Construction

I first found this boat on the internet. The previous owner had it listed with one of the many "Boats For Sale" sites (who said it didn't pay to advertise?). The boat was out of water, sitting on blocks behind a barn in McDonough, Ga. I looked the boat over and knew immediatly I wanted the boat. The owner and I "struck a deal" and the boat was mine. I made the transportation arrangments and within a few days I had a "big boat sitting on blocks beside a barn, at my house. I made arrangments with a shipwright (that's a nice way of saying "I paid") to come and give my new purchase a good "once over". Now I know why everyone says to get a shipwright or surveyor to look at a boat before you purchase one. The keyword here is "Before". The shipwright found things I never thought to look for. The main thing he found was the chine. The chine was decayed on boths sides and was actually broken on the port side. I was afraid to tackle the job of replacing the chine so I "made arrangments" for the shipwright to handle that task. The arrangments were for me to actually remove the wood in the area of the chines and he would replace the chine and re-plank. Everything went fine, slow but fine, until I finished my part. I contacted the shipwright only to learn he was on a large job and couldn't get to me for several months. Now in all fairness to the shipwright, it did take me longer to get my part done than expected. Anyway, on with my story. I decided to do the job myself.



I purchased and borrowed several "How To" books and away I went. For the chines(I've been told that the proper pronunciation is "Chine" not "Chines", but if 1 chine is chine what is 2 chines?)I used white oak. I "made arrangements" with a local sawmill to cut me 2 pieces of white oak. I was able to salvage enough of the old chine to use as a pattern. I used pine (it's cheap) to practice my cuts until I got comfortable cutting the different angles. Once cut, the oak chines fit like a glove.



Once I received my lumber (mahogany) I had to have it planed to the desired thickness (5/8). Next I fitted each board to match the board next to it. This required sanding each edge to get a uniform fit while leaving approx. 1/8 in gap between each board. This was a slow, time consuming process for me. After getting the boards on the bottom I did the same for the sides (all below the water line). Before attaching each new board I used a caulking or bedding compound on the inside (the side facing inward). This served as an added seal against leakage. Once I finished replacing the wood, I started refastening the old boards. Let me tell you, that is a job!!!!! I didn't realize how many screws there was in a boat. At present count I have used approx. 3,000, 1 1/2" and 2" brass screws. Next comes "filling in" the screw holes which in it's self is a time consuming task. The final part of the bottom (not counting painting) is caulking the seams. Due to the cost I first decided to use a caulking compound that comes in a quart container and is applied with a putty knife. It didn't take long for me to decided I would pay the extra and use a seam compound you can apply with a caulking gun. It's almost twice the cost, but it's also twice as easy and takes half the time. Did I mention I was lazy? About half way through the caulking job I purchased an air caulking gun. That was the best purchased I've ever made. Not only did I caulk the new wood, I removed the old caulking from all the seams and re-caulked them also. That was another job I didn't plan on, but was advised to do. The boat from the waterline down has 1/3 of the wood replaced (including the chines) 3000 screws added and/or replaced, "ALL" the seams re-caulked and a complete, anti-fouling, bottom paint job. Also, I cleaned and re-caulked all the seams from the "toe rail" to the waterline.



When I would tire of painting and caulking, I removed the fuel tanks and fresh water holding tank. I sent the fuel tanks (80 gals ea.) out to be vatted and modified for electric fuel gauges. I scraped the water tank and bought a stainless steel. The old tank was a galvanized tank of 30 gals. The new tank is 60 gals cap. The head was of the old style. I replaced it with a Sealand Vaccum Flush System. The 1 missing article I wished I had is the 120V AC generator. It's wire and plumbed for one, but the previous owner sold it before I found the boat. I hope to have a generator installed before launch time. If not, I will have one soon. I have replaced the complete water system from the tank to the fixtures. The wiring is in remarkable good shape, a testimonial to Chris Craft. I did replace all the switches with a lighted, fused switch panel. I've added several electronic gizmos such as VHF marine, VHF 2 meter and HF SSB radios, (I'm a ham radio operator) depth finder, remote control search light and the list continues. I've painted the bilge and insulated the deck over the engine compartment. I have removed the water strainers and valves and repaired and/or replaced as needed. I also replaced all the "thur the hull fittings". I could go on and on listing the things I've replaced, repaired, removed and/or installed, but I think you get the picture. The pics will show a lot of the work thats been done.























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