Stars & Stripes Ski Nautique ??? |
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GrayBeardSkier
Newbie Joined: January-22-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Art C.: thanks for responding. It sounds like the bottom line of your response is that there isn’t any information in the CC Florida files about the details of the boat and you don’t have any personal knowledge of it either. The shipping invoice that does exist, matches the boat and timeline so I guess that confirmation is good. It’s too bad more detail information isn’t there as I was hoping for that.
If additional detailing was done at Correct Craft West, would records exist of that? For those with interest in this story, please read on as the lead I’ve been following did turn up additional information. So in the log book records, the entry right under the one about adding color to windshield frame, was an entry about getting the name and stripes refurbished. This entry includes the name Jerry Heinrich and a phone number. I’m thinking the odds of me being able to reach the painter are about a million to one but nevertheless, I give it a try. Lo and behold, Jerry H. answers the phone. When I asked if he remembered doing some paint work on a boat in 1978, his response was that he was painting several hundred boats a year back then. When I included that it was a Ski Nautique with stars and stripes on it, he responded that of course he remembered the boat because it was so unique. I asked if the stars and stripes were already on the boat, he said, absolutely, all he did was touchup work where paint was faded or chipped. I asked about the flames and he said that those were already on the boat and not his work. As a next step, I decided it would be good to have those people who possessed the boat back in the 1970’s verify first hand that it looks the same now as then. I made arrangements to meet with Jerry H. and he was also able to have Art and Angie Rodrigues be there as well. Jerry H. was also an active member of the Santa Clara Ski club back then. All three people inspected the boat closely. Bottom line, the paint work on the boat today still matches what it did when it was delivered from the CC dealer. The stars and stripes Ski Nautique is what was there when Art and Angie took possession of the boat as first owners. Jerry H. confirm that he only did touchup work to the horizontal stripes and Ski Nautique name. Jerry H. identified that he there was some paint work that was his and it is the CA id up on the bow. The font/style on these characters is a style he still uses today and in fact matches the style on his personal boat. Of course I had to capture the moment, so here’s a picture of these folks with the boat today. Art on left, Angie middle, and Jerry H. on right While inspecting the boat, Angie recalled some additional information that may open some new angles for us. Her recollection is that the CC boat dealer was named Ralph Maloon and she thought the dealership was located in Sacramento, CA when they purchased the boat. In addition to the story about there being two boats with stars and stripes treatment, she remembers being told that they had also applied this same stars and stripes Ski Nautique scheme to a sign board and it was hung in a CC facility somewhere. Given the Art C. feedback, I’m guessing it wasn’t hung in a Florida building but more likely CC West (wherever that was) or a dealership building. So, I’ll broaden the request for sightings, has anyone seen the east coast stars and stripes Ski Nautique boat or does anyone recall seeing a stars and stripes sign hanging in a CC facility? What are the odds that this sign may still exist and be hanging in some ones garage somewhere? Wouldn’t that be something? |
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Joel Heinke
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GrayBeardSkier
Newbie Joined: January-22-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Oops...I forgot something from the previous post.
Art, Angie, and Jerry: it was great to meet you in person and I extend my special thanks for all the information you've provided. You are very kind people and we need more like you in the water ski boating enthusiast group! |
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Joel Heinke
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GlassSeeker
Grand Poobah Joined: November-26-2008 Location: Elk Grove, CA. Status: Offline Points: 2421 |
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Jerry does all the custom lettering at my buddy's boat shop in San Jose.
www.topsidemarine.com |
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This is the life
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peter1234
Grand Poobah Joined: February-03-2008 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2756 |
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Thanks for pursuing this and sharing .its really pretty interesting
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former skylark owner now a formula but I cant let this place go
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OverMyHead
Grand Poobah Joined: March-14-2008 Location: MN Status: Offline Points: 4861 |
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Very fun to see the history come together. Thanks for sharing.
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For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats.
1987 Ski Nautique |
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DrCC
Grand Poobah Joined: April-12-2004 Location: at home Status: Offline Points: 2867 |
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Could this be Stiffler's mom, from 1975 ?
edit: Appologies- bad joke, bad timing, wrong Stiffler. edit: The part of this story that I do believe is that the boat in question, left the factory in Orlando looking exactly like the '75 in this pic. (w/optional ladder) |
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IAughtNaut
Grand Poobah Joined: August-22-2010 Location: TN Status: Offline Points: 2568 |
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I said it before but I'll say it again, this thread is awesome. I can't help but notice that the name of the dealer Angie supplied, Ralph Maloon, is startling similar to our own Mr. Ralph Meloon...does anyone know if Mr. Ralph worked in Sacramento in the mid 70s? Or is anyone on thread in a position to ask him? Maybe someone with a white and green mustang...?
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The Godfather
Platinum Member Joined: August-13-2008 Location: Orlando Fla Status: Offline Points: 1766 |
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I spoke with Mr. Ralph on Friday with Larry Shea. We ask him and showed him the photo of this boat and he said, he does not recall this boat.. Or the factory doing this design to an Ski. I think the dealer can answer more, but they are no longer open. But I will still do some more digging.
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Jbear, said to me wow if it was'nt for this site we would never had met for this to happen....
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The Godfather
Platinum Member Joined: August-13-2008 Location: Orlando Fla Status: Offline Points: 1766 |
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Jbear, said to me wow if it was'nt for this site we would never had met for this to happen....
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ArtCozier
Platinum Member Joined: April-25-2012 Location: Orlando FL Status: Offline Points: 1023 |
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You certainly do good detective work. The CC dealer in those days was in fact Ralph Meloon, a son of Mr. Ralph to whom Dave refers in his post. Angie is correct, it was in Sacramento. Ralph Jr., as we call him, is now a bush pilot in Alaska and I can get in touch with him and send him a copy of your photo and see whether he remembers anything about the graphics. It will take me a while to get in touch with him.
You are correct, according to Dave (Godfather) there is no information other than the shipping invoice, and it doesn't say anything about the graphics. If it was done at West Coast, there would be no records, but as I said above, I will inquire of Ralph Jr. Insofar as to the references to the Asians painting the boats, actually, Ronnie Arnold probably painted 90% of the '73 through '76 boats. He was the one who so badly wanted to use flame. We had hired another painter named Paul Anderson, and it was he who taught Ronnie to do flame. Shortly after that Ronnie was promoted to the prototype shop. He is the one who did the work on the rear deck of the SN when we changed from the aluminum clearance bar to the raised fiberglass on the 1977 rear deck. We then had a Vietnamese named Dai Nguen painting the boats along with Paul. Dai is the guy who painted Ski Nautique on the 1961 boat which some of you are familiar with, and when I met the truck with the boat on it at Callaway Gardens for the '77 Masters, I noticed that Nautique was misspelled! Got some acetone at the hardware store and took it off. To the best of my knowledge, the graphics on some of the '73s were done by hand by a sign painter. We then had stencils cut, the stencil was a one-time stencil on frisket paper. It was stuck to the boat, masked off, sprayed, and pulled off. The stencils were what enabled us to do the black shading around the perimeter of the letters, that might have started in '75, I'm not sure. Ronnie Arnold came up with that idea. He simply took an airbrush and went around the letters before removing the stencil. Walt Meloon Jr. was President in those days, his father was the CEO. Walt made all the decisions about what went on in the factory. I will show him the photos of the graphics and ask whether he recalls anything about any boats being painted that way. We still don't have an explanation for the vinyl graphics, though. As someone said, who had a computer in 1975, let alone a computer-driven vinyl cutter. |
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"Art"
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KRoundy
Platinum Member Joined: August-23-2010 Location: Lake Stevens Status: Offline Points: 1702 |
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Can I favorite this thread? What a GREAT story!!!!!
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Previous: 1993 Electric Blue/Charcoal Ski Nautique
Current: 2016 Ski Nautique 200 Open Bow |
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ArtCozier
Platinum Member Joined: April-25-2012 Location: Orlando FL Status: Offline Points: 1023 |
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I don't think that's Russ' Mom in the boat. That photo was shot in Florida at a lake near the factory, and to my knowlede his mom never came to Florida. He is still around, skiing in Texas, I think.
Saw him in recent years, but don't remember where. |
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"Art"
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OverMyHead
Grand Poobah Joined: March-14-2008 Location: MN Status: Offline Points: 4861 |
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It is so cool to have you here on the site Art. THANKS!
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For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats.
1987 Ski Nautique |
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62 wood
Grand Poobah Joined: February-19-2005 Location: NW IL Status: Offline Points: 4527 |
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.............. X2!!!! |
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Morfoot
Grand Poobah Joined: February-06-2004 Location: South Lanier Status: Offline Points: 5312 |
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All more the reason for y'all to come on down to play on the river in March. Art hangs with us for the weekend and as we all know, is a wealth of information and history. Art, I wish there was a way to plug your brain into a hard drive and download all you know about CC but I don't think there is a computer big enough to hold all the info. Thanks for all you add to the site and the history of our beloved Correct Crafts! |
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"Morfoot; He can ski. He can wakeboard.He can cook chicken.He can create his own self-named beverage, & can also apparently fly. A man of many talents."72 Mustang "Kermit",88 SN Miss Scarlett, 99 SN "Sherman"
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OverMyHead
Grand Poobah Joined: March-14-2008 Location: MN Status: Offline Points: 4861 |
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Tim, The offer of Southern hospitality is a huge temptation. There are so many of you down there I would like to meet. I believe the only reason a CCFAN does not make a re-union is that they give themselves permission not to. One of these years I will take my own advice, man up, and get down there in March. Unfortunately this year I gave myself permission not to. Thanks for the Invite though. I will be watching the SJRR thread with jealous eyes. |
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For thousands of years men have felt the irresistible urge to go to sea, and many of them died. Things got better after they invented boats.
1987 Ski Nautique |
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GrayBeardSkier
Newbie Joined: January-22-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Wow, now we’re cooking!! It’s amazing how a small clue can open the door to more information and a whole new chapter unfolds.
Let me try to address the question as to whether the stars and stripes Ski Nautique graphic on the boat sides was technically possible in 1975. I’ve never questioned that myself because it appears original and given the limited numbers (2 boats) the same time/cost factors from mass production runs don’t apply. First off, I don’t profess to be an expert in lettering/graphic applications but I have done about 10 auto paint jobs involving stripes/multi-colors/etc. and a little bit of hand painted pin striping. Most of my experience doing this paint work was in mid to late 1970s so I’m familiar with materials available back then. I think I caused some confusion when I said there was some vinyl in the lettering. There is but all the actual letter detail like stars, red and white stripes and blue is hand painted. The vinyl portion is all background behind the letters. Because the letters are close together, the background is a solid piece for several letters. So there’s only 4 pieces of vinyl behind the 11 letters. I think someone with a steady hand and a razor knife could have easily cut these shapes from a vinyl sheet. They did a good job of cutting smooth curves but if you look real close you can see some small wiggles in a couple of places. These are the type of thing you wouldn’t expect to see in a computer cut graphic but would in a hand done one. So I agree with consensus that a computer controlled vinyl cutter wasn’t available back then but an artist with a razor knife could easily have done this work. Like I said, the real artistry is in the hand painted stars and stripes letters themselves. From information Art C. has provided, the Florida CC factory painted the lettering with stencils and sprayed the paint. I'm assuming this work wasn't done by that same crew. I’m still convinced that there was a limited run of this special graphic treatment that was commissioned somewhere within CC though. Now it’s a matter of tracking it down who commissioned it. |
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Joel Heinke
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martin 74
Senior Member Joined: January-02-2005 Status: Offline Points: 136 |
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Joel
I noticed your boat is missing the usual flag decals that went on the sides of the boat near the stern. Total wild guess, but maybe whoever made those flag decals at the time made special custom ones for your boat. Both have stars on top and stripes on the bottom. Again wild wild guess! Rich |
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GlassSeeker
Grand Poobah Joined: November-26-2008 Location: Elk Grove, CA. Status: Offline Points: 2421 |
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How is it that the original owner got this particular boat? if it was so special shouldn't the original owner have some sort of documentation as to this "specialness"???
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This is the life
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ArtCozier
Platinum Member Joined: April-25-2012 Location: Orlando FL Status: Offline Points: 1023 |
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I plan to talk with both Walt and Ralph Meloon Jr. as soon as I can carve some time out of my schedule!
Art C |
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"Art"
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quinner
Grand Poobah Joined: October-12-2005 Location: Unknown Status: Offline Points: 5828 |
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Not necessarily, HW as an example, he's pretty "special", in a licking school bus windows kind of way, don't think his parents ordered him that way?? |
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Kristof
Grand Poobah Joined: October-08-2007 Location: Bree, Belgium Status: Offline Points: 3391 |
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Really Quinner, you are seriously deranged (and extremely funny as well) |
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- Gun control means: using BOTH hands!
- Money doesn't make one happy, but when it rains cats and dogs, it's still better to cry in a Porsche than on a bicycle... |
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quinner
Grand Poobah Joined: October-12-2005 Location: Unknown Status: Offline Points: 5828 |
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Dr Al bumped this thread today, something interesting a few posts down by member BB, Bob Bense
Thread About 75' HMMMMMM |
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DrCC
Grand Poobah Joined: April-12-2004 Location: at home Status: Offline Points: 2867 |
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Yep, I was just getting ready to say that we do have a member that worked for West Coast Correct Craft in the year 2000.
Q- so, I'm assuming, no outdoor grinding today either. |
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quinner
Grand Poobah Joined: October-12-2005 Location: Unknown Status: Offline Points: 5828 |
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Been doing way too much grinding, come to think of it, can you write me a prescription doctor?? Will have to bump our Martini thread with some grinding updates!!
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Hollywood
Moderator Group Joined: February-04-2004 Location: Twin Lakes, WI Status: Offline Points: 13512 |
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I don't see nothin' wrong with a little bump n' grind.
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GrayBeardSkier
Newbie Joined: January-22-2013 Location: Livermore, CA Status: Offline Points: 25 |
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Bouncing this in case someone has uncovered new information.
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Joel Heinke
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ArtCozier
Platinum Member Joined: April-25-2012 Location: Orlando FL Status: Offline Points: 1023 |
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Gray..... I did get a response from Ralph Meloon Jr. and he does not have but a "faint" recollection of such a boat, and he does't think that it came from the factory with those graphics. I am still working on trying to catch up with Walt Meloon Jr. to show him the photo and test his memory!
Art C. |
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"Art"
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GlassSeeker
Grand Poobah Joined: November-26-2008 Location: Elk Grove, CA. Status: Offline Points: 2421 |
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GrayB,
If you want to light a fire under your thread again just post more detailed pics of the boat now and also more from Original Owner Art's original photos. We're dudes we have to see pictures!!!! |
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This is the life
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cphase
Gold Member Joined: May-11-2010 Location: Newnan, GA Status: Offline Points: 795 |
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My wife reminds me constantly "Men are VISUAL"!!! |
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