1960 Chris Craft sportsman restoration project

[woodmaster]

Guys, I now have 12 of the 24 planks that make up the bottom, chines, and lower topsides fitted. It's going well and hope to be gluing and screwing these permantly in place in a few weeks. take a peek and STAY TUNED!

[woodmaster]

Guys, another couple days...4 more planks fitted.

[woodmaster]

Guys, had no work today so I worked on my Chris. I spent 5 grueling hours on the starboard chine plank. Just about got the best of me...But I got it in.

[woodmaster]

Guys, I have made progress on my chris resto... I have gotten the bottom installed and will be fairing and sealing this weekend. My buddy Dave shows his talents...drinkin, screwin, while keeping the 5200 on the boat! we did it in 8 hours with no breaks...when we were done, rolled it outside for a rinse.

[Binford]

Simply amazing. What a beautiful job you're doing on such a gorgeous boat!

[Karl]

Would you please let the uninformed wooden boat rookies know what you used the 5200 for?

[woodmaster]

Karl, the 5200 is gluing the bottom planks to the inner ply. They are screwed with bronze screws as the CC factory did. They used little bedding compound if any, which in my boats case consisted of 2" strips of linseed soaked canvas where the bottom met the chine strake. Pictures from the factory show guys spreading canvas across the entire bottom. As the planks get screwed down, 5200 squeezes out of the seams. It creates a mess and Dave kept it off of him and his clothes. It was quite a job getting everything screwed down in 8 hours...I'm under the gun now to get it faired and sealed before things dry out too much. The boat was soaked three days and covered with plastic. It has sat for a week and the seams are pretty tight. By sanding and sealing right away, the planks won't shrink. It will get 2 coats of CPES and 3-4 coats of barrier coat before bottom paint. The cool thing is that these steps need to be carried out quickly, and then it's time to flip her back over. I will post updates...not much interest here thou...
Bob

[Karl]

Thanks for the info! I enjoy learning new things.

[woodmaster]

sand O rama today...I got the bottom about 90% sanded today. Made a huge mess in the shop!

[Tim_Mattson]

Vacume Diaper

Bob,
A cheap Dewalt sander with vacume port can fit most any shop vac,add a paper Hepa type filter sold at most any hardware store and you can sand without dusting out the shop.
Also saves pads and keeps the surface being sanded cleaner.
Once you use a paper filter in a shop vac,you`ll never have to hose or muck it out again.
Sorta like a "Vacume Diaper".
I used the lesser sander as my Fein Orbital was awaiting new brushes and found the lower speeds and 5`` diameter was useable on all but the largest of jobs.
Thanx for sharing the project.
TimM

[woodmaster]

Tim, I used a buffer/grinder with a 36 grit disc to knock it down and a air file to block it in...no vac attachment for those. A small orbital sander will not give you a flat surface across the bottom. good notion though...Thanks for your interest. Bob

[woodmaster]

Guys I have just about finished the bottom...I have three planks to secure tomorrow then I'm prepping for paint.

[woodmaster]

Guys, I now have all the lumber glued and screwed in place. I also began sanding the topsides planking...

[woodmaster]

Guys, made some progress on my restore... I got the bottom done, painted , ready to go! I have since sanded, stained and sealed the topsides. I have 8-10 coats of varnish, boot stripe then it's party time! flip that boat!

I also worked on the trailer a little...