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Restoration?

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Sun Jul 17, 2016 9:26 pm

In the parts list and operation manual for the 431 engines in the Corsair, no mufflers are indicated or discussed. However the motors in the Corsair, and the motors I recovered from a salvage boat have large oval mufflers. They seem to be welded up out of heavy steel plate. Is there any information, cross sectional drawings or data available out there? This photo is of the engine recovery out of the salvage boat. The muffler on the port engine can be seen clearly to my left. Thanks for any information you can provide.
3 Unbolting motor mounts.jpg

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tkhersom
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Re: Restoration?

Post by tkhersom » Mon Jul 18, 2016 6:04 am

American Beauty had big old cast mufflers when I took possession of her. I replaced them with fiberglass mufflers. Later I read a story about a who sunk his cruiser because of the old cast mufflers. :shock:

I am glad that one is off my list.
Troy in ANE - Former President CCABC

1957 CC 21' Continental "Yorktown" (Mom's boat)
https://www.chris-craft.org/boats/22625/
1985 Formula 242LS "Gottago"
1991 Formula 36PC "Band Aids"

Life Is Too Short To Own An Ugly Boat

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Mon Jul 18, 2016 9:39 pm

I'm not opposed to replacement if the existing ones are at the end of their life. I haven't studied the fiberglass units nor how they would be fitted. Hoping someone will provide info on the existing mufflers!
Progress is occurring on Corsair in our first year efforts to ensure comfort and safety. New CO detectors have arrived for installation as well as smoke/fire detectors. Sound-down has been installed in the engine room, new carpet & window covering installed in the salon and new custom made mattress' on the beds and bunks. Removed the old 2 burner electric cook top and replaced it with efficient portable induction cooktops (created a lot more counter space). Other appearance issues have also been addressed. Some new exterior cabin paint and canvas repair in the aft. Also had the old CO fire suppression system inspected. The tank was hydro-tested and recharged. Hydro-test is supposed to occur every 12 years. This tank was last done in 1984 - 32 years ago!
I've also been creating a (long) wish list of items to address as time goes by. A priority this winter will be to remove all the salon and helm glass for re-glazing and new window channels. Many of the windows have minor leaks from dried out glazing. Fixing that now will avoid wood deterioration in the future. Big project with hard to see results, but worth it in my opinion.

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evansjw44
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Re: Restoration?

Post by evansjw44 » Fri Jul 22, 2016 9:36 am

Those are very unusual mufflers. You've got dry exhaust going in and it looks like wet exhaust going out. They serve as exhaust risers, looks like. To replace them you'd need to find the exhaust elbows and pipe into a a "lift" muffler.
Jim Evans

jfrprops
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Re: Restoration?

Post by jfrprops » Fri Jul 22, 2016 2:36 pm

yes, I am with Jim, those are odd looking to me...further research and info needed I think.

John in Va.
1980 Fairchild Scout 30
19?? custom Argentine Runabout 16'
1954 Whirlwind deluxe dual ckpt 16'
1921 Old Town Charles River 17' (founding Captain, James River Batteau Festival)

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:10 pm

Hoping for more input / data on the mufflers. Perhaps they were specific to the 431's in cruisers. Anyone else out there have them or serviced them??

ALSO - I would like to replace the hardened seals on all the port lights. Any sources you would recommend? They are 13/32 square rubber with a hole in the middle.

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Corsair
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Porthole Seals & Other Progress

Post by Corsair » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:16 pm

Spent a day poring through Granger and McMaster Carr catalogs. Ordered & returned rubber seals that didn't fit. Talked to several marine suppliers with no luck. Then found a source for the correct porthole seals. It is Wefco Rubber Mfg Co, Inc in Canoga Park, CA. Website http://www.wefcorubber.com. 50 feet of rubber is enough for all 10 portholes. Cost including shipping was just over $120. It'll be nice to wash the boat down without having to wipe down the interior cabin sides under all the portholes!

Soundown now installed in engine room overhead, new flooring & window covering in salon, lee cloth on bunks, safety screen on railing, new smoke detectors and CO2 detectors installed.
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Seagrass Flooring
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Lee Cloth Installed

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whamm511
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Re: Restoration?

Post by whamm511 » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:47 pm

Sounds like you're making progress!! Do you have any pictures of the Safety Screening you installed on your railings? I would be interested in seeing that.

Keep up the good work!
Bill Hammond
1960 36' Connie
Flint/Port Huron, MI
http://www.chris-craft.org/registry/vie ... at_id=1708

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Wed Sep 07, 2016 10:06 pm

KIMG0476.jpg
New safety screen to keep grandkids on board!

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whamm511
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Re: Restoration?

Post by whamm511 » Wed Sep 07, 2016 10:55 pm

Very nice!!
Bill Hammond
1960 36' Connie
Flint/Port Huron, MI
http://www.chris-craft.org/registry/vie ... at_id=1708

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Wed Dec 14, 2016 4:07 pm

When we bought Corsair we noted one cracked side window in the salon, and very minor water leaks at the fore and aft ends of the salon windows on each side. We learned that if we removed the plate glass it would have to be replaced with safety glass. We decided on laminated vs tempered due to the sliding windows. The window channel for the sliders was also pretty shot. Well, our shipwright tore into it late this fall. Uf-da. Some "never give up" glue (factory??) had been used on the fixed window panes. Wood wedges had to be driven in to separate the glass from the frame. Contact paper was attached to both sides of the glass to prevent shattering and to hopefully use the panel as a pattern. Wood below the "minor water leaks" was rotten. Exterior paint was all that was left in some small areas. Repairs about 30 years prior had resulted in trim boards being glued in addition to the screws. More "Uf-da". All new trim boards are now made and finished. Cold weather has stopped the work which will resume in the spring. A number of old times have noted that windows on Chris Craft were a weak spot. We may have proven that theory!

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whamm511
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Re: Restoration?

Post by whamm511 » Wed Dec 14, 2016 5:34 pm

I was fortunate with mine. There was no wood damage. But the windows all had to rebedded and the tracks all relined rubber welting. The latches were missing on all but one so I had to find those. Glad you stuck with it! She sure looks good!!
Bill Hammond
1960 36' Connie
Flint/Port Huron, MI
http://www.chris-craft.org/registry/vie ... at_id=1708

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Fri Feb 24, 2017 4:26 pm

New chines in the works. Didn't look bad on the outside. Pulled a plank just above the chine that looked a bit crushed on the bottom edge. Had very minor leakage from that area last summer. Found chine rot. Pulled more planks. Same story. Will replace most of port side and part of starboard. Big thanks to the guys at St. Paul Shipwrights for their great work.
Attachments
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The big reveal
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Rot on chine

joanroy
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Re: Restoration?

Post by joanroy » Sun Feb 26, 2017 8:03 am

Chine looks pretty bad, but then again, they did last the better part of sixty years. Now you know why folks think wooden cruiser owners are crazy. Their a lot of work and expense to repair and maintain. Not for everyone. I love my old cruiser so it's all worth the effort as far as I'm concerned. Best bad investment I ever made. Thanks for the update. Happy Boating!

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robertpaul
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Re: Restoration?

Post by robertpaul » Sun Feb 26, 2017 9:14 am

Now.... where have I seen THAT before??????
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S1220002.JPG
Here was my port chine scarf...
1937 35' Double Stateroom Enclosed Cruiser

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Wed Jul 19, 2017 7:59 pm

Muffler/Riser Devices;
Thanks to Jim Staib at "Fine Wood Boats", I learned that the large oval items on the back of the 431 engines are indeed the original muffler/riser manufactured by Chris Craft, AND that they are stainless steel. I stripped off the paint, and verified that the body is stainless, but the pipes from the manifold to the muffler/riser is ferrous. Still not sure about their insides & baffles. I've beat them around quite a bit to get the rust out from their insides, and they are now fairly clean. With two sets available, I should be OK.

Paragon Transmissions HJAC25 and HJAC25-O
I sent two regular and two opposite transmissions (with reduction gears) to Kalamazoo Transmission to be rebuilt by Mark Gernspeck. I picked them up a few weeks ago on the return trip from an antique car tour. Mark made one good regular and one good Opposite rotation sets from the four I sent. Looking forward to getting them in for next season. I still am using the originals that are in the boat, so those will become backup units in the future.

Chines and more:
New chines completed on both sides of the boat - basically full length. In process discovered more rot in the stbd cheek block, which is the corner post that the side and transom fasten to. So, now the whole transom is out and using the opportunity to repair/rebuild lots of other stuff hidden behind everything. Gas tanks are out being bead blasted and relined at Tank Re-Nu. Hope to be back in the water end of July. She will be a much more solid boat now.

Other
This spring I pulled the original carburetors and had them rebuilt by a very good carb guy. Also pulled one distributor that was constantly and slowly going out of time. Turns out it has a two piece shaft and a set screw needed to be tightened. Carbs and distributor are back in. While I was at It, I put in new control cables. Wow, what a difference. Smooth as butter!

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mfine
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Re: Restoration?

Post by mfine » Thu Jul 20, 2017 5:58 am

New control cables are a cheap and easy "upgrade" not enough people make until they absolutely have to.

jfrprops
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Re: Restoration?

Post by jfrprops » Fri Jul 21, 2017 9:43 am

Great Pix, keep them coming....I noticed something as rare as the boat itself in the crane launching pic....a PHONE BOOTH! They will be restoring them one day....along with typewriters!

John in Va.
1980 Fairchild Scout 30
19?? custom Argentine Runabout 16'
1954 Whirlwind deluxe dual ckpt 16'
1921 Old Town Charles River 17' (founding Captain, James River Batteau Festival)

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:09 pm

Well, we certainly didn't intend to do a boat restoration, but it is becoming one. Last fall we thought the starboard shaft log was in poor condition, and planned to have it replaced this spring. Two days prior to the trip up river to the shipwright shop, the port shaft log started to leak badly - or we just finally discovered the source of our leak. Here are a couple pictures. The bilge pump went from a cycle of 10 times an hour to a cycle of once or twice a day.
DSCN3816.jpg
Significant frame and plank replacement on both sides were needed as well. Amazing work done by the crew.
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DSCN3824.jpg

joanroy
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Re: Restoration?

Post by joanroy » Fri Oct 12, 2018 7:43 am

Really nice old cruiser! That’s great your willing to put in the effort and resources to bring her back. Happy Cruising!

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robertpaul
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Re: Restoration?

Post by robertpaul » Fri Oct 12, 2018 8:07 pm

I agree. These boats will go indefinitely with proper care and repairs. Did the shop take any pictures of the keelsons they removed? When I replaced mine, I took what looked like the best part of one and routed out the surface to see the inside. Would love to see any pictures of the originals.
Attachments
M1930001.JPG
Here is a picture of where I routed off the surface 3/8" or so. The rot had travelled inside the piece and was not detectable from surface probing with an awl.
M1930004.JPG
I practiced boring the new hole for the shaft on a 'solid' part of the original keelson. Yikes.
1937 35' Double Stateroom Enclosed Cruiser

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Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Mon Jan 07, 2019 8:17 pm

When the shop was done, they asked if I wanted the old shaft log timbers. Some of the wood grain was beautiful. When I said no - the fellow put his foot on it and folded it up into small pieces. So - I guess it was really rotten! Now on to electrical.

Corsair
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Re: Restoration?

Post by Corsair » Sun Mar 29, 2020 9:13 pm

Well here it is in the spring of 2020, and I've failed to keep you up to date. The electrical is done. Every wire was pulled out of the boat - both AC and DC systems - and replaced. It now has separate house and start systems, 800ah of house power, a 2800w inverter charger for the house, smart charger for start batteries, a balmer alt. and regulator, ACR relays, RBS switches and AGM lifeline batteries.We're wired for 1150 watts of solar as well. On the AC side - all new from shore plugs to every outlet - now with grounds! It now has a galvanic isolator, new panel with correct size wire to all circuits. All done by super nice ABYC certified electricians! I also pulled out the old cast iron Air Cond units that were installed in 1965 and put in new Webasto reverse air units. Saved about 500 pounds. All that's now left to do is replace the barely working 10KW Onan generator. Only need about 5KW with the new systems.
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