The registry
Correct Craft Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Correct Craft is one of the oldest continuously operating boat builders in the United States, founded in 1925 by Walter C. Meloon in the Pine Castle area of Orlando, Florida. The company built its name on inboard ski boats, and its Ski Nautique line, launched in 1961, became the benchmark tournament water ski boat for decades. Today Correct Craft operates as a holding company whose Nautique Boat Company brand still builds towboats in Orlando.
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Founding and early years
Walter C. Meloon started the company in 1925 as the Florida Variety Boat Company in Pine Castle, Florida, renamed it the Pine Castle Boat and Construction Company in 1930, and began building boats under the Correct Craft name in 1936, after hearing a radio ad for "the correct heel for your shoe." The Meloon family ran it for the next eight decades. During World War II the company earned a production reputation the industry still talks about. On February 9, 1945 the Army asked for 300 of its 17 foot plywood storm boats by the end of the month for the Rhine River crossing. The plant ran around the clock six days a week, refused to work Sundays, and delivered roughly 400 boats in under three weeks. National Geographic called it a miracle production.
The Ski Nautique era
The boat that defines the marque came from outside the factory. Leo Bentz, who ran a water ski school in Miami Beach, built himself a fiberglass inboard ski boat and named it after a French ski school, L'ecole de Ski Nautique. In 1961 Correct Craft bought his molds, tooling, and the name, and the Ski Nautique went into production as one of the first fiberglass inboard ski boats. The direct drive layout, with the engine amidships and the prop under the hull ahead of the rudder, put the pull point low and centered and threw a small, clean wake. That made Nautiques the standard equipment at ski schools and three event tournaments through the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The company had already survived its worst stretch by then. A 1957 government contract for 3,000 boats went bad when inspectors rejected boat after boat, Correct Craft filed Chapter 11 in August 1958, and it emerged in 1965. The Meloons then tracked down their old creditors and voluntarily repaid more than $500,000 in debts the court had legally discharged.
Ski Nautique 200
The Ski Nautique 200, introduced for the 2010 model year, replaced the Ski Nautique 196 (built 2003-2009) as the company's dedicated tournament ski boat. Correct Craft developed it with slalom skier Andy Mapple, sold it in closed bow and open bow versions, and powered it with a direct drive PCM inboard. It was aimed squarely at record capable slalom, trick, and jump skiing, and it delivered: the 200 has pulled 25 world records, including Ryan Dodd's 254 foot jump. The name on the hull is the same one that dates to 1961, and the lineage behind it runs back through the 196 to the wood and early glass hulls of the 1960s.
Correct Craft today
The marque is not defunct. The Meloon family sold its stock in 2008 to Ambassador Enterprises, a private equity firm, and in the 2000s the boats themselves were consolidated under the Nautique name, with Correct Craft becoming the parent holding company. It bought engine maker Pleasurecraft Engine Group, PCM's parent, in 2014, then Centurion and Supreme in 2015 and SeaArk in 2016, while Nautique keeps building ski and wake boats in Orlando. Parts support for direct drive hulls from the mid 1970s on is decent, because Correct Craft switched to PCM power soon after PCM's founding in 1975 and those engines are marinized Ford and GM blocks (302 and 351 Fords, 305 and 350 Chevys). Earlier boats ran other marinized automotive engines, and parts for those take more hunting.
Asked all the time
When was Correct Craft founded and is it still in business?
Correct Craft was founded in 1925 by Walter C. Meloon in Pine Castle, Florida, near Orlando, and took the Correct Craft name in 1936. It is still in business. The Meloon family ran it until 2008, when they sold their stock to Ambassador Enterprises. The boat brand now operates as Nautique Boat Company, and Correct Craft is the parent holding company that also owns builders like Centurion, Supreme, and SeaArk.
What years was the Ski Nautique made?
Correct Craft introduced the Ski Nautique in 1961, after buying the design, molds, and name from Miami Beach ski school operator Leo Bentz, and the name is still in production today under the Nautique brand. The Ski Nautique 200 specifically launched for the 2010 model year, replacing the Ski Nautique 196 (built 2003-2009) as the tournament model.
What makes a Correct Craft Ski Nautique different from an outboard or sterndrive ski boat?
Correct Craft built the Ski Nautique as a direct drive inboard, with the engine amidships and the prop under the hull ahead of the rudder. That layout gives a low, centered pull point and a small, flat wake, which is why Nautiques dominated slalom, trick, and jump tournaments for decades.
Are parts still available for older Correct Craft boats?
Generally yes for the drivetrain. Correct Craft switched to PCM engines in the 1970s, soon after PCM was founded in 1975, and those are marinized Ford and GM blocks, so engine parts are widely available. Boats from before the PCM era ran other marinized automotive engines, and hull hardware and trim for older wood and early fiberglass Correct Crafts is harder to source, usually through owner communities and used parts.
Did Correct Craft ever go bankrupt?
Correct Craft filed Chapter 11 in August 1958 after a 1957 government contract for 3,000 boats went bad, with inspectors rejecting boat after boat. The company reorganized and emerged in 1965, and the Meloon family then voluntarily repaid creditors more than $500,000 in debts that had been legally discharged.
The wall
The most-documented Correct Craft vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.
