1950 Chris Craft Riviera 5200 Bottom Update

Our 1950 18-foot Chris-Craft Riviera is well on her way to having a new True 5200 bottom.

We achieve that goal by using 6mm Aquatek Meranti Maring Plywood for the inner skin, after which we fabricate exterior planks patterned on her original planks using 3/8-inch Meranti FAS grade mahogany.

The ply is first is sealed with three coats of CPES, inside and out and then painted with three coats of Chris-Craft red Sandusky paint Company bilge paint, and then installed using mahogany 5200 bedding on the frames and the battens.

The exterior planks are sealed with three coats of CPES and then bedded in a uniform, approximately 1/8-inch-thick bed of white 5200, save for the outermost plank, that is bedded in mahogany 5200 where is sweeps above the waterline. They are installed using #8 x 1-1/2 flathead silicon bronze screws.

The final result is a rock-hard, super-stiff bottom.

We then apply three more coats of CPES to the bottom planking before priming it using five coats of Interlux Tow-Part 2000E Barrier Coat Epoxy Primer, alternating between gray and white as we build coats.

Finally, her bottom will receive three coats of Pettit Hard Racing Bronze bottom paint, and we will then resume focusing above the waterline.