This 1967 Rayson-Craft is an 18 G-hull model that was built in Gardena, California, and is said to have been used for participation in Northern California V-Drives Club activities before being moved to Illinois. It was later sold to a North Carolina owner, from whom the seller purchased it in June 2019. The boat features a fiberglass flat-bottom hull finished in gold metalflake gelcoat and is powered by a 454ci Chevrolet LS6 V8 mated to a Casale split-case V-drive. Additional features include a single three-blade propeller, adjustable cavitation plates, dual 15-gallon polished stainless-steel fuel tanks, dual through-transom exhaust pipes, and four club-style seats trimmed in pleated white upholstery. This Rayson-Craft is now offered in Spirit Lake, IA, with a color-coordinated tandem-axle trailer, Iowa registration for the boat, and an Iowa title in the sellers name for the trailer.
Rayson-Craft was founded by Rudy Ramos in 1958 and became a leading constructor of racing, water-skiing, and other performance boats. Rayson-Craft offered a variety of hull configurations, which could be purchased at any stage of construction and customized to the purchasers desire. This examples 18 hull is finished in gold metalflake gelcoat with white accents, and various imperfections in the finish are shown up close in the photo gallery below.
Features include adjustable MECO cavitation plates, dual skegs mounted under the hull, a waterski pylon positioned behind the engine, and gunwhale-mounted fuel filler caps. Rayson-Craft badges are riveted to each side of the cockpit.
The cockpit houses back-to-back club seats for four trimmed in white pleated upholstery, which also covers a full-length center console. Controls include a white-rimmed steering wheel, a Hall-Craft throttle pedal, and a cavitation plate lever. Instrumentation to the helmsmans right includes a Jones Motorola 10k-rpm tachometer and Stewart-Warner gauges monitoring oil pressure, oil temperature, and coolant temperature. Total run time is unknown.
The 454ci Chevrolet LS6 V8 is said to have been sourced from a 1970 Chevelle and is mounted astern with the front of the engine facing aft. Equipment includes a 750cfm Edelbrock carburetor, a Weiand intake manifold, MSD electronic ignition, a Glenwood Magnaflow cam-driven water pump, and Edelbrock log-style manifolds that exit through the transom. Annual services under current ownership are said to have included oil changes, filter and impeller replacement, and winterization.
Power is sent through a split-case, in-and-out Casale V-drive with 15% overdrive to a 1 propeller shaft that turns a three-blade 12-14 propeller.
The white tandem-axle trailer features gold metalflake accents atop its fenders and rides on late-1960s Corvette rally wheels with bright beauty rings. National Road Max ST tires measure 225/75R15 and are said to have been mounted under previous ownership. A Northern California V-Drives club sticker is affixed to one of the fenders.
The boat does not have a title, as it is registered in a state that does not issue titles for boats. It is being sold on its registration, which does not list a hull number. Hull identification number G126 is stamped on a tag affixed to the inside of the hull.
THIS BOAT AND TRAILER TO BE COLLECTED FROM SPIRIT LAKE, IOWA.
The Boat and Trailer has been consigned to the 4th Annual Sioux Falls Online Classic Car Auction. Hosted by the Classic Car Auction Group, the auction is Saturday, July 27th 2024, with online bidding only. To consign your car and/or to register to bid on this and other cars in the auction go to http://www.classiccarauction.us.
