New 1964 XL 175 Sunlounger Owner

[zombiescustoms]

Hello everyone, my name is Mark and I have just purchased a 1964 XL 175 Sunlounger from a member here named David Hoover.

It has a 260ci Ford V8 and the fold away Eaton Interceptor outdrive, I lucked out because he even gave me a spare outdrive for parts if I need it.

I had been looking for a V8 powered runabout from the 60's for a while and happened across Davids boat only an hour and a half from my home near the Chesapeake Bay. He had not worked on it in about 2 years and it needs some good cleaning but over all it looks to be a solid boat, I got it running about an hour after I picked it up, and everything works as it should, going to spend this week cleaning and checking over everything and try to take her out on a run this weekend if all goes well. here are some pics and a video of her running:



























CLICK IMAGE FOR VIDEO:

[zombiescustoms]

Wow, I figured I have some responses by now, anyway a little update, the boat went in the water this past weekend, after a reseal and bearing replacement in the outdrive, and it seems like a solid little runabout, I did have some fuel delivery issues that I think I have narrowed down to a dirty screen in the tank pick up.

I have only seen 4 or 5 of these registered here, and even fewer that are in running condition, does anyone have any idea what this boat would be worth??

[Bill Basler]

Mark, welcome to the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club, Boat Buzz, and to XL ownership. I am sorry, but your prior post evaded me. I was out of town for a few days when you posted originally, and I must not have picked up the new post on my iPhone.

I am one of the other XL175 owners in the Club, the "Blue Bomb" as mentioned above. I have made considerable progress on the restoration of my boat. You'll be reading about a couple of significant steps in upcoming Brass Bells. Stay tuned for your Summer 2010 issue for the first of several feature stories.

You boat looks pretty good. These had some interesting features which present their own unique restoration challenges. I have taken the Blue Bomb all the way down to bare hull, cutting the floor out etc. So I feel pretty familiar with most anything you would ask.

Look for more on my restoration progress very soon.

[R_Maclay]

Welcome & Hello Mark,

I haven't been getting my digests from the boat buzz forum so I think I have corrected that tonight.

I also have a 1965 & a 1967 XL-175 SunLounger boats.

I assume you have registered your boat in the hull registry on the group.

My 1965 SunLounger needs to get out on the water, hopefully this weekend out in the S.F. Bay Area / Sacramento Delta for it's run on the water.
My truck was down and a new engine installed over the 4th July weekend and fell down at 1 am from the front bumper while installing the engine and hurt my back from the fall.

Glad to finally have another rare SunLounger in the group.

Mac

[thompsonboatboy]

Welcome aboard!

Nice looking rig!

I have a 1966 Chris-Craft by Thompson 17'-6" Corsair Sport V outboard with 100 HP Evinrude. She's a nice boat and I use her all the time. Just had her at an antique & classic boat show in Clear Lake, iowa last Saturday.

By 1966 they dropped any reference to "XL" and "Sunlounger" in the model names.

Here she is in October 2009 on Lake Minnetonka, MN:



I saw a 15 1/2 ft. outboard version on Minnetonka a few weeks ago. I think she was a 1965 model. It's used as a wake boarding tow rig! So it's in tough but useable condition.

Andreas in Minneapolis

[Wood Commander]

If anyone is interested, the cabin cruiser version of this boat that I found for sale here in the Dallas area on Craigslist and posted in another subject title, is really wanting to make a deal. The owner has come down in price a couple of times and is now looking for offers.

Looks like almost the same evinrude and all.

Really (minus the lapstrake planking) resembles a wood Thompson!

[zombiescustoms]

took it to the shore this weekend, had a blast here are some pics:

[Paul P]

Wow that is one cool boat, rare too, and still providing the miles of smiles and service it was intended to do.

I'm a big fan of the boats built in Cortland. None of them were particularly expensive models I guess, but they were built back in the time when I was a kid growing up and I can identify with them. They're nicely styled too, and look so much better than the new stuff.

Congratulations, it is well worth keeping this one in good condition, there are not many out there that have survived. I think many of these boats were treated as consumables. There were so many alternatives being built, it was always tempting to toss the old boat and get a new one when the mechanicals wore out. Many were stashed away in barns, out back in the weather, eventually burned or taken to the junk yards, not many of these left.

I have seen MANY THOUSANDS of boats at boat shows during the last 30+ years and I've never seen one of these in person, either at a show or just on the water.

Regards, best,

Paul

[zombiescustoms]

Thanks for the comments! I'm actually tearing the motor down tonight, as I'm getting water in the oil, so I think it needs head gaskets, then it is back to the beach with it tomorrow!

[Stovebolt]

Head job over night!?! You rock!!

I gotta say, thats one cool boat! Congratulations on its aquisition!! Do you know anything about the motor? How much horse power that sort of thing?

[zombiescustoms]

A major update, the motor job went well, it is indeed a 260, that has a hydraulic reverse rotation 351 firing order cam, everything looked fine inside so I buttoned her back up and tested the manifolds and BINGO, the both have cracks at both ends, probably from not draining them and freezing, so as a band-aid, I used a great product called the right stuff and after running her this weekend (and draining the logs after each run as a precaution) no water in the oil!! On another note, the boat stopped running a few times and I had determined that there must be crud in the gas tank, so, ripped the boat apart tonight and holy crud was I right, about a pound and a half of crap was laying at the bottom of the tank. So i drained it, sloshed it, and finally pressure washed it and now it is as good as it will ever be. And while I had the tank out I decided to take out the bow eye to read my HIN, and low and behold it is a 1964 not a 65, ORCZ 17 2008, Now I can put her on the Hull registry! It is funny that they covered up part of the HIN with the bow eye. Here are some pics: