[Kenh3497]

Been there!!! My personal theory is there are time warps/black holes that sweep through your shop from time to time. They will suck up random items and just as randomly drop those items back in a different spot if they decide to return them at all.

Ken

 

[Kudzu]

She is starting to go back together and looking a bit like a boat.

Interior panels are in place. It originally had something akin to hardboard with a embossed pattern on it. They did not hold up well and had to be replaced. I made these 20+ year ago. Just had to sand and revarnish. They have held up well.

Next was a dry fit of the rear seat. Top half folds down and there are is a bit of storage there. Working on getting that rebuilt and installed.

Remade all the seats. Someone (an idiot) had stapled upholstery to them using steel staples and they looked terrible. Horrible stains that would not come out.

While I had it apart I wanted to build panel under the seat to keep stuff from rolling into the back of the boat and ending up in the bilge. I found all sorts of stuff under the floors. Ski gloves, sunglasses, a fender, suntan lotion, etc. Unless it worked to the back there was no easy way to get it out.

Supposed to get my decking material today. Anxious to install that and I can start to put the rest of the wood on the boat and install the windshield. It will really look like a boat then.

 

[Tree Hugger]

I'm curious what the estimated value of your boat will be when finished , I'm sure quite a lot.
Just a staggering amount of work that goes into them.

I was a a small manufacturing outfit by lake Geneva,Wi.the other day looking at wood boats for fun.
(Lake Geneva is where the multimillionaires from Chicago have there summer castles and fancy boats)
Used started at 80k (42 yr old boat) , several 23' used newer were 150k +and they were building 2 at the time.
One they were building will have 2 Chrysler 440 engines with V drives is 26' and will go for a half million.

Got to talk with there two shipwrights extensively and wish I was 30 years younger ,
what a fun niche skilled trade to have.

 

[Kudzu]

I have owned if to close to 30 years so It is priceless to me.

 

[Kenh3497]

I'm curious what the estimated value of your boat will be when finished , I'm sure quite a lot.
Just a staggering amount of work that goes into them.

I was a a small manufacturing outfit by lake Geneva,Wi.the other day looking at wood boats for fun.
(Lake Geneva is where the multimillionaires from Chicago have there summer castles and fancy boats)
Used started at 80k (42 yr old boat) , several 23' used newer were 150k +and they were building 2 at the time.
One they were building will have 2 Chrysler 440 engines with V drives is 26' and will go for a half million.

Got to talk with there two shipwrights extensively and wish I was 30 years younger ,
what a fun niche skilled trade to have.

I have a friend who's dad passed a couple years ago. He has a Cris Craft wood boat from the 70's with a Ford 400 (I think) in it. It's one of six (again I think) so a bit on the rare side. Less than a hundred hours on the boat. IIRC He had it briefly advertised for $125K. Don't know if he had any inquires or not.

Ken

 

[Kudzu]

Not any woodworking in this post but part of the build Finally getting the vinyl put on the deck. Looking forward to this for a long time. Now I can start installing all that trim I spent weeks varnishing!

Yes, the vinyl is original to the boat.

Placed on the boat and rough trimmed to size.

Applied glue down the center to anchor the two pieces in place.

Staple the edges to prevent it ever lifting.

Apply glue, wait a few minutes and then start slowly rolling it out and smoothing out any wrinkles.

Rinse and repeat till done.

Not terriable exciting to look at but a big step towards finishing it. Time for installing the trim.

 

[Kudzu]

With the decks finished I have been working on installing the trim and making/replacing some of the damaged pieces.

The bow strip was a piece I was concerned about. Had to start by laminating up some stock to get the thickness I needed. Then cutting it to fit.

The end next to the windshield has a v notch on a compound angle. The other end is just an angle but it has a little flat on the bottom. So I couldn't just cut the angle long and then trim to sneak up on it. Had to cut it all by hand. Alittle work with the rasp and it fit!

Never liked the factory scoops. I found these old chrome ones on EBay a year ago and bought two sets. Put them in place with the factor lights and hated the way it looked.

I looked at this for at least a week. Tried different things and finally realized it was the lights I didn't like. I loved the scoops so I decided to by new light that mount below the gunwale and just keep the scoops.

There is another set that goes amidship. They look far better than the plastic ones that it came with.

There is a lot of other small parts I have had to make. I had the original for these but they did not look good up against the new sapele inwales I had to make. So I just resawed up a couple of blanks and made new ones that would match better.



Today I want to finish making all the trim. Then I will need to spend a week staining and varnishing all of it.

About time to take a look at the engine, get it fired up and tested. It was running fine but while it is out I want to see if needs freshening up.

 

[Kudzu]

Have not posted in a couple of weeks? Lots going on but it is all slow and not much for show and tell. But the boat is coming together and after all these years I am just amazed watching it look like a new boat again!

Earlier in the week I polished and installed a proper set of stainless rub rails. thanks to my FIL. When we were cleanup his place after he passed I found these. I think he was saving them for me looking back at something he said once.

Also finished up the bow. I have been SO looking forward to this! I need to order a horn and the chocks but it is essentially done.

Replaced the factory vents or scoops if you prefer. Never liked the look of the plastic ones and I found these NOS aftermarket vents a couple of years ago on EBay. We went back and forth on them but once we worked out the details I am really happy with them.

Really struggled with the transom. The old name on the boat has a 'tan line' around it and it has been really hard to cover it. I stripped it a second time, sanded starting with 50 grit and bleached it. You can still see it but after a lot of work with the stain it much better than it was. It show way more in the photo than in person. Once the name is back on the transom I think it will hidden pretty well.

Finally getting the hang of varnish. Far from a show quality mirror finish but it looks a lot better than my work a year ago. I want to go back and redo most of it. The bottom darker section will be painted red and a white water line will be added so I didn't spend much time trying to make that section look nice.

Next week I start on the motor. Check it over and I expect to just have some minor stuff to do then clean and paint and install and install.

 

[Kenh3497]

Looking real good!!! 🥰

 

[BigJim]

What size is your motor? You did one heck of a job on your boat and perfectly timed to use this year. Just beautiful, really great job.

 

[Kudzu]

What size is your motor? You did one heck of a job on your boat and perfectly timed to use this year. Just beautiful, really great job.

It is a Chris Craft 283. Of course that is just a Chevy motor with CC marine conversion.

 

[BigJim]

It is a Chris Craft 283. Of course that is just a Chevy motor with CC marine conversion.

A 283 has 200 horsepower, that should move your boat pretty good. That is a really good engine.