RESTORATION of the Fiberglass Chris Craft Commander.........

[Paul P]

Here is a great example of what can be done with a bare hull with no motor. This is my friend Jim Peters, from Seattle. Do a google some day about "Notable Seattle Yachtsman" and you'll find Jim.








Project completed, let the fun begin! This happens to be Commander SS Transdrive serial NUMBER ONE. The neighborhood was just treated to a THUNDERING motor test right here in the driveway, by the way.

best,

Paul

[dustoff135]

Wow, I would love to see more pics of this boat and the restoration process.
Is there anything available online?

[Paul P]

Interesting thing about the Corsair Sport Boat Division; the shoebox construction method allowed CC to use this same hull for the 19' Lancer, and they just changed the box top and interior. Jim did a full disassembly and rebuild of everything, and since the motor was gone when he found the hull, he had to basically start from scratch.







Here is progress to date.........literally a few days ago.

Engine test fire: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdHqoQCGAU8

Regards,

Paul

[Ollon]

Make sure you tell him to keep the motor all the way down when hes running it or the u joint cuts a hole in the bellows, water gets in and you know the rest of the story...especially bad if hes running it in salt water.

[quitchabitchin]

I didn't know they made a transdrive in '69, thought they were all V Drives....

[Ollon]

Incredible job on the boat. I plan on redoing the interior on my 17 Lancer this winter including removing and putting in a new floor. I'd love to know what was found under there and how best to go about it.

[Chad Durren]

Below are the 1969 Hull #s

FRAV-19-001 to FRAV-10-090 (V-Drive)
FRAZ-19-001 to FRAZ-19-015 (Trans Drive)

Jim has #1 in the Trans Drive option.

[Paul P]

Here is a little more red meat for the restoration guys, this one is similar to the first one in this posting, but it is a v-drive boat instead, and this particular restoration took much more of an exhaustive process................the results are almost too good to put in the water.

The shoebox top was removed on this one too, and additionally reinforced and cleaned up cosmetically. This particular restoration was intended from the start to be "the most comprehensive ever done" on this particular model, 100% faithful to original specs except the overall finish of course, which is light years better than Chris Craft could ever afford to produce in a production line product.

Photos compliments of Mike Watson, the owner/restorer; exerpts from my "Restoration" book, now sold out







Projects like these are inspirational, and they not only SHOW what can be done with a beat up old fiberglass hull, they raise the bar and help save more boats too. Not for the faint of heart, and not inexpensive to do either.

Regards,

Paul

[maritimeclassics]

That is a great job! What a cool project hopefully I will see it in person some day and hear the thunder of the motor.