1973 Correct Craft Ski Nautique Restoration

New to the forum...

1973 Correct Craft Ski Nautique Chrysler Marine 440 Been trying to purchase this boat for 10 years, after multiple failed attempts of offering even more than it was worth, I had given up. The boat sat for another few years before coming unhitched while the previous owner was moving it to another storage location, and went through a cinder block garage, heavily damaging the trailer, but the boat survived with only some minor damage to the bow. It was again parked back where it had been for a few years. At the beginning of last summer (2014) a tree limb fell on the boat damaging the cover and driver seat. at this time the owner just let it go and fill up with water and leaves. This spring I noticed him out cleaning up the yard and I stopped by for one last ditch effort to get that boat before it was a lost memory, and to my surprise he told me that if I could haul it out today he would sell it to me, after some harsh negotiations ended up getting the boat, trailer, and the boat lift for a steal, and the restoration of a childhood memory of seeing this boat at my neighbors house and skiing & tubing behind it growing up was finally a reality. My wife even loves the old boat, and is helping with the process. I have removed most of the hardware and a rotted section of the floor, as well as the fuel cell 1/2 full of nasty fuel. Working on cleaning up the electrical and fuel system to try and breath life into the massive Chrysler Marine 440 big block. Once the motor work is done it will be time to tackle some trailer restructuring and some fiberglass work! Plans are to either paint the hull or have it wrapped in Cosmos Blue with white lettering/accents Hope to have it finished and in the water by the 4th of July!

Here are some pics of the 1973 Correct Craft Ski Nautique I have started restoring!



Removing the Carpet...


More to come as progress is made...

Wow. A 440 makes a big Coronado really get up and go, in an old SN you're gonna need wings....

YES, now that is a sweet find. Rare motor is the only way to go. I've never seen the elbows kicked in like that for clearance, brilliant

Now like Trbenj says you have to save the gel or regel, no paint. That boat needs to be done right.

81nautique wrote: YES, now that is a sweet find. Rare motor is the only way to go. I've never seen the elbows kicked in like that for clearance, brilliant Now like Trbenj says you have to save the gel or regel, no paint. That boat needs to be done right.

What kind of $$$ are we talking for a regel?

Any idea of where to take it near northern Indiana? (i'm willing to drive a bit for the right shop/price)

Adam,
Welcome and dig into that rare SN.

Tim said it all for me:

TRBenj wrote: Please don't paint or wrap it though- do what you can to salvage the original gel! I would get the structural issues squared away first though... I'm not sure there's really a proper way to bandaid a partially rotten floor back together- I'd be prepared for a full stringer job if needed. It sounds like the boat means quite a bit to you, so the extra time and expense would be worth it for the long lasting results. !

No on the paint, you need a full stringer job and the glass damage can be fixed. We even have members who have done their own glass work on damage way worse than yours.

Have you gotten the engine to run?

please dont paint that boat   make the repair as stated above do the stringers if they need it ( probably a 90% chance they do) the spider cracks are considered marks of a good long life . it seems like a rare and desirable engine boat combo . enjoy it for the classic it is and dont ruin it .

Might want to check the cost of a wrap as well... Those usually run in the thousands believe it or not! I'd wear the scars proudly!

The cracking at the floor/stringer joint and your mention of a "partially rotten" floor are typical signs that the stringers are at least partially mushy. Even well preserved boats aren't immune- ones that weren't stored properly for even a short amount of time usually don't fare well. Your description of the previous owner doesn't paint an optimistic picture! You'll know a bit more once you dig in.

pcjeeper wrote: Let me clarify something here... My idea was to wrap it until I can get (afford) to get the boat re-geled since it can always be easily taken off, now that is unless getting the glass fixed cost less than a grand....

I don't feel anyone here is too excited about the wrap idea ether! Some supplies, effort and time go a long way with a wet sand and buff. Spend some time searching and reading how well it's worked for our members. If you still want to do a wrap, I'm sure sites like PN or WW would be a great help. . BTW, if it is wrapped, you'll have to change the title of this thread!

Adam, you have waited ten years to get that boat. Do it right. Bring her back to her original glory. She is worth it. Nice boat
Drag her to a local CCFan reunion. I will buy you a beer and toast your accomplishment.
Probably everyone on this site would do the same........that is a lot of free beer!

pcjeeper wrote: Any idea of where to take it near northern Indiana?

What part of Indiana? Nice boat

74Wind wrote: When you get to the interior, you might try Indy Covers in Indianapolis. They did an outstanding job on the new interior of mine. when you get to that stage I can send you some pics if you'd like. I can also send the receipts if you'd like a ballpark cost.

Thanks, I will keep them in mind, I have a local gal lined up to do the seats and cover patches, i was going to lay the carpet my-self...

Update from tonights work:

"Fingers Crossed"

While going over the motor I found 2 freeze plugs in the bottom of the boat, it appears that both middle plugs were pushed out at some time over the last 3 years...in reading some other post on the forum I went to the auto parts store and got some brass rubber plugs and put them in, there would be no way to properly press plugs into the block with it in the boat. i inspected all the cylinders and spark plugs for rust and compression all seems to be ok, an I didn't find any crack on the block (on the outside at least) I checked the oil again and it is right where it should be and not milky. So I guess I will put water to it tomorrow or Friday and see if there are any leaks or water gets in the oil. I was able to turn the motor over tonight after replacing the starter solenoide. However I determined that I am not getting spark, I have 12v on both sides of the coil and to the distributor, but that is where I stopped for the evening to come do some more research.

On another note, I pulled the buffer out and did a small test area on the bottom of the hull, and it did clean up nicely. I also determined that this was originally a stars and Stripes Model???...as the bottom blue strip is actually red and it and the lettering plus red strip on the starboard side has been painted over blue. I really am leaning towards returning it to its original finish. I buffed some of the blue paint off and the original graphics are faded and spotty (I think from being over buffed sometime in the past, hense why they were painted over)

What is the best way to get that paint off?

So this is what I think it was from the factory:

OldSchoolBlue84 wrote: pcjeeper wrote: OldSchoolBlue84 wrote: pcjeeper wrote: Any idea of where to take it near northern Indiana? What part of Indiana? Nice boat Marshall County, so Valpo/Michigan City wouldn't be to far. That's great, need to meet up one day over beers and bs........we dock/boat in Culver, Lake Maxinkuckee, need to meet up over the summer, normally head out during the week for smooth water. Good luck on your boat!

I've skied max a couple times, a friend of mine grew up there...Might just have to take you up on that beer sometime...

Are there any Correct Craft Reunions in this area?

"stars and stripes" ???

Its patriotic anyway -
That boat definitely has some story behind it that 440 didn't fall into it without some money or influence being extended.

I can't for the life of me figure out what they gained by the exhaust crossover complication other than riser height. I am pretty sure that the typical bb Chrysler manifolds would have gotten the exhaust hoses down next to the stringers with essentially the same amount of overall length. However with the weight of that beast and the low nature of the SN they might have had issues keeping the water out of the engine?