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19ft Racing Runabouts

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johnny m
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19ft Racing Runabouts

Post by johnny m » Wed Dec 14, 2011 11:51 pm

Hi

I have a 19ft 1947 CC Racing Runabout R19 035 and was wondering how many other racing runabouts there may possibly be older than this. Also does anyone have any idea of how many of the orginal blue and white 19ft racing runabouts would still be in existence?

Thank you Johnny :D

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JohnKadimik
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Post by JohnKadimik » Thu Dec 15, 2011 6:14 am

Johnny, Do you mean red & white?

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JimF
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Post by JimF » Thu Dec 15, 2011 10:19 am

#208 is here in Central Texas. It is believed to be one of the first of the varnished models.

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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:30 am

Johnny, 9 of the 20 listed in the Hull Registry are 1948 or "Red & White" models. Being only the 35th one built yours may have been delivered in late 1947 but is considered a 1948 year model.

It indicates that quite a few of them are still around. Hard to predict how many are not included in our Hull Registry but one must conclude that not all are. The 2011 ACBS Directory has 14 of them listed, some are no doubt on both lists.

Chris-Craft quit using model numbers in 1948. Oops, make that 1949. In earlier years the model numbers included the year in the number. So your hull card should have a Model Number that includes the year.
Last edited by Al Benton on Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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JimF
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Post by JimF » Thu Dec 15, 2011 11:42 am

I used to own R 19-208 and I still have the hull card. It was shipped to Minnetonka Boat works on 3/23/49. It was always titled as a 1949 but who knows. This boat was owned by Todd Warner at one point. There is a picture in one of the early Speltz books that show a boat storage warehouse that was blown down in a major storm at Lake Minnetonka. If you study the picture, you can see a racing runabout among the many others and Todd assured me that that was his boat.

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steve bunda
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1936-7 special race bot

Post by steve bunda » Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:15 pm

I love the 1936 , 1937 Special Race Boat, the Essential guide page 25 ,, 51 hulls made. Classic boating has a picture and write up in one of their scrap books of a blue and white. Tom H. made a few nice new hulls, P.S. My wife ( Laurie)is looking to add a racing runabout to her collection. Chris Craft also made a 18 foot special Race boat 14 hulls . I am sure some one must have done some extensive research on the prewars.steve

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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Thu Dec 15, 2011 2:36 pm

There's a very nice colorized photo of the 1948, 19' Racing Runabout in the Archive Marketing Literature section. Easy to see why it became known as the "Red & White". Wow!

Up until around mid to late '48 mahogany was still in short supply and may be why these were introduced in a painted version, possibly being fully planked with an alternative wood.

There's little doubt that it was inspired by the 1936, 1937 version "Blue & White". Both beautiful boats.
Al
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johnny m
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Post by johnny m » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:44 pm

Guys

Thank you for your comments.
I have read 4 pinions on why they made the first 205 in ceder
1- being shortage of Mahogany
2- Visual look of the boat
3 - The red &white was chosen to be patriotic after world war 2
4 They were made from cedar from the mid 30s to save weight and continuted to do so after the war.

I susepcet it may have been a combination of all 4 in part, with a fashion/demand change in the late 40s to mahogany.

Personnelly I love the look of the red and white , hense the reason I brought one I guess.

Further to the above,was the MBL option avilable at the very start. I can recal reading somewhere that the 158hp MBL only became avilable in 1948 sometime?

I would appreciate it if someone could confirm this.

Also i'm really interested in the blue and whites but I understand they are now extremely rare.

Johnny

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quitchabitchin
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Post by quitchabitchin » Thu Dec 15, 2011 7:56 pm

Here are a couple videos of a '48 that I believe is no registered here, but is in the ACBS directory. I was blown away by the ride and agility of this old beauty.


[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcWckg6PGAY

[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wXyzZA1q24
FLASH1969 Chris Craft Cavalier Ski-230 HP 327Q

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Brian Robinson
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Post by Brian Robinson » Thu Dec 15, 2011 8:50 pm

Hi Johnny,

Your Racer is a 1948 model, note the model 48-11 on your hull card. Yes, it was shipped 9/20/47, but was a 1948 model. Only the first 11 postwar 19' Racers were designated as 1947 models.

I currently know of 145 in existence, 35 of those are Red & Whites.

#206 was the first varnished boat.

The first MBL was installed in a 19' Racer on December 1, 1947. So, it was a mid 1948 model year change. About 2/3rds of the '48 models had the MBL in place of the MB.

Only around 10 prewar 19' Racers exist.

12 18' Special Race Boats were built 1934-1937. All but two were exported, most were MYCCA boats raced in Paris.
-Brian
1923 Hackercraft 23' Dolphin #03
1938 Gar Wood 22' Streamliner #6256 Empress
1952 Chris~Craft 19' Racing Runabout #363 Thunderstruck
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Pete DeVito
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Post by Pete DeVito » Thu Dec 15, 2011 8:58 pm

Johnny,
Here is a couple of photo's I took last year at a show we had here in Florida. Great looking boat and fast.
enjoy!
Pete
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Image
Past Project 1948 17' Deluxe
Past Project 1957 19' Capri
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Don Vogt
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Racing runabouts

Post by Don Vogt » Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:13 pm

Apparently one of the things that has happened is during restoration on some of the racing runabouts, the boats are " converted" from red and white to a varnished version. Something to be aware of.
1938 Chris Craft 17' Deluxe Runabout "Jennifer II"

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Al Benton
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Post by Al Benton » Fri Dec 16, 2011 1:48 pm

That may indicate that some of the '48 models, Red & Whites were finished using Philippine Mahogany rather than some alternative wood. Maybe some quarter sawn Spanish Cedar would stain up nicely though, if that's what they used. I hear that's what was used on some of the 1946, 17' Deluxe Runabouts that were originally stained.
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toma
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19' racing runabout

Post by toma » Sat Dec 17, 2011 11:24 am

Ihave hull# R-19-15 built August 1947. She has the 145HP KB,which was essentially the KBL with the shorter stroke. My boat,"BABE" is still 6 volt and has a rare Cyclone finned aluminum cylinder head. We keep her on Hayden Lake, Idaho and she is the favorite and most used in our fleet.

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Post by toma » Sat Dec 17, 2011 4:46 pm

Oops. Make that MB and MBL not KB and KBL. I am alphabetacaly challenged.

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Don Vogt
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Post by Don Vogt » Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:42 pm

Or, Al, they simply replace the wood as part of the restoration and varnish rather than paint.
1938 Chris Craft 17' Deluxe Runabout "Jennifer II"

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Brian Robinson
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Post by Brian Robinson » Sat Dec 17, 2011 7:58 pm

What Don said.

R&Ws had plywood decks covered in canvas.
-Brian
1923 Hackercraft 23' Dolphin #03
1938 Gar Wood 22' Streamliner #6256 Empress
1952 Chris~Craft 19' Racing Runabout #363 Thunderstruck
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Don Vogt
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Post by Don Vogt » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:16 am

Al, you have raised an interesting issue, although this is somewhat off the racing runabout discussion. CC did use other woods like cedar for a time when they restarted civilian production after the war, as i understand the CC lumber mills in the Phillipines were blown up by the Japanese army during the war. I dont remember seeing any definitive discussion or article on what woods CC substituted and on what models. I am wondering if anyone else has that knowledge? Perhaps since don and brian have gone thru the archives, they might know? Has anyone ever asked Chris Smith? In any event, i am unaware that they used any honduras or african mahogany, for example? Al, might make a great article.
1938 Chris Craft 17' Deluxe Runabout "Jennifer II"

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parroteyes
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Post by parroteyes » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:50 am

I have original wood from my 1946 runabout.

I intend to send it to that free government site to determine what it is, when I get a round toit.

Perhaps others have scraps of the original parts of their boats from the period to be tested?

That wood provide definitive evidence.
Hull # 16-R-OX2 (March 1946)
Engine 1B #26564

That's me 1950 - already a CC lover!

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Don Ayers
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Re: 1936-7 special race bot

Post by Don Ayers » Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:10 pm

steve bunda wrote:I love the 1936 , 1937 Special Race Boat, the Essential guide page 25 ,, 51 hulls made. Classic boating has a picture and write up in one of their scrap books of a blue and white. Tom H. made a few nice new hulls, P.S. My wife ( Laurie)is looking to add a racing runabout to her collection. Chris Craft also made a 18 foot special Race boat 14 hulls . I am sure some one must have done some extensive research on the prewars.steve
Steve;

I did a pretty extensive article on the pre-war 19' series several years ago in the Brass Bell. They were a hell of a boat and with the Lycoming engine a very unique production.

Wow, I just looked. It was Spring 2006 issue.
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steve bunda
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19 foot racing runabout

Post by steve bunda » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:34 pm

Thanks Don, I thought I saw an article on the pre wars, I have a few missing issues and would like to replace them. Could you help me find some NOS Brass Bell stock? thanks, steve

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Bill Basler
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Post by Bill Basler » Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:41 pm

Steve:

Let me know which ones you are missing.
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Post by Rugger8 » Sun Dec 18, 2011 9:06 pm

Well, I own a 1947 46' DCFB cruiser and I can say that my boat does not have mahogany on the hull. It is much lighter and could be either cedar or perhaps old growth spruce.

Jeff

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steve bunda
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Bras Bells

Post by steve bunda » Mon Dec 19, 2011 8:54 am

Thanks Bill, I will check my stack of Brass Bells and get back to you. We wear them out at the shop using the information on Chris Craft models to research while restoring boats, and to share with customers. steve

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Don Vogt
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racing runabout

Post by Don Vogt » Mon Dec 19, 2011 11:50 am

Back to the wood question, i did a very quick search in the archives under "cedar plank" and there were earlier brass bell articles that referenced "spanish cedar" as at least one of the materials used right after the war. I just looked at 2 of the articles that came up and both articles attributed this knowledge to charlie cross. These articles only dealt with the 20' custom and sportsman models.
1938 Chris Craft 17' Deluxe Runabout "Jennifer II"

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Don Ayers
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Post by Don Ayers » Sat Nov 10, 2012 9:32 am

Steve;
did you ever get that missing issue with the pre-war racer article?
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steve bunda
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Mags

Post by steve bunda » Tue Nov 13, 2012 11:48 am

Hi Don , Thanks for asking , I still need issues from 2007, 1,2 and 4 , also from 2006 number 1 and 4 , thanks,steve

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