Whats taking up my time? A boat of course!

Well,
I have not been posting for a little while or working on any hot rod as a boat has hi jacked my time! Funny how much time these things take. Its a 1980 Chris Craft with twin 350's. I bought the boat at the end of March and my Sundays have not been the same ever since. Well I should be able to fire the starboard engine this week and I have a new crate engine to put in the port side soon. Now I know this is not a car, BUT with 520 hoursepower I guess that counts for something (of course it weighs 9000 pounds so It needs the motivation) :rolleyes:Should sound great with the twins and the wet exhaust. Some before and after restoration shots of the starboard engine below and the boat too. Any other hot rod boaters out there? Thanks to pops for plenty of help getting her back on the water and for my girlfriend taylor who has given up laying on the beach for 6 months to hand me wrenches down in the bilge every Sunday. Back to cars soon.

Don Jr:D

oh the pain is now coming back.. i wrench on boats for sometime .the chris looks good very good...Hell can not be has bad is being upside down in a bilge:whacked:.. i work on some salt water boats there fun fun fun still know the smell of engine oil and salt water and fiber glass:LOL:

Pat,
I did not know I could bend and contort myself into some of these weird positions the boat has required!:LOL:

If anyone has worked on these things they know the pain involved and hanging upside down for an hour to change one darn spark plug! Thanks for the compliment! Don jr.

out side row of spark plugs are fun wish i had a buck for evey plug i put in .i would tune up 3 a day .two with oil change as well .thats 48 spark plugs :whacked:.i have had to pull them iron ex manifolds in the boat . heads and drives some times engines at the dock allways worried about droping some thing and putting a hole in the bottom

It's been my experience that a boat makes a giant hole in the water that you must continually fill with MONEY!!!!!!!!!:LOL::LOL::LOL:

My first boat was 1964 24' Chris Craft, wood hull that had been out of the water for 2 years before I got it. After replacing the blown 283 with a 327, I trailered it to Lake Erie on the way blew 2 tires, finally made the 2 hour trip (8 hours later). The marina said they would put the boat in the next day. With the boat on a sling and 8 pumps trying to keep up with the water flowing thru the hull, the marina decided to try later that day. We left the boat all night long on the sling with pumps (repeated for 3 nights ). The wood finally swelled up enought the bilge pump could keep up with the flow. Now you know why my next boat had a steel hull......LOL
Bradc

Been a boater myself, but with outboard motors.

Break Out Another Thousand :eek:

That is a sweet looking Chris Craft, bet you are looking forward to getting her on the water.

Pat

Don very nice looking Chris Craft! Should be a fun cruiser for the whole family, to get relief from those hot days! I used to live on an old Chris Craft 50 plus footer, in the Keys. It was donated to the facility I worked at. Very nicely equipted cabins. Nothing like falling asleep swaying in the water on a boat! Post some more shots.

Boats - As many here who have worked on them, it's the "love/hate" thing. I grew up in Southern California and lots of great boats on Lake Arrowhead. First blown engine I saw up close was sitting in a 19' Rayson Craft atop a 427 ford. Man that baby could haul some serious speed. I went 100mph in a boat before a car or on a bike and the thrill of speed on the water is not to be compared with anything else.

Years later, I helped a bit with a larger, off-shore type that had three 454 Chevy engines. It had an enclosed cockpit and all kinds of safety harnesses, fire suppression, etc.. At speed, only the cavitation plate and the props were in the water. It ran in salt water (Puget Sound) and needed constant attention as the salt would eat everything alive. But oh my goodness - the sound of those three monsters coming to life (+/- 2100HP!) was unbelievable!

Dad had a Beechcraft with a 350 (single) that looked identical to the above. I learned a few hard lessons about the subtle differences between car and boat engines, especially in the coolant department.

I've heard it said that the two happiest days in the life of a boat owner is the day he buys the boat - and the day he sells it!

Great job on the C/Craft Don! Have fun with the family in that beautiful boat!

Regards All,
Glenn

Pat-Holy Cow! I will never complain about the 16 spark plugs again! Thats a serious work day for ya! Thanks for the compliment:D

Dave and Pat-You are not kidding about the money you throw into these things! Doing all the work myself I will probably have about $12K in the boat (with hours of labor) I could not afford to pay a marina to do the work we have been doing!:whacked:

Brad-wood boats are tough, beautiful when done, BUT a huge pain. I have never owned one for the exact reasons you talked about. :eek:

Steve-Wow a 50 footer. I have had a few boats and none over 30 feet. Chris Craft is a great name. I pulled a through hull out and the hull was almost 2 inches thick!! Hope to have her on the water in a month. I know its not a hot rod but I will post some progress pictures on the way to the big dunk!!:D

Glenn-That is a whole new world of boating with those race boats and talk about money!!! Wow. Thank you for the nice remarks!

Don jr

All I can say is Don better get moving putting that crate motor that is sitting on our shop floor in the boat. I have a hole in my piston and keep eying up that fresh motor just laying there.:D What's the worst that could happen.........he might stop speaking to me for a while, but I'm so lovable I know he would forgive me eventually! :cool::LOL:

Don

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BradC

My first boat was 1964 24' Chris Craft, wood hull that had been out of the water for 2 years before I got it. After replacing the blown 283 with a 327, I trailered it to Lake Erie on the way blew 2 tires, finally made the 2 hour trip (8 hours later). The marina said they would put the boat in the next day. With the boat on a sling and 8 pumps trying to keep up with the water flowing thru the hull, the marina decided to try later that day. We left the boat all night long on the sling with pumps (repeated for 3 nights ). The wood finally swelled up enought the bilge pump could keep up with the flow. Now you know why my next boat had a steel hull......LOL
Bradc

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on the wood boats they used to pour saw dust in the water ? from the wood shop and set the boat in the slings they said it help seal the wood boats up?? it been 18+ years that a stop working on boats. i did work on some old wood ones there was a 56 foot Chris Craft that was fun to work on had a engine room and some old steel hull roamers to

Pops,
Your loveable. Just not that loveable!:LOL:**)

Sawdust on the water?? Wow, Things have come a long way!

Don Jr.

My hat is off to any one who could endure working in the bilge of a boat the past few months down here. I haven't done squat on my car stuff lately cause of the heat.Let alone working down in a hole with no air moving.

Late March early April I would fill the hull up with water to the starter motor, so the wood started to swell before going in the water. Don your boat looks great, will look even better in the water with the deck covered with bikini clad women. Make sure you send photos to me first.....LOL
Bradc

Daffy,
Im with you. It has been so hot some days that I feel like passing out! Good thing there is cold beer only a cooler away! :)
Don Jr

Alright.
The starboard engine fired up immediately on Sunday. I installed some hoses, rans some new wires hooked up the exhaust and instant V8 rumble:3dSMILE:
Hearing it run made all of the hard work worth while to be sure. I have a marine crate 350 ready to "uncrate" and prep for the other side. Brad C I agree about the bikini clad women except Taylor my girlfriend would not be happy (I would be though) :LOL: Finished engine pics to come.
Don Jr.

Ok, Here is a finished engine shot from the weekend. So good to hear some exhaust noise! Don Jr.

Ok Don, Dan and I have our fishing rods all ready!:D:D

Talking about bikini clad women, something funny happened at the marina where I work the other day. We haven't been happy with the detail people we have been using because their work has been slipping, so we found another company that we hadn't used before. Two days later they showed up to detail a 38 footer for us and they had two girls doing the work and one guy. The two girls were wearing skimpy bikinis the whole day! :eek:

I went out to check on things and it looked like a drive in movie around that boat. All the other workers had their golf carts that we use pulled up in a semi circle around the boat and were watching the girls work.:LOL: They were the talk of the marina all day and I kept getting calls from people I know asking where I found this company.

We've decided not to use them again though as the job they did really wasn't all that great and the image really wasn't in keeping with the one we like to present. I bet a lot of our workers won't be too happy with THAT decision. :LOL:

Don

It's a good thing it cooled off down here...:LOL:

Well Monday night pops and I went to the shop to finally unpack the crate engine I bought for the port side. A nice 260 horse 350 chevy. Good to finally see it out of the crate. I removed all the props and shafts 2 Sundays ago to find two bent shafts (requiring replacement) and two different props! Oh well. Everything in the running gear will be new at this point. Some shots of the crate engine going on the stand for some final painting and assembly.
Don Jr.:3dSMILE:

Engine looks good, bummer on the wrong parts and bent stuff. Quality control doesn't seem to exist anymore.

Well Steve, his shafts and props were bent from years of use. I sent them to our prop shop and they told me they wouldn't use them even if they could straighten them, so they are making new ones up. But it is the time to do it now while the boat is on the hard and one engine is out. Once everything is back together there isn't a whole lot of room in there to work.

How are you feeling today Steve? I hope better.


Don

Got my restored props, new shafts, couplers and cutlass bearings back from the prop shop yesterday. Pops came through with a great company out of Cape Coral, Fl called Coastal Propellers. The new shafts are beautiful, the props are so nice I want to put them on my coffee table instead of the bottom of my boat :LOL::LOL:
Thanks to dad we removed my old cutlass bearings with a super tool on Sunday and installed the new ones too. Everything below the waterline is brand new now. Stuffing boxes rebuilt, new packing, hoses, shafts, props, couplers everything. Dan and I got together last night (good to see him, have not seen him for a while) and refinished my Chris Craft oil pan (special shape to fit the bilge) this oil pan is made of 1/4 inch steel! talk about heavy duty. The Intake is a standard quadrajet small block chevy steel. We got rid of the rust and grime, etch primed them and covered them with Chris Craft blue (actually GM blue, much cheaper that the Chris Craft product) Thanks Dad and Dan for all the help, Don Jr.:):)

Nice stainless props! Your right you should put them on the mantel they're too pretty.:LOL:

I work on boats for a living. Fun stuff, big engines.
Here is a picture of myself with a MAK
http://i68.photobucket.com/albums/i6...y/IMG_0027.jpg

Geesh! I thought I worked with big boats. :eek: That is REALLY a big boat.:D

Don

Wow that is a serious boat! I wish I had room in my bilge to work around the engine like that! What kind of ship is that?
Don Jr

Thats a self propelled dredge, the engine is a v12 MAk 7,200hp at 400rpms.
I normally work on EMD and detroits 2 strokes, offshore 8-9 months a year.
Its not a real diesel unless you need to climb in the crankcase with a 8lb sledge to change the bearings
Ok didn't mean to steal the thread....
Drew

You know that would look good in an old Pinto!:LOL::LOL:

That is a serious marine diesel!

Stovens, your right about that Pinto!:LOL:

Dont worry about the "stolen thread" this is a boat thread on a car forum so i think Im just as guilty:LOL::LOL:
Don Jr

Ah ...... a hole in the water to throw money into ...... yup - got one. 1972 RAYSON CRAFT K boat - that is in need of a resto. It's sporting a in & out box right in front of a 468 BBC SS motor. I have the original title & its factory racer.

In its past life it raced at the maimi marathon. pix are in some bar in miami of it winning a race or two.

I'd love to sell it (cheap) to a interested party.

Nice Chris Mr. Blue.

REGS

Hey REGS,
Thank you for the compliment.
Your right about the hole in the water thing. Spent some money in the last 9 months on this restoration, BUT all will be forgotten once we are sipping a few rum and cokes off the aft deck:cool:

Rayson Crafts are a cool boat with a neat history. Any pics of yours? Those flat bottom ski boats are cool to be sure......hmmmmm Georgia is not that far of a drive:eek::eek:
Don Jr

Not many pix in this computer ...... I'll practically give it away (less the BBC). It IS on a single axle trl. too!! Come & get it!!!!

I've got NO time for another project ..... my 46 is neglected as it is ....

Regs

No pictures is no problem REGS. My girlfriend would kill me if I drag home another boat project this year!:)

Getting the other engine together to slip in right now. I got the intake manifold on as well as the circulation water pump. Sorted out a oil pump pickup issue. Still trying to find the proper oil pan gasket for my application. The Chris Craft oil pan has a long sump to fit in the bilge and is made of 1/4 inch steel! (see earlier pics) I think pops and I have found the proper gasket (has to be ordered of course):confused: and then on to the next problem! Here are some updated pics! Don jr.

Almost forgot that pops, Taylor and i got the new prop shafts, rebuilt stuffing boxes and couplers installed Sunday morning before the engine project. A few pics.

Don do they still sell the copper impregnated bottom paint in Florida? That stuff is great to keep crap from growing on that nice clean hull!! I used to hate doning a scuba tank, and scrapping algae of the boat hull when I worked out there, but man what a difference in performance it made.

Hey Stovens,
You can still find some copper paints out there, but the writing is on the wall for it as the enviormental issues are being looked at. It seems now that the "green, enviormentally safer" bottom paints are going to be taking over soon. (Although more expensive of course) :(

Took the day off yesterday to finish more engine parts into final paint and restore the transmission casing. Getting closer. Will have to wait until the Turkey rod run is over next week to consider getting the engine in.
Don Jr.

I think i've seen these somewhere before :D


http://www.clubhotrod.com/forums/att...1&d=1257874941

Ah ....... nice resto on the props ......

Ratty 46