The perfect Cruiser for a Car Nut

[Banjopilot]

I'm a self-professed classic car enthusiast, but my wife calls me a simple car nut... Anyway, I was recently surfing Facebook Marketplace for a new Corvette project to think about buying and an ad for a Chris Craft Cruiser popped up in the search results. I clicked on it and it turned out to be a 1969 Chris Craft Corvette. I've never seen one before, or even heard of one, but I loved the look! I actually live on Lake Lanier here in Georgia, but the only boat I have is a little 17' Bayliner, and never even considered owning a cruiser until I saw this one... so I bought it.

I've been around a while, and have restored dozens of different classic cars, but never a wooden-hulled boat. Fortunately, the wooden structure of this one seems to be quite sound. The couple I purchased it from inherited it back in 2010 and used it on another lake around here, but pulled it out of the water and put it in dry storage in 2015 to restore it. They had removed all the metal brightwork to have it replated, stripped and repainted the hull, deck and cabin, but had not re-assembled any of it. The engines (427s) both run, but the tanks were out, so it is not seaworthy. I need to get it out of the warehouse they have it in by the end of this month, and since it's bigger than any place I have access to, I'm going to have to put it in the water to finish it off. In order to get it back in the water, I need to make sure it doesn't leak and get it back in running condition. I've already had the fuel tanks refurbished and back in, and I've got a guy coming out to change out the cutless bearings and check the stuffing boxes, so I think I'll be OK.

What I was hoping to find on this forum is someone else who has one of these, or at least has some pictures of what it's supposed to look like when finished. There's not much information out there on this model, but I really like it and want to bring it back to it's previous glory. I've attached a few pictures of what it looks like now, but if anyone has more information about this model, I'd really appreciate the information. Thanks!

[Bilge Rat]

If you are a paying member on this site and go to Research, Hull Registry and search for the 1969 Chris Craft Corvette, there's one there named Lucky Bag. Sounds like it could actually be your boat with a picture and description.

[drrot]

You failed to mention the length. From what I could find only the 36' Offered the 427 power. They made 14 in 1969. I'd look for old literature on EBAY or get a hull card package from the Mariners Museum.

[Banjopilot]

Thanks for the replies. I just joined the site here, and I already filled out the registry for my boat, so unfortunately for me, the "Luck Bag" is my boat that I posted when I first joined up. I was hoping someone else who had a Corvette would see it and reach out... nothing yet! Also, yes, mine is a 36' boat. I've also read that only 14 were made that year, and I've heard about the Mariner's Museum, but have not contacted them yet. I think next week I'll reach out to them.

[Tmalko]

I don’t have a 1969 cruiser but I do have a 1956/CC Sedan Cruiser. It’s work but fun and rewarding. You can try Antique Boat America for some archive photos or the Mariner’s Museum. [email protected]