I'd say 1972, Bill

There are plenty of 1972 entries in the Essential Guide (by Jerry Conrad) that show boats with the 427 Ford motors. Yes, I agree the motor was out of production then, but Chris Craft must have had an impressive stock of these in a warehouse somewhere. Wouldn't it be great to have been able to buy a few of those for spares!

The 41' Flush Deck of 1972 - 1977 shows the Ford 427 or the GM 454 listed during this time frame. This shows me that we know the 427 was still being offered during model year 1972. However, taking a forensic look at the Essential Guide, I see plenty of other voids, such as the 47' Commander of 1969-1976 which shows the only gas option as the Ford 427 and a GM listing for the 8V53 diesel. Either CC took a gas offering off the table, stretched their stock of 427 motors, or didn't list the GM 454. Since any three of these is possible, I guess we'll need to find a 1973 manufacturer's brochure and see what the big block gas offering is.

For now, I think 1972 is the first year of 454 use in a Chris Craft. GM and Ford were both supplying motors prior to this, and either one had the chance to "do it all". However, due to the stellar performance of the GM small block, and the CC history going back to 1959 with the small block motor, it would appear that GM had more leverage. In any case, they (GM) prevailed with the commission to supply the big blocks, and the rest is history.

Regards, Paul