TOPIC: Custom Craft missing link

I've talked about this on the CC page, but figured I'd put it here as well.

I was cruising the local craigslist ads and saw one for an MFG Corvette. When I clicked on the ad, the picture looked suspiciously like a Custom Craft Nova Ray. My original thought was that the owner didn't know what he had. Since it was about 7 miles away, I figured I would go take a look. When I saw it, there was a sticker on the dash that says "MFG" and "Corvette". Also, the owner has the BIA placard that calls it an MFG CV-15. The boat, however, is unmistakable Custom Craft. The hardware and details are very similar to my Aqua Ray. However, the telling item was the pattern on the foredeck. The foredeck and interior of my boat has a very distinct vinyl sheeting. On some of the molds for other boats, they took the vinyl sheeting and used it to emboss a pattern on the deck to create a texture. Lo and behold, this boat has this pattern on the foredeck. We have a match.

I looked on the MFG brochures in the FG library and sure enough, in 1966, they made a Corvette CV-15, which was exactly what I had been looking at. The boat was modified in 1967 and beyond as the Corvette II.

In 1964/65, when CC closed down, MFG bought what was left of the company. This confirms that they did use at least one of the molds to build a boat in their line up.

Interestingly, the MFG Carousel has a hull that looks very similar to the CC Flying Ray, but the deck looks slightly different.

The guy wants $400 (the trailer it is on is probably worth $200), but I haven't bought it (yet). It needs stringers, a floor, a transom and the support post for the dash has been cut out. There is a lot of work, but this is probably something that should be preserved.

Here's a link to the ad: newlondon.craigslist.org/boa/2398657352.html

I have a newspaper article dated 30 December 1964 in the Titusville (PA) Herald, page 3, indicating that Molded Fiberglass Body Co. of Astabula, OH recently purchased the plant of Custom Craft Boat in Buffalo, NY. The article further indicated that the Custom Craft product line would be moved to MFG Boat Co.'s facility at Union City, PA. The Cusotm Craft boat line would be intigrated into the MFG line and designated "CV" for cathedral-V.

MFG also purchased Crestline Boats from Bigelow-Sanford, Inc. in 1964. They also obtained Anchor Reinforced Plastics, makers of Anchor sailboats (don't know if I'd wanna sail on a boat called "anchor"!).

Andreas

Andreas, that would be consistent with what is in the 66 brochure. Only the Nova Ray and Flying Ray had a hull that would be considered a "cathedral-V". The others were catamarans or standard hulls. The Nova Ray may have been a little bit of an anomaly. There is very little information regarding it in the literature. It might have been a design to be new in 1965 before the company was sold. I understand that it happened rather abruptly.