Peter Granata was a self-proclaimed “ water baby ” whose earliest youth activities in the Chicago area involved swimming on local park teams , playing on rowboats during family vacations to Wisconsin and spending time on Lake Michigan . In his later teens , that ‘ water gene ’ eventually enticed him to visit Smith Marine in Berwin , Ill . where he and a buddy pooled funds to jointly purchase a 15-foot boat

By Wanda Kenton Smith with 50hp Merc engine . While the love of the water was always a driver , Granata ’ s first business venture after attending the University of Illinois at Champaign / Urbana and the Chicago campus involved the development of a design patent in the automotive industry for a power-operated seat device . Despite best efforts , the timing was pre-mature and he lost every dime of his investment . He quickly shifted into survival mode , opening a candle retail store that eventually grew into a six-store enterprise .

During that period , he revisited Smith Marine and bought a second boat , establishing a friendship with owner Bob Smith whose high-volume dealership was quickly expanding . No doubt , Smith saw promise in the young entrepreneur and suggested he consider boat sales . Granata considered the unique opportunity to mix his passion for boating with a meaningful career and eagerly took the plunge . He found himself surrounded by a great team of veteran sales professionals , all of whom took him under their collective wing and taught him the ropes . Granata took to sales like a duck to water ; in his second year , he was named top salesperson for the Cruisers Inc . brand .

During his 4.5-year tenure at Smith Marine , the dealership acquired Classic Boats , a manufacturing business owned by a family member . Granata was enamored with manufacturing and design and convinced the ownership to allow him to work both sides of the business . He clocked in from 9 am to noon at the retail store , dove in deep at the manufacturing plant until 5 , and returned to the dealership to finish the evening shift .

Based on keen observations and lengthy conversations with boaters , Granata had a vision to pursue new boat design . With the encouragement of Smith , he doggedly pursued his dream and it paid off . His original design , the Classic 210 , made its debut at IMTEC in September 1973 as a new 1974 model . A 21 ’ cuddy cabin , it featured a bunk , marine head , sink and ice box in the cabin , along with two innovative sleeper seats , plus a motor box with two flanking jump seats . Demand skyrocketed as dealers purchased and sold out the first year ’ s production . Granata ’ s design kept the plant busy for several years .

That heady experience proved a watershed moment that opened the door to launching PCG Design , which later evolved into Granata Design . While he always had a natural affinity for design that began in automotive , he learned the marine trade working in the trenches alongside dozens of leading boat manufacturers . Over the past 50 + years , his creative concepts and accolades have been significant , including 10 patents : the first in 1966 through the most recent in 2019 . He ’ s won scores of top honors for clients including a Zenith Award for Four Winns ; Boat of the Year for Mastercraft ; and multiple Boat of the Year recognitions for Cobalt , among others . Boating Magazine has spotlighted top recreational marine designers over the years , citing Granata as among the industry ’ s foremost ‘ movers and shakers ’ and ‘ game-changers .’

Despite his belief that Covid has driven a backlog of orders causing design to presently take a backseat to production and order fulfillment , Granata continues to throttle forward and push new boating concepts alongside colleague , designer and illustrator Phil Stark . As has been his goal since Day 1 , Granata continues to unapologetically focus on “ giving the guy in the boat what he wants from his day on the water .”

For 50 + years , Peter Granata has remained at the helm of new boat concepts and design .

Boating Industry ( BI ): What ’ s your design strategy ? Peter Granata ( PG ): My design strategy isn ’ t to focus on the manufacturer . I focus on what ’ s best for his or her clients and that takes care of the manufacturer . It ’ s a concentrated strategy that technology teams , engineering departments or even marketing whiz kids can ’ t reproduce . It ’ s always been to create designs that sell more boats with those consumers bragging about their purchase . Sales producing product design . Aspirational design is key : what are the customer ’ s aspirations ?

BI : Based on your experience , what is the genesis for new ideas , design concepts and technological innovation within the recreational marine segment … who and what drives it ? PG : Consumer trends drive it , many of which are found in the automotive industry . Lately , the design innovation seems to be focused on the design of electric vehicles . The problem is the automotive design efforts are only proclaiming a design identifying the “ magical ” electric vehicle , instead of developing designs relatable to the consumer . In other words , it ’ s about the car , not the client .

Recently , I read of a boating design team ’ s mantra to make every boat look like a Ferrari . Consumers in our industry have specific aspirations ; not all want a Ferrari .

40 may 2023 www . boatingindustry . com