The Burger Boat Company calls Manitowoc home on an eight-acre, state-of-the-art campus that includes shops for all phases of production: metal, mechanical/hydraulic systems, machining, plumbing, electrical, millwork, and joinery. With easy access to the Great Lakes for sea trials, the facility also has an extensive, deep-water sea well; a launch well; a large-capacity Marine Travelift®; and plenty of space for not only new vessel construction but refit, repair, and maintenance as well.
Currently in production at Burger Boat Company are six models of mega-yachts, three with a raised pilothouse and three with a tri-deck design. They range in size from 112 to 214 feet, and each loaded with amenities you would expect to find in luxury yachts of this size: polished hardwood cabinets, desks, and tables, teak decks, marble columns, staterooms with en suite baths, fully equipped galleys, generous storage areas, separate crew lounge and galley and a tender garage. Each Burger yacht is custom built to a client’s specifications, so no two are exactly alike.
Not to be outdone is the 48 Cruiser, the smallest offering in the Burger line and an affordable option for those who want to experience the joy of owning a top-of-the-line Burger. The 48’s aluminum hull incorporates a patented Slide Hull design, which has several advantages over a traditional planing hull: improved ride quality, reduced pounding, reduced resistance and fuel consumption, and reduced running angle. The Slide Hull’s large forebody also prevents dangerous breaching in a following sea. Every 48 Cruiser comes with a lifetime warranty on the hull structure.
The 48 Cruiser's interior designed in collaboration with DeBasto Designs of Miami, Florida includes a three-burner electric stove, convection microwave, dishwasher, and two-drawer refrigerator/freezer in the galley.
The main stateroom features a queen-size bed, en-suite bath with shower, private sitting area, large windows, and operable portholes. The guest stateroom holds a queen-size bed that unlatches and converts to two twin-size beds, an en-suite bath with shower, and plenty of natural light. Outdoor entertain with a barbecue grill, sink, and counter located above the swim platform.
Henry Burger was only seven years old when his parents emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1846, eventually settling in Milwaukee. Henry learned shipbuilding as an apprentice at the Wolf & Davidson Shipyard and began his own business in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, building 20- to 30-foot Mackinaw fishing boats for local fishermen.
After the heyday of wooden schooners, tugboats, barges, and steamships had faded, Burger Boat Company turned its attention to ship repair in addition to new construction. Later, the company pioneered the use of all-welded steel hulls in pleasure boats and built the first all-welded steel auxiliary ketch in the United States in 1938.
During World War II, Burger supplied military vessels to the U.S. Army and the Navy and then collaborated with the Reynolds Metals Company to build the first all-welded aluminum boat. Since then, Burger has changed hands several times and weathered more than a few financial storms, but the company has emerged as a leader in the luxury yacht market.
