1981 Twin-Engine Fish Nautique
• EXTREMELY RARE BOAT (1 of 4 ever built)
• Stringers Replaced with Composite Materials
• Front Floor & Deck Replaced With Deck From Newer Fish Nautique with SEATING
• Boat Has Clean/Clear North Carolina Title
This 1981 Twin-Engine Fish Nautique is available for purchase, but the restoration must be completed by us (or another comprehensive restoration plan must be in place) in order for us to sell this special boat. We will not let this boat go to someone who is going to just let it sit and rot away. It is too special for that.
We have the original build sheet and testing results from Correct Craft for this boat, so we know quite a bit about its origins. This boat was originally built for Camp of the Woods in Speculator, New York. The story goes that New York State required that all boats built to transport children at camps like this to be twin-engine vessels. That being the case, four Fish Nautiques were built over the years for Camp of the Woods, and they were all twin-engine versions. Three of the four had 3.8L V-6 GM engines marinized by Crusader, and one had V-8 engines by PCM. I have personally owned three of the four twin-engine Fish Nautiques, and all of mine originally had the GM V-6 engines.
This boat was found in Hollywood, Florida by me back in 2017. The man who owned it had started a full restoration of the vessel, but had gotten sick, and was unable to complete the work. Unfortunately, the boat sat outside for a couple of years with the freshly-rebuilt original engines uncovered, and without carburetors mounted, so they filled up with rain water and were in bad shape again by the time I obtained the boat. The owner had done a great job installing all new composite stringers, and they were (and still are) in great condition. He had also sprayed new gelcoat on the hull, and while oxidized now, it is thick and in good condition, and should polish out nicely. The color is Harbour Blue (FCILG-138).
I purchased this boat before I had my own restoration shop, and took it to a local restoration shop here in the Lake Norman area. I asked that they install a new floor, fix a few gelcoat imperfections, and refinish the center console. I would take care of the rest of the work. Well, as I have learned, many businesses cannot be trusted to properly complete work as-promised (that's one of the reasons Silver Cove Marine was started), so after this boat sat at this other shop for several YEARS, I finally went over and took it back. Very little work had been completed, and what had been done needed to be removed due to poor workmanship.
Since then, I have stored the boat out of the elements, planning to restore it at Silver Cove Marine for myself. Earlier in 2023, I acquired another twin-engine Fish Nautique (1980), and ended up doing a preservation restoration on that boat, so I have decided that if the correct person comes along, I will let this 1981 twin-engine Fish Nautique go, as long as we get to perform the restoration, or there is another very clear restoration path for this rare boat.
As it sits right now, the stringers are in great shape (composite), the gas tank is a custom aluminum tank, built by the previous owner, the front part of the deck has been replaced with the deck from a newer Fish Nautique that has the seating/storage, which is a great upgrade, but that part of the floor needs to be properly attached and leveled with a new floor in the back of the boat. The floor in the back of the boat was installed by the previous restoration shop, and it is warped and not of proper quality for this important boat. It needs to be replaced. There are no engines in this boat, but the prop shafts, props, mufflers, etc. are all there. There is a swim platform with the boat, but it is not original. It has been freshly powdercoated, and looks nice, but it will need some modification in order to fit properly.
The first few pictures are recent, and show the boat as it sits now. The others show the stringers, tank, etc. as they were during the prior owner's work. The boat obviously needs a full restoration, but it is an important piece of Correct Craft history, and will only be sold to someone who understands that and will restore it. If we do not find the right buyer, we will restore it properly and either keep it or sell it once restored.
