Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Hello All,

I'm looking into getting an old tri hull boat. It's a 15 footer and will be a long and drawn out project.

It's actual name is "Fish 'n Ski Marine Products."

Anyone know the story on these boats? I'm guessing it's a 1970's model. It's got a 1969 Merc 650 on it and looks around that age.

I'm guessing it's like many of these old mom and pop manufacturers of the '60's and '70's. I've googled it every which way I can and all I get is nonsense.

Just wondering if anyone else has one and if they're familiar with the history of this manufacturer. I like the history of this stuff. Stupid, I know but whatever.

Sorry, no pic's right now but I'm heading back for a third visit this weekend so maybe I'll get some then.

THANKS!

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

I bought and old tri-hull "77" last year and to find out a little history on it I used www.boatfax.com put in the hin# and they will give you a little info for free but if you want to know all the info you will have to pay.I think it gave the manf.stuff like that, hope that helps good luck with the boat we had a fun time working on your over the winter. welcome to the forums

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

boats before 1972, were not required to have HIN's. so there is no way to trace.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Thanks guys. I didn't know if there was an ID number on it or not. It's got a 4 digit serial number and that's it. That's how I surmised it must have been a smaller manufacturer.

At least I know it's older than a 1972 model!

Anyone else out there ever hearda Fish 'n Ski Marine Products?

If it's a rare boat it might be worth all this danged work!

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Still searching the net and haven't found any info on this manufacturer yet.

I'm heading over to the fellows house to take some pics of the thing.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Well: I got it. Ended up getting it for "free."

Here's the status: Transom: Shot
Floor: SHOT
Seats: SHOT
Motor: Unknown
Lower Unit: Shot, Cracked and locked
Electrical: Shot

Trailer: Needs Work
Hull: PRISTINE (relatively speaking)

See what I mean by long drawn out project???

Anyway, I figured I'd update on it. I'm gonna start a new project thread under the restoration thread and upload some pics this weekend.

Just reposting here to let this thread slide down the front page again to see if anyones ever heard of

Fish 'n Ski Marine Products of Tarpon Springs Fla?

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Sounds like you got ripped off

Is it an I/O or outboard?

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

It's got a 1969 Merc 650 outboard on it right now. I'm gonna look at the motor really well before I decide whether to keep it or start searching for another one. I'd like to keep an older motor on it as I'm going for the restoration look and not a complete overhaul.

And yes, I think I got ripped off too! The guy was asking 400 for the package but by the time I got on this forum and realized all the work involved he finally let me have it for free.

The way I see it is I can go buy a new one or late model used one and be paying payments for 3-5 years or I can go start saving now for an older boat and have it by next fall. I figured I'd just invest the dough as I have it on fixing this one up and before long, I'll have a decent boat to tool around the local lakes.

We'll see how it goes. At least I'll know it wont sink since I'll be the one re-building it! (OK, so I'll be somewhat sure it wont sink the first time it goes in the water!

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Good luck. I did the same thing. Check the link in my signiture. I had to pay $200 for mine though! Course aluminum boats are way easier to work on so there was that and we were able to get the motor started. Have fun, the work was kinda part of the hobby for me.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Neighbor, my advice will be not to invest money in that boat. You can get a working boat for around 300 to 500 dollars that you can test how it behaves in the water then decide if you want to buy and in the long run rebuild. You will be expending a bit over 1k on this boat if you are going to repair properly and you still dont know if this boat will do what you need. You can probably sell the motor parts in ebay and make money to get a new motor or a motor/boat combo. Keep and eye in craigslist.org for your area.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Nandy said:

Neighbor, my advice will be not to invest money in that boat. You can get a working boat for around 300 to 500 dollars that you can test how it behaves in the water then decide if you want to buy and in the long run rebuild. You will be expending a bit over 1k on this boat if you are going to repair properly and you still dont know if this boat will do what you need. You can probably sell the motor parts in ebay and make money to get a new motor or a motor/boat combo. Keep and eye in craigslist.org for your area.

Click to expand...

I agree with every word he just said.

Fixing a boat like that is a labor of love. It wasn't your boat so you don't love it.

I'd find a better one.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Sell it on e-bay,, then buy a runing boat with good transom & floors.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Thanks for the replies:

Not to be overly positive about the chore I have ahead of me but I think all will be OK. I looked at new boats, used boats and craigslist boats for over 3 months before deciding to get a project boat. New boats come with payments. Those payments have to be made whether the boat gets used or not. Whether you're working or just got laid off. Whether you're rich or poor. Theres a ton of take over payments ad's in the local papers. Basically: I'm not taking a loan of any amount out for something I'll use maybe 30 times per year. That goes for used boats and the loans they require.

As for the el-cheapo craigs list boats: I looked at at least a dozen of them before settling on this one. All the one's for less that a grand required a new floor, a new transom or a few thousand in engine repairs. I could've paid 900 bucks for a boat with a "working" engine and a good floor but a bad transom. You aren't gonna by a 15.5 foot boat with trailer and engine that needs no work for less than 1500-2000 bucks. Trust me: I've found that out the hard way. The reality of all those "awesome deals" is that if someone tells you it's in great shape and needs nothing: THEY'RE LYING!!!

This thing is a piece of junk right now but knowing that, I can re-build it correctly and know for certain that all these issues will be taken care of when it hit's the water the first time out. I'd rather spend my money fixing the important stuff versus spend it on a boat in a little better condition just to get half a summer out of it before all those nagging repairs catch up with me and my wallet.

The bonus is that since I got it for free: If I replace the transom and floor I know I'll get at least what I've got in materials out of the hull If I decide to sell it. That is, provided I don't go stupid in purchasing the materials for it.

Oh well: We'll see how it goes! I just wish someone could tell me where the heck this thing came from. I'm sure the manufacturer is long out of business but it's still cool just to know...

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Hello group,

I've recently purchased from craigslist an older fish n ski tri hull. The title says it is a 1972. The previous owner said it was a 71. I have been searching for hours to find the manufacturer. The boat has an HIN but it isn't valid according to the site where you can check it. The HIN on the title is only 8 characters. Anyway, it looks alot like the Chrysler. I'm wondering if anyone has insight into the manufacturer.

Thanks. You can reach us at sunniebeech@yahoo.com

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Sunnie, start your own thread, you will get more responses that way. Use a descriptive title.

Re: Anyone know about Fish 'n Ski Boats???

Just some info for you. I have the exact same boat except mine is a 1968. The hull is made of a mixture of fiberglass and plastic rather that straight fiberglass which surprises me that your transom is rotten. I've had over 30 different boats over the years and prefer tri-hulls because the are more stable for fishing off of. Mine has a 55 hp Johnson on the back. The boat is rated for a maximum of 65 hp. This is by far and away the best riding tri-hull I've ever owned. These boats were intended to have fun in. They came without carpet opting instead for a non skid washable surface. You bring it home, pull the three plugs, hose it out and call it done. Mine will be with me until one of us doesn't need the other one anymore. I LOVE this boat. Don't be too quick to trash it just because it needs work, you can make a lot of repairs for a years worth of payments. Good luck.