Pontyack is on her way home, having been fully preserved by Snake Mountain Boatworks LLC over two years.
We thank her owner for entrusting saving this iconic Chris-Craft Capri to us.
1956 Chris Craft Capri 19′ is Homebound!
1959 Chris Craft Sportsman 5200 Bottom Update
Miss Take, our 1959 17’ Chris-Craft Sportsman, arrived on May 27, 2020. Today, June 9, 2021, just 12 days later, we have replaced here tired, leaky, heavily damaged bottom with an entirely new True 5200 bottom.
Remember, all materials used and their sources are available on our Materials and Sources page.
Well, almost. An inner layer of seriously sealed – Smith’s CPES – 6 mm Meranti Marine (Aquatek) plywood has been secured, bedded heavily in mahogany 3M5200. (We use the much more expensive mahogany 5200 at this step so that the bilge is not an abstract “painting” of white 5200 squeeze-out.)
A new suite of planks has been fabricated, also sealed in multiple coats of CPES, bedded in 5200 and screwed down using #8 silicon bronze – never, ever, ever stainless – flathead, Frearson wood screws.
After fairing the planks using 40 and 80 grit, the countersinks are being filled and faired using 3M Premium Marine Filler.
Next comes another three coats of CPES, followed by FIVE, not 2, not 3, not 4 coats of Interlux 2000E Two-Part Epoxy Barrier coat.
Lastly she will receive three coats of Pettit Hard Racing Copper Bronze Enamel.
She will be in the water by July 4!
1959 Chris Craft Sportsman Porcupined
Yes, it is Memorial Day, but we have a boat needing a new bottom, so have dropped all else to make some real progress, but also to discover what is or is not lurking beneath that plywood. Our 1959 Chris-Craft Ski Boat must get back to her owner ASAP, so we are on task.
The good news is that, save fore one of them, her frames are sound; yes, grease-sodden, but solid. Joe was able to sister the one port side forward frame that had broken.
We will not attempt applying bilge paint to the frames as the grease and oil has penetrated to the point it would not adhere. We will scrape and then sand all of the plywood inner skin landings on the frames.
Remember my endless comments about how these venerable ladies keep secrets beneath their skirts? Well, this lady’s secret is that what we have been removing is anything but her original bottom. Indeed, independent of what the owner was told then, whoever is the villain of this piece should be dragged and quartered.
Why? Just imagine using 3/8” A/C construction plywood for the bottom of a wood boat! It has delaminated everywhere. Once again, thank the Lord that she and her owner did not find the bottom!
At this point we are “porcupining,” which involves filling every empty screw hole with three to four hardwood toothpicks and waterproof Gorilla glue. Once all of them have been inserted, Joe and Rick will spray the bottom lightly with water. Doing so accelerates curing while strengthening the bond formed between the oak frames and hardwood toothpicks.
Remember, you can access all the materials we use and their sources by navigating to our Materials and Sources page.
Next, we will use our Fein MultiMaster tools to skim off the toothpicks, at which time the landings will be ruthlessly scraped, sanded and treated with three full coats of Smith’s – and only Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer.
Following will be fitting the Meranti Aquatek Marine plywood bottom panels, sealing them with CPES and applying three coats of Sandusky Paint Company Chris-Craft Mahogany Bilge Paint.
None of the bottom planks, several of which just might be other than mahogany, can be saved. While the 5200 in which the plywood panels are bedded cures, we will be using the released planks as patterns and then sending them to the transfer station for recycling.
As always, you can delve much, much deeper into the what and how of a True 5200 Bottom by navigating to our True 5200 Bottom page.
She will be roaring across her home lake well before our promised July 4 delivery.
1947 Chris Craft Whiteside U22 Preserved
For guidance on installing a True 5200 bottom, please click here… for details roster of materials and their sources, click here.
If only the sun were shining! Rock Bottom 1947 has been saved and today was to be her winter debut, that is, before we received six inches of snow last night. So, as we say in Vermont, “We are making do,” and shooting her debut indoors.
She’s endured being majorly disassembled. Her entire bottom and chines were released, failed and oak-soaked frames were replaced. Then the frames received four coats of REAL Smith’s Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer and three coats of Smith’s Penetrating Sealer. Three coats of Sandusky Paint Company Chris-Craft Mahogany Bilge Paint followed.
We fabricated her inner skin using 4 mil Meranti Aquatek Marine Plywood that was dosed with four coats of CPES on both sides and all edges and then installed bedded in copious amounts of mahogany 3M 5200 using #6 Frearson driver, silicon bronze flathead wood screws. (The inner faces received three coats of SANPACO bilge paint ahead of installation.)
Her 3/8” Meranti planks, combined with her Meranti plywood inner skin, especially having been heavily frosted with 3M 5200, delivers a near bomb-proof bottom.
The rest of our work was the standard sequence – strip, fair, stain, seal, paint or varnish, varnish some more, and some more, all followed by final assembly. As always:
- Robert Henkel, Peter Henkel INC recovered, rebuilt and thereby saved Rock Bottom’s original engine and driveline
- Shauna Whiting, Kocian Instruments, transformed her tired gauges into cosmetically stunning, perfectly functioning instruments they once were
- Mickey Dupuis and his crew at D&S Custom Metal Restoration transformed dull and scratched into incredibly show-ready hardware
- Chris Hanson, Marine Canvas of Shelburne, restored her upholstery to as new condition.
We did the rest and cannot wait to drop her into Lake Champlain next spring so we can challenge her with her sea trial before returning her to the only home in Maine she has ever known.
1956 Chris Craft Capri Water Test
All good things must come to an end, but completing our 1956 Chris Craft Capri’s comprehensive preservation at 31 F is not how we envisioned it last January, when she arrived at Snake Mountain Boatworks.
We hoped the sun would break through as forecast, but, as you see in the clip, we found a dense fog laying on the flat water when launched her into Lake Champlain this morning.
That we expect our first significant snow, maybe as much as 5”, starting tonight, and with nothing but below-freezing temperatures in the forecast, and a water temperature falling through 50 F, we had one window.
We ran her around in a couple of circles just beyond the dock, and she performed nicely, given the temperatures, but I just could not countenance allowing my guys to venture any further for fear of a very dangerous MOB situation erupting.
So she is back on her custom-built Loadmaster trailer, but still backed into the water so we can adjust her idle, prop shaft and rudder stuffing boxes.
Now it is back to the shop to winterize the gas with Startron Enzyme Fuel Treat, winterize her and close this chapter by fogging the Edelbrock carb and engine.
She’ll be ready for her trip home by the end of the week.
1956 Chris Craft 19′ Capri Preserved!
Sweet! The Capri ranks among Chris-Craft’s most iconic models in my world. And now we that have completed Pontyak’s preservation, I am every bit a believer as I was before.
Mickey Dupuis once again transformed tired chrome into jewelry.
We had to reverse some horrible insults perpetrated by what used to be one of the foremost wood boat shops around. There simply is no excuses for cross-cutting through for deck planking and then replacing part of what was with garbage. The engine hatch cover had been similarly raped. No more …. I hope you will agree that she is again ready to strut her stuff.
Executing a sea trial is our last hurdle, but Lake Champlain is almost two feet low, the water temperature is approaching fifty degrees and we are being buffeted by strong north winds and the rollers they create daily. We need a break in the weather to clear this last hurdle so she can go home.
1956 Chris Craft Capri Comes to Life
This Capri has been repowered by a GM 350 that has been updated and totally rebuilt by Robert Henkel, Peter Henkel Inc. in Michigan.
We replaced the entire wire harness, which had been patched together and showed much evidence – melted and burned insulation – that it got really hot many times over the years.
But the land engine test is always an eye opener. Most of them are fine, and today’s was no exception. The 350 fired and was running almost instantaneously, pumping water, holding good oil pressure and 130-140-degree water temperature, “All” we need now is some flat water so we can test her under load, adjust her stuffing boxes and confirm that all systems are good-working.
1957 Lyman Runabout Blind Date Going Home
Today dawned bright, brisk and windy. The roads are dry for Blind Date as she begins her trek home to Texas under the care, control and custody of Frank Mole’, Franke Mole’ Transport Service.
We have been working with Frank for three years now, as he prices fairly, is absolutely professional and cares for each boat as if it is his own. He is worthy of your consideration the next time you need a vessel transported. Her transport cover was designed and fabricated by Chris Hanson, Marine Canvas, Shelburne, VT.
Chris chose a varnish-friendly fabric comprised of a Sunbrella outer layer and an inner, soft layer that will not mar varnished services as she makes her way to Texas.
Shauna Whiting, Kocian Instruments, Stacy, MN performed what were little short of miracles with Blind Date’s rusty gauge panel.
Robert Henkel, Peter Henkel, Inc., Marine City, MI, executed a complete tear-down and rebuild of her Chrysler M47 engine.
Mickey Dupuis, D&S Custom Metal Restoration, Holyoke, MA, took on the challenge of preserving all her hardware, bow light, etc.
We did the rest during her almost three years with us, in what has turned out to be both a highly challenging and super rewarding preservation project.
Thank you, Andrea and John!
1953 Penn Yan Swift CZT Water Test
May I say it? The mother of all milestones just swept past us and is quickly disappearing into her wake. Preserving this rather stunning 1953 Penn Yan 12’ Swift CZT, HIN CZT 2351, her period-correct electric-start 18 HP Johnson Seahorse and her TeeNee trailer has reached the finish line and soon will be trekking to her home waters in Seattle, WA.
I was stunned on her arrival by how complete, how original and how rot-free she was. Now she’s the stuff of museum displays, but, happily for her, she will soon be romping across the waters of a small lake in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.
She retrains her original canvas, all of her original hardware, including her incredibly rare water-skiing and her original mooring cover bows.
Other than a couple very minor Dutchman repairs, which Joe challenges anyone to find, every spec of her wood is original.
Fran Secor, Otego, NY, once again transformed a good engine into something very, very special. These electric-start 18 HP Johnson Sea Horse engines are incredibly scarce, so Fran was under special pressure that he handled with his typical good humor.
We are honored to have had this opportunity to complete a thorough, museum quality preservation on one of Penn Yan’s most iconic models.
She will travel in an enclosed trailer, but only after we’ve run her engine one last time without being connected to the tank so we do not leave any gas in the carburetor.
The Seahorse will be mounted on and shrink-wrapped to an engine stand which we will lash to the trailer’s wall.
Her newly-restored-and-painted tank will also be shrink-wrapped and likely stowed in the tow vehicle. (We did the land run test using her restored tank, but then emptied it. We’ve used a shop tank to run her now.)
We recommend running a 24:1 gasoline to 30-weight, two-cycle oil mixture (4 oz oil per gallon of gasoline) using only fully synthetic BIA certified TC-W3 two-cycle outboard motor oil, such as Star-brite Super Premium 2 Stroke Oil TC-W3.
We will spend some time doing some final adjustments, waxing her, ensuring every detail is ready for prime time. (We will be smiling when she leaves, but the smiles will be bittersweet for sure.)
Rather than type out all the materials’ names and source links correctly each time, you can find a comprehensive roster here.
1956 Chris Craft Capri Bleach & Stain Milestone
Our 1956 Chris-Craft Capri Runabout blew past a major milestone today. Her decks and gunwales been sanded fair, Joe has replaced rotted perimeter wood along the margins of her cockpit, bleached with Daly’s A & B Wood Bleach, and stained using Lake Oswego Boat Co. J’eld stain – Post-War Chris-Craft
Next she will be sealed with multiple coats of Smith’s CPES, followed by scuff sanding using medium Scotch Brite pads, clean the entire surface with Acetone-dampened shop towels and begin applying Pettit Flagship High-Build varnish.
The blonde king plank will not be stained as we continue following the original Chris-Craft practice of simple varnishing it with an amber varnish, which will impart a honey-blonde hue.
After applying about 15 coats, and because they will be painted white, we will fill the deck seams using mahogany Sikaflex, paint them white using Interlux Boottop and Striping Enamel and then apply the final five or so coats using Pettit Z-Spar Captain’s Ultra Clear varnish, thereby adding UV protection to the paint.
Rather than type out all the materials’ names and source links correctly each time, you can find a comprehensive roster by clicking here.