k-kraft

[vaskeet]

Anyone have any info on a company called K-craft? How well made were their boats/ problems/ good things about them. There is one for sale close to me and I am trying to get anyi nfo on the boat before going to check it out

[vaskeet]

another pic Randy

[cart7t]

I've known of a lot of different boat companies but that's a new one on me. I wonder if they built anymore than that one.   ;D

[cart7t]

Here's a 1974 K craft I found.  A little longer than that boat.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1740351/0

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

That first pic looks like a boat that sure did hold up over time, that thing looks immaculate (from here anyway)

[cart7t]

BTW, what's that silver with red trim thing just under the front deck seat?  

[vaskeet]

Cart7 I dont know what that is as I have not looked at the boat in person only saw pics Randy

[cart7t]

Just looking a little further at the boat there are some rather interesting features.

First is the gunwale width, especially towards the rear of the boat.  It is rather wide and angled upwards.  Sorta reminiscent of the old ArrowGlass Freedom series of bassboats.  Another thing is the liberal use of pinstriping.  It was kinda unusual back in those days for a manufacturer to go to the time and expense to have inlaid pinstriping applied to the top cap like that.

I've also realized that that thing I was pointing out appears to be a rather unusual storage compartment between the driver and passenger seats.  Rather odd but is resembles a storage compartment that Cajun put on a boat they called the "Ultra".  That boat was Cajuns attempt to build a high performance bassboat in the late 70's.  That boat had no square corners and all compartments were curved.  That boats between seat compartment is angled in a similar vein.

Another thing which isn't good is that side mounted rod box.  Those were never a good idea.  

that's a rather odd boat.  If you can find out anything from the owner go ahead and post it. I'd be curious.  BTW, as LBH said, that boat is in remarkable shape for something around 25 or more years old.

[vaskeet]

He is asking around 3500 for the boat its a 1986 and nada only lists back to a 1989. I realy dont have a clue how much its worth. Why were the rod boxes on theside a bad thing.the specs are below

150 hp Evinrude VRO V6 engine with direct oil injection (this means no fuel mixing it automaticaly injects the 2 cycle oil just start and go

on board canister fuel filtration system to insure clean fuel at all times(oil filter style fuel filter)

!9' fiberglass hull with sport console and highback captains chair with under seat storage compartmant under driver and passenger seat

1 large livewell for and 1 smaller livewell perfect for live bait

twin teleflex stearing cable system for easy stearing (not power stearing)

Large amount of gear storage space as seen in photos has a rod holder compartment a very large bow compartment great for all your safety gear and large drivers side compartment as well

casting seats in front and rear

dual mode trolling motor 12/24 volt with variable speed control and foot pedal stearing

hydraulic lift and trim controls motor can be lifted from 3 positions on the boat 1 control is located in the front on the foot pedals to allow you to raise and lower from the casting position 1 is on the throttle control and 1 on the rear next to the outboard this allows you to have the capabilty to easily raise or lower from any position on the boat

fresh water inlet pump which continuously circulate water to both livewells

airator pump to help maintain quality of livewell

high flow bilge pump

depth finder and fish finder combo with large lcd display and alert tones

2 deep cycle marine batteries for the trolling motors which allow you to operate in 12 or 24 volt modes

1 marine cranking battery for the engine and accesories

all batteries are 2 years old and i do have the reciepts for the warranty

engine has had yearly tune up which includes all new plugs and wires

Includes easy load trailer with manual winch

I will include life jackets and all safety gear such as fire extinguishers secondary sounding devices and more

Thanks as I know shotguns not boats smaller than aircraft carriers Randy

[cart7t]

OK, that last picture you posted has really got me wondering.  The starboard gunwhale cap is actually part of the console!!  

Man, that is one funky looking boat.  BTW, it's very unusual that an '86 would still be an old sponsoned V design.  By 1986 virtually everyone was building straight Vhulls.  

[cart7t]

K-Craft boats has some ID now.

A couple brothers in North Carolina built some racing hull boats in the early to mid 80's and decided to get into bass boats.  This is one of theirs.

Apparently they didn't last too terribly long before they went out of business.

As for whether this boat is worth $3500?

I'd go over to NADA and punch in the numbers for a motor and trailer of that vintage and add about $700-800 bucks for the boat.  It's certainly a rarity but as to how good a boat it was???????

[Low_Budget_Hooker]

DIG Cart,  DIG!!..........good boy

[vaskeet]

Well it is in Elizabeth City NC. now I wonder if being designed by racers if it was over enginered nada shows a 1989 tunnel hull by K-craft. I will have to see what the owner says about the boat. Bass boats in this area seem to be priced very high. Then there are ones like this on craigslist which are nuts

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/369783776.html

I am looking to get back into fishing as all the skeet ranges within 100 miles have closed. I grew up on Santee Cooper with a dad who fished only for breem and crappie. We only had wooden jon boats and he never had a motor (unless you count me). After 20 years in the navy on carriers and shooting on the navy skeet team I moved to camden NC. If there are any posters from that area I would love to meet you  Thanks for the help Randy

[jdw174]

You don't say what your budget is, but....IMO, I would stay away from this boat, regardless of the shape it's in.  I'd do some web searching and try to come up with an older model Ranger, Champion, etc. if money is a factor.  

[cart7t]

Well it is in Elizabeth City NC. now I wonder if being designed by racers if it was over enginered nada shows a 1989 tunnel hull by K-craft. I will have to see what the owner says about the boat. Bass boats in this area seem to be priced very high. Then there are ones like this on craigslist which are nuts

http://norfolk.craigslist.org/boa/369783776.html

I am looking to get back into fishing as all the skeet ranges within 100 miles have closed. I grew up on Santee Cooper with a dad who fished only for breem and crappie. We only had wooden jon boats and he never had a motor (unless you count me). After 20 years in the navy on carriers and shooting on the navy skeet team I moved to camden NC. If there are any posters from that area I would love to meet you  Thanks for the help Randy

I wouldn't say over engineered but the fact that it's an older Tri-V hull built in 1986 is odd.  By '86 almost all builders were putting out true V hulls.  Apparently K Craft did as well after this boat was built and was trying to find a pro to use their equipment.  They never found one and the company went out of business a little later.  If they used racing hull construction methods in this boat it's probably built well enough for handling bass fishing waters.

If the boat checks out completely, motor included, I still wouldn't give anymore than $2500 for it.  It's certainly been well kept as the gelcoat appears to be immaculate for a boat that age.  The layout is rather unusual and those side mounted rod boxes basically sucked.  They were barely suitable for 5'6" to 6' rods which were normal rod lengths at the time.

Anytime you're spending in the $3-4K range for a fiberglass bassboat you're usually looking at an older boat.  Older boats can not only have regular breakdowns mechanically but you've got to look at the construction aspect of the boat.  Older boats were built with wood as the structural reinforcement. Wood rots when left exposed to water.  A rotted old boat can be a real loser.  

Anyway, good luck and welcome to the forum.

[vaskeet]

I  hope to find a good tin bass boat  as where I live ha a mix of small/large rivers and sounds. The budget depends on what skeet guns I have sold and how much I can save from my part time job. Four Daughters from 19-3 take up lots of cash plus we bought 11 acres and built in the last 2 years. I have been watching craigslist and ebay along with boattrader and the Tidweater trading post Maybe Prices will go down this winter Randy

[Joanie]

K Kraft is a great boat. Designed by the late Bob Kitts. Bob knew more about boats and good design than anyone I know. He learned his craft with guidance from Mac Crumbly (Norris Craft) and spent many years after K Kraft working for a fine man named Earl Bentz. KKraft was Bob Kitts And a business partner named Monk Wilson. The company was in Siler City NC. I can vouch for the boat and the man behind the boat because I personally knew the guys that built these boats and I had the honor of being married to Bob. Bob died way too soon in 2003 but I hope his boats provide a great fishing experience for years to come. Thanks

Joan Kitts Hollingsworth 

[jon wallsgrove]

Is this Kcraft boats related to Kcraft boats of North London UK, who built similar small boats but in lapstrake wood? They operated for about 2 or 3 years just after WW2 and used war surplus American outboard motors. I am restoring a 12ft mahogany on oak 1946 Kcraft.

[J Francho]

Looks like the history was relayed two years ago in a reply made to a post started 14 years ago.