This Jet-Powered Sport Boat From The 1990s Looks Like A Porsche On Purpose

What is the boating equivalent of a sports car? What do you buy if you want something small, light, nimble, and responsive? For shipwright Craig Craft in the mid-1990s this was the answer: A compact sixteen-footer jet boat with well-bolstered bucket seating for four. The "Porsche boat" 168 Boss model was an attempt to bring Porsche 911 handling and style to the water. The so-called Porsche Boat was only available for a single year, based in Lincolnshire, England Craig Craft only allegedly managed to find five buyers for the pricey toy here in the U.S. market, according to Hagerty. The resulting package is styled to emulate the then-new 993-generation, the last of the air-cooled Porsches. Like many sport boats, the 168 Boss is rear-engined, but unfortunately it is neither air-cooled nor Porsche powered. This little beast is powered by a General Motors 4.3-liter V6.

Bring A Trailer

Up front you'll see the bow has been given fender-like 993 curves with a pair of Bosch 993 headlights. The V6 badge on the front is the same shape as Porsche's iconic crest, presumably so you could swap one onto the boat without the manufacturer running afoul of copyright laws. Along the side you'll see a pair of Vitaloni-style adjustable door mirrors, and vaguely Porsche-style quarter panel intakes to feed the big V6. The rear of the boat looks more or less like the rear of many small jet boats, but this one has a pair of tail lights molded into the rear. They look sort of like Boxster tail lights, but considering the car wouldn't be sold for two more years perhaps the boat's taillight styling was influenced by the 1993 Boxster Concept. 

If you want an opportunity to be the coolest person on the lake this might just be the boat for you. This Craig Craft boat is available right now on Bring A Trailer, and as of this writing the bidding has reached just $7,143. The last time BAT sold one of these boats, in 2022, it ended up selling for $39,000 so presumably the bidding has a long way to go. If you're looking for a stylish and sporty compact boat to rip around your local lake on weekends, maybe this is the one for you. There doesn't seem to be a lot of room for snacks or a cooler full of beers, though. What's the point in boating if you aren't day drinking with your pals and getting sunburn blistered? 

Boats are generally considered to be among the most fun ways to burn a whole lot of money, so that's another way they're very similar to Porsches.