Thread:

Custom ski boats

Originally Posted by Spike Morelli

Hey Guys, rare back! Read my initial post AGAIN! I NEVER slammed anyone, in any spoken, or printed way, about how they run the event. NOR, can ANY of you find in my post that I ever said that those candy painted and race engined boats weren't "worthy", so DON'T, I REPEAT , DON"T, paint me as some irate loser. And, check the posts,I didn't call the judging at Bass Lake a "Fuckin' Joke" ( yeah, someone said, I, should take it down a notch!) , someone else posted that. Has anyone told that guy to put a lid on it? Why not?
What I said was, "...the photogs concentrated on only those, from what I could see posted", and my intent, was to spur those amongst us, who may be equally proud of their "ski-boat", as the high dollar restored boats, to go ahead and show off their toys. Period!
Had I, posted my opening remark on the Bass Lake thread,that, might have been unfair to those who got photographed, but I didn't do that. I started a NEW thread called Custom Ski Boats to address just that group of boats.
It is a fact, that the overwhelming majority of hot boat owners have hot ski boats, not show boats, or race boats, but many of these are really cool and should get some acalades for being what they are...bitchin'!
So, can we all be on the same page about this, please? , and have some class. Note, that I haven't posted any photos of MY completely restored '65 Blown Gas Hydro, ....and, I... have no intentions of showing off MY other 5-time record holding vintage, historic, drag flat. It's not about those. This ain't the thread for those showboat draggers, or K-boats, or cracker box racers, or multi-engined ocean friendly boats, or wakeboard boats, or competiton ski-boats a' la ski nautique types, or ocean boats, etc. Let's see v-driven ski boats!
I just saw a wood decked '59 Schiada flatbottom, powered by a tri-powered Pontiac at Spindler Engineering today that was spotless, sanitary, and flat knocked my socks off this morning, when I was there. I'd LOVE to own it. Stuff like that is what I think everyone can appreciate, and we should embrace them.

Spike I went back and read your post. My response stands. Like I said. I love the older custom ski boats. I love all the wood cruisers I saw at Bass Lake that the Miller boys did. I love boats period. In fact this past weekend at Irvine, a blown flat called "Mixed Emotions" was there. Fully restored. Bitchen boat. Heard him running around. I told some buddies. Listen to that deal. Thats whats I remember a v-drive boat sounding like.

I wasn't slamming any event either. What I WAS saying is how I felt acouple of yrs bk. Seemed like we weren't wanted. I came back this yr with 4 boats. To show support for the Bass Lake event, Chris Blevens, & Brian Lynch. I will apoligize for taking your post about the kandy painted boats, race engine comment. I would like to say. If you want to see more of these boats, guys need to bring them out. Im always trying to get more vintage/ custom ski boats to the Needles event. They just don't show up. Wish they would. I, like you Spuke appreciate all types of custom boats.

Here are a few of pics of the boats that remind me of growing up in a ski club at Lake Berryessa, thanks to RCL for the pics

Originally Posted by Showrigger

Yeah I too have a original Pontiac powered Stevens but what's the point spike, people want to see something new...

Ha, I am happy to see a Pontiac powered boat anytime! Anything too vintage powered.

Originally Posted by Billy-B

Spike I went back and read your post. My response stands. Like I said. I love the older custom ski boats. I love all the wood cruisers I saw at Bass Lake that the Miller boys did. I love boats period. In fact this past weekend at Irvine, a blown flat called "Mixed Emotions" was there. Fully restored. Bitchen boat. Heard him running around. I told some buddies. Listen to that deal. Thats whats I remember a v-drive boat sounding like.

I wasn't slamming any event either. What I WAS saying is how I felt acouple of yrs bk. Seemed like we weren't wanted. I came back this yr with 4 boats. To show support for the Bass Lake event, Chris Blevens, & Brian Lynch. I will apoligize for taking your post about the kandy painted boats, race engine comment. I would like to say. If you want to see more of these boats, guys need to bring them out. Im always trying to get more vintage/ custom ski boats to the Needles event. They just don't show up. Wish they would. I, like you Spuke appreciate all types of custom boats.

Billy, IMO the reason the ordinary ski type V-drives don't show up at these boatshows is just that, they are ordinary looking. Plain-Jane flats sitting next to a bling boat with 15 color candy paint, acres of polished/anodized billet with every little detail tricked out makes the ordinary ski flat fade into the background. The bling boats get the attention and the ordinary boat sitting next to it becomes the trash receptical. I've heard comments from people that look at the bling boats and say I'm gonna go home and throw rocks at my boat. The bar has been raised so high the ordinary boat owners just doesn't want to bother any more. I'm in no way knocking the bling boats, they are stunning to look at and most of us can appreicate the talent, skill, time and money that goes into one of these show pieces. As you might have figured I am a ordinary boat owner, 3 if anyone is counting, 2 are in origional gel and all 3 are quite ordinary looking, certanly not show material.

Originally Posted by Spike Morelli

..spuke...

Sorry "Spike". Fat fingers, small keys on phone equal bad smelking. I mean spelling. Didn't mean any disrespect.

Originally Posted by 058

Billy, IMO the reason the ordinary ski type V-drives don't show up at these boatshows is just that, they are ordinary looking. Plain-Jane flats sitting next to a bling boat with 15 color candy paint, acres of polished/anodized billet with every little detail tricked out makes the ordinary ski flat fade into the background. The bling boats get the attention and the ordinary boat sitting next to it becomes the trash receptical. I've heard comments from people that look at the bling boats and say I'm gonna go home and throw rocks at my boat. The bar has been raised so high the ordinary boat owners just doesn't want to bother any more. I'm in no way knocking the bling boats, they are stunning to look at and most of us can appreicate the talent, skill, time and money that goes into one of these show pieces. As you might have figured I am a ordinary boat owner, 3 if anyone is counting, 2 are in origional gel and all 3 are quite ordinary looking, certanly not show material.

This is exactly what im talking about 058. And I think Spike is too. I want the sport of these style boats to grow. Not feel infearior. I love looking at the old flatties / hydros / lake cruisers. I will have quite a bit of help this next yr @ the Needles show in Feb with parking. I want to park boats in catergories. Wood decks, vintage, ski flats, hydros, drag boats, circle. boats, river cruisers, under constrution, etc. I always try & support whenever I can. I hope the guys with the vintage rides do show up. I always put the invite out there 058. Hopefully i'll see you there & a bunch more.....

Originally Posted by 058

Billy, IMO the reason the ordinary ski type V-drives don't show up at these boatshows is just that, they are ordinary looking. Plain-Jane flats sitting next to a bling boat with 15 color candy paint, acres of polished/anodized billet with every little detail tricked out makes the ordinary ski flat fade into the background. The bling boats get the attention and the ordinary boat sitting next to it becomes the trash receptical. I've heard comments from people that look at the bling boats and say I'm gonna go home and throw rocks at my boat. The bar has been raised so high the ordinary boat owners just doesn't want to bother any more. I'm in no way knocking the bling boats, they are stunning to look at and most of us can appreicate the talent, skill, time and money that goes into one of these show pieces. As you might have figured I am a ordinary boat owner, 3 if anyone is counting, 2 are in origional gel and all 3 are quite ordinary looking, certanly not show material.

If that's the reason you guys are leaving your boats home, you've missed the point of the whole idea of Needles/Irvine/Bass Lake get togethers. To be sure there's some incredible boats there and there's "judging" but there's WAY more to the event than judging.
It's a happening where you can hang with similar minded folks, get ideas on things to try, run your boat if you want to, get to know other PB'ers and have a great time. The boats you see in the pics tend to be the ones with a lot of Bling, but there's a lot of "ordinary" boats there as well and everyone of those guys are glad they brought their boat out. I can guarantee you not ONE of those ordinary boats was disrespected or used as a dumpster (though I did leave half a bottle of Cap'n Morgan in a buddies day cruiser at Needles couple years ago but I doubt it went to waste!!). And believe me, my boat looks OK from a distance but since it's been a race boat all it's life and I beat it like a rented mule, it's pretty rough up close but I make everyone of these get togethers my schedule allows.
Bottom line, if you're leaving your boat home because you don't think it's good enough, you're missing out on a really good time.

Originally Posted by Franger

I struggled through school my entire life, I'm not overly bright, I have my challenges understanding some things, that outta the way have any of you event organizers ever considered this.....

I have read enough of the threads advertising these events to know this, don't you organizers due to pre registration have a fairly good idea of how many boats are expected to attend the event. Wouldn't you also have a fairly good idea of what kinda boat a person is bringing? If so, lets use this one category as an example, say you're expecting 20 wood deck boats, 10 of em are in the same category as the Litchfield Dave Sammons did and the others are along the lines of a original/un-restored Stevens type v drive. Wouldn't it be a good thing to not only put all the wood deck v drives in a row but separate them, you know, all the bling wood deck together and all the regular/original ones side by side. I think it's easier for spectator viewing and couldn't imagine it not being easier for the judges.

Now consider doing this same thing throughout the event. category by category. Is this too difficult?

Hope I didn't piss anybody off, it sure wasn't my intention and if I did I hope you will forgive me for voicing my thoughts :-)

That's how they try to do things at Needles already. And as Billy mentioned, he's going to focus on this even more next year. Also going to try to leave the tow vehicles out of the show area and have the boats in the row next to the water for better pics.