The Thompson extended family tree has some lapstrake wood windshield models that upon first look, appear to be very close in design and build to the Sea Skiff, Lyman, Century Raven format. Traditional clinker-built lapstrake boats, all good looking, some better than others.
Therefore, the Thompson family tree, extended as it may have been, was almost "already there" for a rebadge job and marketing scheme for a fiberglass "Sea Skiff". I understand the wood Skiff sales were on the way down, fiberglass was most certainly the preference of the future, and the writing was on the wall. This low run of fiberglass Sea Skiffs appeared to be a "test run" by Chris Craft to see what happened, and I think they soon found out that the boat may have been better positioned in the marketplace to sell as "The New Corsair Sea V" rather than to have just about everyone associate the fiberglass Sea Skiff with all the wood Skiffs that were built before, during, and after this one first hit the market in 1966.
70 were produced in 1966, 10 more in 1967. So far I've found two more in the ACBS directory, and I've had the pleasure of speaking with both owners, who are enthusiastic about the boat. One owner says he has been in six foot seas at 1900-rpm and the boat just rides up, over, and down into the trough, and the occupants stay dry. The other says he's had 10-people aboard.
The hulls of the traditional Sea Skiffs are all round bottoms, some with more of a keel than others. The glass version is a hybrid lapstrake and deep-V design, unlike any other Sea Skiff.
After the 10 were built in 1967, I understand from Conrad's book, that something like 220 more were sold as the Corsair Sea V inboard, along with another series sold with a transdrive setup.
Try finding a Corsair these days. They're almost transparent on the market. Do a Google for one, and you'll see hundreds of new photos of the resurrected name, all new Chris Craft boats, but not ONE vintage Corsair will appear (perhaps a couple will show, but the point is, there aren't many out there today for some reason).
My 1966 20-foot glass Sea Skiff says "Thompson Boat Company, a division of Corsair/Chris Craft" or something of that nature, on the bottoms of all the seat covers.
On the water the lines of the boat could fool some of the best Sea Skiff fans. A wood boat restorer even bought one thinking it was wood, and eventually sold it to one of the gents I spoke with the other eve.
We bought ours because we always loved the Skiff lines, and we were looking for a solid stable inboard we could take up to 10 people to breakfast on the other side of the lake. This boat has the style, power, Chris Craft name, and Sea Skiff lines we love, and it just seemed right at the time.
In closing, I think this boat is an "almost Commander", because the Lancer is an "almost Commander" too. They were built under the same roof, and I understand the 23' Commander is essentially the same hull as the 23' Lancer inboard. In addition, the Commander SS and XK-19s were built in the same plant, along side the 19' Lancer from which the XK-19 hull originated.
Fascinating history back then, and it's part of the enjoyment we get from owning boats from this period.
Regards,
Paul
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