore continued to build boats until 1912, when he sold to Eugene Ramaley. In 1929 the Ramaley Boat Company merged with Wise and Walker Boat Works to become the Minnetonka Boat Works. In the 1940s Minnetonka Boat Works built flat-bottomed, lightweight army landing craft known as “storm boats” which were used to cross the Rhine River during World War II. Minnetonka Boat Works also became well-known manufacturers and distributors of both Tonka-Craft and Chris Craft power boats. Wood boats were made here until 1958, when the company switched to fiberglass. The current building (built 1940) ceased to service boats in 1985 and is now home to 6Smith and Wayzata Brew Works.