40 years

In February of 1975, Paul Fletcher left his job as a marine engine distributor, and with the help of his friend Tom Scott, created Pleasurecraft Marine Engine Company (PCM) in Canal Winchester, Ohio  –  embarking on a journey to transform inboard engines.

A few months later Paul and Tom were joined by Chuck Thurman, who would take over the operation side of the business, while Paul focused on the design and creation of the ultimate inboard engine.

While examining the climate of the water sports industry, the PCM brain trust noted the growing ski boat market – the fastest-growing market in the 1970s – due to the rise of water skiing and water sports, and honed in on designing a specialized inboard engine.

PCM achieved its goal soon thereafter, striking a deal with Correct Craft Boats (now Nautique Boats). During the ‘70’s, Correct Craft Boats was the premier builder of inboard ski boats featuring the Ski Nautique model.

Back then, water skiing was the most popular water sport and the powerful Ski Nautique was the most sought after boat in the industry. Paul and the rest of the PCM crew designed an inboard engine specifically for the Ski Nautique, and by the early 80’s, PCM and Correct Craft struck a deal for PCM to become the exclusive engine used in Correct Craft water sport boats. With the new deal, the PCM gang foresaw substantial growth coming and began exploring options to expand their operation to better serve their growing customer base.

In 1984, PCM expanded to Little Mountain, South Carolina. By expanding south, PCM moved closer to its primary market and settled into an area more ideal for manufacturing and distributing products. With the Charleston port just hours away, importing and exporting of parts and engines became a more efficient process.

As the years went by, PCM was manufacturing in both Ohio and South Carolina, while consistently engineering and designing new and innovative inboard engines. While this rapid expansion was taking place, the name PCM became synonymous with water sports. Over time, wake boarding and other facets of the sport began to take center stage in the industry, and more and more tournaments across the country began choosing PCM as the exclusive tow power for their competitions. Over the years, PCM has been the exclusive power behind the Masters Water Ski & Wakeboard Tournament, Wake Games, WWA Nationals, and the World Wake Surf Championships.

As the mid 2000’s arrived PCM continued to rock n’ roll, consistently earning the highest ratings for quality and customer satisfaction in the inboard engine industry by a leading market research team. PCM has continued to prove itself as the leader in the marine propulsion industry, consistently raising the standard and designing innovative engines to remain on the leading edge.

In 2008, PCM consolidated its operation and moved the entire company to the Little Mountain location. This facility, a 140,000 square foot complex on 27 acres, encompasses PCM’s corporate headquarters, engineering and R&D facilities, manufacturing, and parts distribution facilities. The team continued to develop and re-engineer its engines, while securing a number of U.S. patents for components of the industry-leading engines.

Fourty years since Paul started PCM, his vision and goal to transform the water sports industry is still alive and today’s management team continues to embrace and expand on that vision. At PCM, we understand that in the end, every detail matters, and this fall, we will continue to lead the industry in innovative technology.

Very soon we will once again transform inboard engines with the release of a powerful brand new class of engine that will propel water sports to new heights.

Why do we do it? Why do we spend countless hours trying to come up with a new design? We do it because of the vision that was started in 1975 – to build for our customers the ultimate water sports engine.