Category: Chris Craft

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.

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.

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.

It’s bleaching, well, bleaching-over-two-days, for our 1956 19’ Chris Craft Capri Runabout. Joe has been applying Dalys A & B Bleach, mixed 3:1, B:A for about 2+ hours when the first half of the clip was shot on May 28, 2020. That clip promises a follow-up view of snow white topsides and transom today, May 29, 2020.

While much of the wood, which is still 35% moisture content on the gauge this morning, is quite white, and will get even whiter as it dries, the fact that there are so many replaced planks, each of which is a different species of mahogany, we failed to achieve our desired uniformity. Anthony has attacked the topsides again, and he will keep apply the 3B:1A bleach mix for the next several hours. Then we will allow it to dry down to 10% or so before we scuff it with medium Scotch Brite pads, vacuum it thoroughly and begin staining it.

Our stain of choice, and it will be yours as well once you try it, is J’eld stain from the Lake Oswego Boat Co. Mike Mayer offers this incredibly easy-to-apply, easy-to-get-to-uniformity stain in quarts. We will use Chris-Craft Post War.

More on its way to you shortly…..