1st Generation Ski Nautique Roster

This is my 67 still got alot of work just such a mission to get engine parts here in SA

Oops, I think I posted a reply to the wrong post. Nice looking '67. Any idea where the motor box came from?

The original Chrysler alternator was toast, and the voltage regulator smoked like crazy, so I replaced both with a modern charging system, and made my own brackets from SS stock.
The PO also left me a big hole in the dash he cut for a glove box that had fake wood on the cover, maybe 67 Chevy station wagon origin. So the instrument panel from a Seaswirl fit the hole perfectly (almost), and I matched up the wiring and senders. The new bilge pump works from the pump switch too. This was a trial and error project to put it mildly.

ArtCozier wrote: I also have a motor box from a 1960s SN that some fool cut a hole in . Must have had a high-rise intake manifold and thought it would look cool to have the flame arrestor sticking through the motor box. Some people ought not to be allowed to touch boats!

Art,
I'd have to say chances are very high that the dog house came from someone who converted from the YH's on a 312 to a downdraft. We even have a current member who did it!

Art, Correct me if I am wrong on this. The last year of the 1st generation SN was 1969. There was a change in 1970. Though the last year for the center deck boats was 1964. In 1965 they removed the center deck and put in a rear facing observers seat. Some center deck boats were purchased and titled after 1964, as back then the year of your boat was when it was titled in some states. But, to get back to your questions, 1969 was the last year.

Old skier wrote: Art, Correct me if I am wrong on this. The last year of the 1st generation SN was 1969. There was a change in 1970. Though the last year for the center deck boats was 1964. In 1965 they removed the center deck and put in a rear facing observers seat. Some center deck boats were purchased and titled after 1964, as back then the year of your boat was when it was titled in some states. But, to get back to your questions, 1969 was the last year.

That is all correct, and it triggers another "history" story. When it was decided that the SN should be made more attractive, Mr. W.O.. Meloon tasked our mold maker (Bill Ludeka, a true master of the trade, RIP) to make the boat more modern-looking and get rid of the wooden spray rails, but NOT to change the bottom design. A few days later Bill approached Mr. Meloon and asked, "Which side of that boat bottom would you like me to duplicate?" The bottom is asymmetrical, and the center line isn't in the center of the boat! I don't know what the actual answer was, but the 1970 SN was the result. If you carefully measure the chine lengths of a first-gen, you will find that the chines are different lengths.

Ditto. Thanks for sharing, Art!!

So Art, to go from gen 1 to 2 it took a conversation between the owner and the mold maker.   Nothing gets done that easily these days!   Thanks for the story!

I love being able to read the history/evolution of the boats. Having the first hand information available is such an asset.

No, you have a '63 Classic. The hull is different than the Ski Nautique and the deck is different than the SN.

jake613 wrote: Please forgive me if this is a dumb question but I have a 1963 classic. Is this a Gen 1 ski nautique?

"There is no such a thing as a dumb question!" Old Skier's reply is correct; the Classic is a different model to the Ski Nautique. Correct Craft at times built as many as 14 or 15 different model names. The Classic later became the Barracuda. Note that in the 1960s we often used the model names of popular automobiles. Classic (American Motors Rambler), Torino (Ford)), Mustang (Ford) are examples that come to mind. You have a true "Classic" boat. Have you had it for a long time?

8122pbrainard wrote: ArtCozier wrote:    The Classic later became the Barracuda. I'd like to add that the Cuda hull was lengthened by 7" ( 16' 6" for the Classic to 17' 1" for the Cuda)

Not quite. Early cudas were 16'6" just like the classic. The harts could tell us when the hull grew.

I don't know cudas very well... But I believe '66 was 16'6" and '68 was 17'... So the transition likely occurred either in '67 or '68. Dave showed me the trick to identifying which hull is which- the cap is rounded on an early (short) version and squared off on the later/longer one.

This one was in that neighborhood, came from Louisville Tennessee near Teleco lake and Fort Loudoun Lake.

Jake, I think that Classic has popped up on this site before. Nice looking boat.

Steve, your Al Tyl is definitely the old short hull. I believe the Cuda short hull was only made in '65 and lengthened in '66. A lot of the '65s don't seem to have vents on the scoops, same as the Classics.

The long hull drives much better in turns. The short hulls really plow and feel tubby, especially when going slower. The longer hulls don't do that.