Standard Boats - Mold Splashed 82-89 Ski Nautique 2001's or not?

[Erik]

There is a lot of talk about Standard Boats having a good business model, or at least a decent little idea going but there's a problem.

It's somehow become canon that Standard bought or licensed the Ski Nautique 2001 hull and modernized it.
Is that correct? People are going around saying 'it's the 2001 hull'.

Not so sure.

I see subtle differences but I can't be positive. Does anyone know if they actually approached Correct Craft, got a hull, splashed a mold from it, and went from there?

Somehow I don't think Correct Craft would allow it, but the similarity is definitely there.

[DanielC]

My understanding that the first Mastercraftski boat was a previous years Correct Craft. After that Correct Craft kept a pretty tight hold on the old molds, or destroyed them.

[MattieK27]

There is a lot of talk about Standard Boats having a good business model, or at least a decent little idea going but there's a problem.

It's somehow become canon that Standard bought or licensed the Ski Nautique 2001 hull and modernized it.
Is that correct? People are going around saying 'it's the 2001 hull'.

Not so sure.

I see subtle differences but I can't be positive. Does anyone know if they actually approached Correct Craft, got a hull, splashed a mold from it, and went from there?

Somehow I don't think Correct Craft would allow it, but the similarity is definitely there.

Standard has admitted it the concept was based on the 2001, my guess it most likely splashed. If they offered the boat as a v-drive, I would buy it...

[Erik]

My understanding that the first Mastercraftski boat was a previous years Correct Craft. After that Correct Craft kept a pretty tight hold on the old molds, or destroyed them.

Maybe I wasn't clear. I either go into la-la land on details for something or just skim through a question. Sorry

1. Regarding MasterCraft using an old Correct Craft hull, if it was a complete match, wouldn't that be a huge patent violation? And if that's true - any pics? I know there is confusion about where the "American Skier" came from - and that was absorbed into Correct Craft. Looks a lot like a Southwind, Mustang, San Juan style. MasterCraft got going in 1968. You're saying the 68 MasterCraft is a rebadged 1967 Correct Craft. I am dizzy.

2. This is the one that needs more clarification: If you have a hull - heck - if you have anything, you can make a decent knock-out mold from it. I understand it to be called casting or splashing (way out of my league here). Even with my quite limited CAD engineering background, I have a grasp on how that would be done if it was my job. And that's really my question. Do we presume that Standard bought a privately owned, good-condition Ski Nautique 2001, and just - used it straight up?

[swc5150]

Rob Shirley cut the back quarter off a Ski Nautique and modified the hull from there, from I was told back in my MC sales days. I was also told not to mention that fact when trying to sell them.

[Erik]

Rob Shirley cut the back quarter off a Ski Nautique and modified the hull from there, from I was told back in my MC sales days. I was also told not to mention that fact when trying to sell them.

Thanks for the response. Sorry if this is a dumb question but did they use the quarter that was cut off or the 3/4ths that remained after the operation?

[Nautiquehunter]

Rob and George Fowler were making the first MC boats useing the front of a CC and their own design rear hull. They started in a small garage building one boat at a time that needed to be sold to get the money for the next build. When George and Rob split up George went on to start Supra in 1982.

[2gofaster]

wouldn't that be a huge patent violation?

Not necessarily. It would if the hull was patented. But the hull wasn't. In addition, depending on the situation, it might be perfectly legal to copy a patented hull and make changes to it as MC did with their first boat. Companies do this all the time, in all manner of business.

[83ski2001]

you can get him to make you a v drive model, i contacted standerd boats and they guy was really nice. he said it was quite a bit more money but he could do the 2001 model as a v drive or dd model.

[Mikeski]

I know there is confusion about where the "American Skier" came from - and that was absorbed into Correct Craft.

This doesn't sound right to me. I believe wikipedea has it correct:

"American Skier boats (not to be confused with Correct Crafts American Skier) was a highly respected and high quality tournament boat company founded by Kenneth B. Elkind of North Miami Beach, Florida in 1975. Mr. Elkind, after retiring from the offshore racing circuits, became interested in the water skiing business. In the early 80's American Skier became one of the first tournament boat companies to be approved for competition by the American Water Ski Association. The first 18' Skiers came out as 1976 models from a modest shop in Opa Locka Florida. In the early 90's WESMAR took over ownership. They built the 1991-95 models in Ocoee, Florida, moved it to Cape Coral, Florida, and moved it again, this time to Giddings, Texas. Ron Tanis purchased the company in 1995[4] and moved the molds from Giddings to Winnsboro, Louisiana. Ron Tanis eventually sold the company to the politician Jay Blossman, and the former professional water skier Ben Favret. Tanis had met Favret in high school.[5] Ben and Jay then renamed the company to Elan Boats. The last "true" American Skiers were built in early 2002. After 2002 cost cutting became a factor and the quality of these boats declined significantly."

Mr. Elkind had asked my father to take a boat back from the nationals in 1976 and start his promo boat program on the west coast (my father was running the west coast promo program for Correct Craft at the time). We didn't like the boat. It was too narrow in the back and was geared more toward trick skiing than slalom skiing, we didn't trick much. I remember dreading getting them at tournaments knowing that it would probably knock a few bouys off my performance. My father's desire was to get a boat with a smaller wake like the MasterCrafts so it didn't meet our needs and we stuck with Correct Crafts until 1984 when we left the promo program as we had stopped attending tournaments as a family.

[bkhallpass]

Rob and George Fowler were making the first MC boats useing the front of a CC and their own design rear hull. They started in a small garage building one boat at a time that needed to be sold to get the money for the next build. When George and Rob split up George went on to start Supra in 1982.

Well, sort of. When Fowler and Shirley went separate ways, Fowler started Ski Supreme. Fowler later Started Supra, and also Aztec.

BKH

[TRBenj]

Mikeski's history of American Skier sounds about right. Correct Craft had an American Skier model in the early-mid 60's and again in the late 70's, but it was of no relation to the American Skier boat company.

I have also heard from a good source that the 1st Mastercraft was based on the 1st gen Ski Nautique. I heard that it was split and widened though.

Historical Fact!
The first MasterCrafts were actually patterned and widened off of of a early 60's Correct Craft.
I have heard the story a few times from Art Cozier who was Rob Shirley's partner down in Boyten beach florida in the sixty's. Art came back from a weekend at a tournament and found the motor of their Ski School boat hanging out of a tree and the boat cut clean in half down the middle. Rob then widened it and made a couple of other small changes, put the boat back together and ran it. Then latter pulled a mold off of it and the rest is MasterCraft History. If any have a chance to see a early MasterCraft one can see the similarities in both the hull and deck to the Corrct Craft Ski Nautique.
Also Art has the pictures to prove it!!!