As a boat manufacturer, Correct Craft has one of the more colorful and long-standing histories in the industry. Founded by a New Hampshire family, the company has been located in Central Florida since the 1920s. In that time, it has built everything from cabin cruisers to troop carriers, but is perhaps best known for the Ski Nautique line, such as this one listed here on craigslist. It’s listed for just $2,500 and has less than 50 hours on the motor.
Correct Craft was a pioneer in the boating industry, for achievements ranging from innovative manufacturing processes that helped support the war effort to engineering feats that made it possible to transport boats by automobile rather than train. In later years, it earned a reputation for making boats like these that were built for competitive activities like wakeboarding and waterskiing. Ironically, when the company’s founder was first pitched on the idea, he balked at the notion of fiberglass construction instead of traditional wood.
Today, the company offers a full line of wake and ski boats, often approaching six-figure price tags. This Ski Nautique is downright crude by comparison, but don’t tell the seller that: he’s owned this boat for 30 years and speaks affectionately of the good times he’s had with it. Equipped with a 351 Ford engine featuring Cleveland heads and a high-performance cam, this ski boat packs plenty of power in a lightweight design. Ski boats like these are designed to accelerate quickly, cut even quicker and keep the jet skier thoroughly entertained.
The vintage graphics are holding up surprisingly well for a water-going vessel, and the seats and engine housing have been recovered. With decent cosmetics and a relatively fresh motor, this seems like a lot of boat for the price. Although you can’t necessarily sleep in it or take it deep into open water, anyone who lives near a lake with room for watersports activities will likely be endlessly entertained.
Another straight drive boat. Very good design, the only downside is the placement of the engine in the center of the boat taking up some passenger space……..but a small price to pay for a superior mechanical system.
Wish it were closer. Good deal.
Nice price for a boat that size
Silly title, ski boats are not built for speed. They are built for power/torque, small wakes and tracking. Not sure why the author twice referred to jet skiers vs water skiers, the main difference being water skiers are not as annoying as hell. Dave Wright, These boats are not made for passenger capacity, they are made for performance. If you want capacity, get something else. Rear engine boats, be they v-drives or I/Os, have bigger wakes and crappy pickup, not ideal for skiing.
Well, a little better. One heck of a boat motor. Should be no problem getting “Big Mama” up on skis. ( those “regular” outboards always struggled with that. I remember, when at my folks cottage years ago, they had a 14ft.Silverline and 45hp Merc, and one of their friends would visit, and their overweight daughter always ” wanted to try water skiing”. Me and my brother would cringe) I’d have to think, this is more of a “workhorse” than a speedboat, and I’ve seen these pull those 10 skier groups. They make way cooler speedboats with these motors.
Oh, OMT, you might want to make sure lakes don’t have “speed limits” where you are. In Wisconsin, they are cracking down on that. This boat would “get you in a heap o’ trouble,,,,boy”.
Great hybrid boat for skiing. I’ve seen skiing and wake board exhibitions on “large” retention ponds…these boats de-celerate and turn on a “collar button” not a dime.
Howard, I learned to ski/swim/drink Green Bay water on the back of an Arkansas Traveller with a 40 hp Johnson Seahorse in Fish Creek DC
glad I live north of the boarder where for the most part we don’t have stupid rules like that! only lots of lakes to play on!
I hear ya’, Jerry, gotta protect us from ourselves, you know. All it took was one knucklehead that crashed their PWC into a pontoon boat, at a high rate of speed, I might add, well, you know the rest.
Down side is its raw water cooled. Fine on a freshwater lake but coastal areas with saltwater.. Not good.
Cast iron engines rot out regardless of how well you flush them after each use. Higher end inboard boats have a closed loop cooling system with a heat exchanger to keep saltwater out of the block. It can be converted to a closed loop system, I have done a few.
These were designed as a bare foot water ski puller. They are different then a traditional ski boat.
They made a barefoot nautique for that. These were made for the traditional three event ski tournaments; trick, slalom, and jump.
MH, Huh? Where did you get that? That vintage, basic Nautique, although generally adequate for pulling barefooters with a top speed of high 40s is not designed as a barefoot boat. It was designed as a 3 event (slalom-tricks-jump) competition boat. The first “by design” barefoot boat was the 79 “Barefoot Nautique” with a deeper v bottom and a 454 vs the 351.
Not Cleveland heads they are Windsor style
Marine Ford engines are typically Cleveland blocks with Windsor heads. No idea why.
75. A a former Dealer in the 70’s and 80’s, I agree exatly what what you say………..and MH is all wet, excuse the pun.
This, like the Mastercraft, is a 3-event ski boat, designed to MAINTAIN speed and direction…AND produce what was THEN a 3-event wake …
But for 20 years until 1984 or so, this and the Mastercraft were the best available boats for barefooters.
and definitely NOT ” Built for Speed”… most could not reach 50mph ’empty’
Love theses old. Nautique’s. In my mind one of the best ski boats ever built. And that’s a great price.. that vintage Nautique in my area are selling for over 5k. Nice old boat.
Oh and those are not Cleveland heads they might be 4V Windsor but not Cleveland.
Early to mid 40’s was more typical. Great for skiing. A good wake, and nice all around performance. I skied behind a similar vintage Mastercraft (among many others) and it was a great pull! The new owner will have a lot of fun!
Here’s my 1981 20 Year Anniversary Model that I purchased in the mid ’80’s from the original owner. Still own it today. It’s beautiful and all original. Never been in or near salt water. Have a lot of good memories with this boat. Not sure how many “anniversary models” were made but have not any other ones.
A friend of mine has a spectacular, show room condition 81 20 year anniversary model.
…….I not only like old boats and cars, but, I love old competition water skis. Here are a few of my collection……..
Are those a couple of Maharaja’s I see there?
The biggest problem with these early years is that the wooden stringers rot and have to be replaced. It is not terribly expensive if you do it yourself, but it is a huge amount of work. You have to remove the floor, all the wet foam, then cut out the fiberglass that holds the wood in place. Then reverse the process.
I would love to have another. I had a 72 with an engine built by Holman-Moody of Nascar fame. No mufflers just headers and straight 4″ dual exhaust out the back. No need for a radio you couldn’t hear it anyway. It would pull six skiers as easy as it pulled one. Top end is around 46-48mph, but they’ll do 0-36 which is competition ski speed in 5-6 seconds or at least mine would. Good times.
My daily driver is a 1976 Ski Tique
used to ski behiiind one of these back in the 70’s. pulled all five of our family on slomom skis w99th no problem. only on not skiing is my 75 year old wife, bad knees.too bad it so far away from georgia. we live on a small private lake not open to the pubic. great skiing;
@cudaman-nice, really nice boat and collection of old competition skis.
@75-thanks for posting picture of Ski Tique as that is the first one I have seen.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTniH2MNX-Y
Edwin, 70 year old friend and his 35 year old son doing a double barefoot run, just this past weekend. The run was behind an 05 Nautique 206 but the skier had his beautiful 78 nautique there as well.
Back in the late ’50’s my family used to stay at Kezar Lake,in Maine;there was a young lady friend of mine who had a 14 foot CorrectCraft Jr.,all mahogany,90 HP Gray 4 cylinder motor,that boat would absolutely fly!I’ve never seen another one,but the styling and performance was like a miniature Chris Craft,and it pulled waterskiers better than any other boat on the lake.
Remember the ones that came out after the war,didn’t have center fins as also the Higgins, on a turn would skid, they fixed that. We had a 66 Correct Craft 29′, utility W/Greymarine 327(GM/AMC engine) could pull 4 skiers, 1 ski, and 4 people in the boat. Great boat
Not sure when fins were added. I am going to guess around the mid 70s. The first Nautique, designed and built by Leo Bentz in the late 50s, was based generally on a Higgins hull that he modified to suit his goals for the ideal ski boat.. The very first Nautique ever built by Leo (Before he sold the name and molds to Correct Craft in 1961-ish) was recently bought by a friend of mine for restoration.
Great 3event boat! Built to handle powerful slalom skiers and jumpers . Holding steady speeds. 22’ n 28’ off got a little dicey!
Plus a crisp trick wake!!
My old Nieghbor did a wake to wake “ fully extended back flip on a trick ski!! Fat sacks???
So many smiles behind my ‘79!!!
Marketing be damned!
Great boat all in one!!!!