Our Unique Nautique

This was our first Nautique, a 1978 Ski Nautique. I post this so you can enjoy the picture and story. The color scheme was done by the crooks that stole this boat. It was recovered with the new color and the Hull ID numbers ground out. We had it back for several years and kept the colors, we liked it. Many Nautique owners turned their noses up at us for not returning it to the factory stripes.
We kept this boat till 1990 and sold it with 1,500 hours on it. Great boat, rough on choppy water with a large wake for a tournament boat but many great memories.
Great investment also, we bought it from a Salvage yard after the recovery for $5,000 and sold it 8 years later with 1,000 more hours for $7,500.

I think it was two years old when we got it. The swim deck was fiberglass and I always thought it was factory, on the boat when we bought it.

I guess I am not a purist, I really liked the appearance but our 95 is a far better boat all around.

I never fixed the serial number, I had paperwork showing it was a theft recovery purchased from a salvage yard. The numbers issue never came up even when it was sold. I have never seen the boat since the sale and have no idea if it is still on the water somewhere.
I do not know how the theft happened or the history, I did know it was stolen out of Nevada and recovered at Lake Barryessa in Northern California. I think it was missing a year before recovery and the original owner declined to take it back. It went to a salvage yard where a friend worked, he called and told me he found a boat for me. It worked out great for my wife and I.