Sport-Craft Ski-King?

[reelfishin]

I just picked up what appears to be an early 60's boat, a Sport-Craft Ski King.
It didn't have a trailer but came with a running motor, a 1965 Mercury 85hp along with a full enclosure and top.

The hull is in great shape, the floors and transom are solid.
My question is for one, were these things even capable of handling such a heavy motor? 85hp seams a bit excessive on a boat this size.
Second, what should this hull weight?

I pulled the motor off, with intentions of hanging a newer Johnson. I also will be setting up a trailer for it.

How much do these normally weigh? It's now all but a bare hull and it feels like it weighs around 1000lbs or so. There is no foam flotation, the deck to hull area is only about 3/4" thick and it's all original from what I can tell.
The hull measures 15' 8" long, the beam width is 74". The glass is heavier than most but not so much that would justify the weight. I did several drill test for water logged wood but all looks fine. It was stored indoors in a barn for the last 30 years or more. Other than being covered with dust, its in great shape.

Compared to my Glasspar, which is the same dimensions, this thing is more than double the weight.

Two guys can lift my Glasspar on and off it's trailer, two guys can't even lift one end of the Sport-Craft.

I can find no info on early Sport-Craft boats, this one looks to me like it may be either early 60's of even late 50's. There is no foam, the dash looks like a 50's car, and the steering wheel is cast aluminum.

Does anyone have any experience or info on early Sport-Craft boats? When did they start making boats?

I had a Sport-Craft camper years ago, it had the same plastic name plates on the side and was only about 12' long. It was one of those tear drop shaped campers from the 50's. It was even the same color as this boat, aqua blue and cream white.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Sport-Craft Ski-King?

Pictures Man, pictures. this is my 1966 14' Sport-craft, sportsman. picked it up with a 50hp merc for $150, sold the merc for $150, now has a 50 rude.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Sport-Craft Ski-King?

I have the seats out and the floor stripped of the old Nautilex. I removed the old motor and am debating what to hang on it now. It's a toss up between a 40hp Merc or something larger. I have plenty to choose from, it's just a matter of deciding which boat to put which motor on.
I don't think it needs to have a high horsepower motor, and the 85hp that was on it was a bit much considering it's only 15' 8" long. I also still have to fit it properly to the trailer, but it may get another trailer as well. I have one that may be a better match for this boat. The one it's on is just one I used to pick up the boat. The original trailer had 8" wheels and not worth the hassle of messing with.

I am debating whether to either replace the Nautilex with new, epoxy paint the floor, or maybe Tuff coat. I have some Marine carpet but it will be used for fishing, and I don't like how carpet holds moisture. The original Nautilex actually wasn't that bad, but it had shrunk in the front corners and split and was loose at the stern where it 'walked' a bit from sliding the fuel tank in and out from under the splash well.

I am also debating the tank situation, there's not much room under the splash well but a good bit of room up front. I am thinking about maybe a front mounted tank, but I'm not real fond of having to cut a fuel fill into the bow plate. I do like the idea of having the weight up front rather than all in the rear. A tall more square portable tank would fit better in the rear rather than the modern flat 6 gallon style. I also have a 12 gallon cube tank that would fit in one rear corner. I'd put that on the port side with the battery on the other side.

I guess rear weight shouldn't be too much of an issue if this thing lived all these years with a heavy straight 6 Merc?

I also have to try to clean up the white canvas top and enclosure. It looks factory. I want to at lease make use of the bimini top and side panels. I doubt I'll ever use the full camper enclosure.

So far I am amazed at the room in this boat for being so small. The floor area is perfectly flat and wide open. There's more room in this than in my 17' trihull which it will most likely replace. It will also take less power to move so it should also use a lot less fuel. It's main use will be river fishing.
I considered even hanging an Evinrude 90 on it that I have, it's lighter than the Merc 85 that it had and a lot newer, but I'd have to make room for a lot more fuel. It would make it a fun boat though. It will probably end up with a 50 or 55 HP Johnson motor, I have several of each ready to go, as well as a super clean 40HP Merc. I think the Merc will be a bit lame on this due to the weight, and I was really saving the Merc for my '62 Glasspar which is a lot lighter.
I am also debating on whether to leave the cable and pulley steering, it's all in good shape and all original. I think it would be fine for what I plan to use this for. However, I do have several rotary and rack systems savaged from other boats. I probably have one that will work. But I sort of like to keep things original wherever possible.

TD: Any info on Sport-Craft? They aren't an often seen boat around here.
Yours looks quite different than mine. I noticed a few odd points about mine.
The bow light is set way back nearly in the middle of the bow plate, there are handles not cleats up front and in the rear, no transom tie down points, just pot metal handles, and the way the floor is made, there's a 3" lip at the rear of the deck which would prevent water from draining into the bilge well. I'd say its all factory since that lip is what the under splashwell curtain attaches too. The windshield is also a bit different, I had first thought it was bowed or bent in the middle, but it's actually lower in the middle and the canvas top also is made to match. I had first thought it was just bent from people reaching over it for the anchor, but it's made lower by about 2" even though the lower edge is flat. The lower edge of the windshield sits in a recessed area between the dash and bow plate. If I removed the windshield, there would be a 2" channel where it sat, making this windshield a very special fit. This eliminates any idea of converting it to flat glass with an aluminum frame. The 'glass' is in decent shape with only a small crack in one corner that looks like it's been there a while. Someone drilled the end of the crack and filled the hole. It's not even scratched up or yellowed, just dusty. I plan to wash and buff it the first dry day I get, the color and shine should come right back. I did a small area by hand and it came up like new.


Here's a few pics for now, I haven't been home during daylight to take an better pics yet.

http://i34.tinypic.com/otlpjp.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/9k47b5.jpg

http://i36.tinypic.com/j741lt.jpg

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Sport-Craft Ski-King?

Pictures Man, pictures. this is my 1966 14' Sport-craft, sportsman. picked it up with a 50hp merc for $150, sold the merc for $150, now has a 50 rude.

I took some better pics, I got a few in before the rain got bad right after giving it a good pressure washing and hand scrubbing. I think the shine will come back pretty decent with some buffing. There's only a few small nicks that need attention, but nothing really noticeable and a couple of bent or missing corner cap screws that need replacing.
I drilled a hole and put in a brass tube through the rear lip in the floor so any water that gets into the boat can drain back into the bilge, the way it was the water would have to be 3" deep or more before it began to drain out. I also don't like the fact that the forward bow area is isolated from the floor with no drain into the bilge. I will have to add a small bilge pump in that area as well. I may also add a few more through drains to let water exit the deck area faster. So far this looks like it may be the easiest one I've gotten yet to get back in the water with. Pretty much just hang a fresh motor and go.

The glass on this thing is heavy, about 7/16" thick even at the upper side areas.I drilled in a bilge outlet port and found that the glass was super thick, and super tough to drill. This explains the weight.

Any oppinions on leaving it cable steer? vs. Converting it to Teleflex?

Any ideas what the two stainless brackets on the transom are for?
They're pretty heavy duty. The last pic shows a close up of one.

The only part of the boat that isn't super thick is the bow plate area, that seems pretty thin or at least flexible. I may add some wood underneath there to stiffen that area a bit.

Here's the pics:

1 http://i35.tinypic.com/11txtec.jpg
2 http://i34.tinypic.com/1222bd3.jpg
3 http://i36.tinypic.com/2rfu8fr.jpg
4 http://i38.tinypic.com/ebeb1h.jpg
5 http://i38.tinypic.com/33vyaue.jpg
6 http://i38.tinypic.com/xdcr6b.jpg
7 http://i34.tinypic.com/2eqamaf.jpg
8 http://i36.tinypic.com/15rmp15.jpg
9 http://i34.tinypic.com/s2bi4k.jpg