1966 20-foot Chris Craft Sea Skiff "Jo Di" owned by Paul Impellizeri (+ Paul Jr.)

Photo was from the 2007 Tuckerton Show.

Once known as the Barnegat Bay Decoy and Baymens Museum, the Tuckerton Seaport has evolved into a maritime village located along historic Tuckerton Creek in Tuckerton, New Jersey. Tuckerton Seaports 40-acre site includes 17 historic and recreated buildings connected by a boardwalk, a maritime forest and wetlands nature trail, two houseboats, a decoy gallery, a working boatworks building in which restoration of sneakbox designs of the Barnegat Bay occurs, a historic marine railway (currently under reconstruction), decoy carving workshops and the recreated Tuckers Island Lighthouse. Daily demonstrators and traditional artists bring the Jersey Shores rich maritime heritage to life.

You should look this guy up and give him a call.

Tom

We're having a blast with our "almost Commander". Everyone should have a smaller glass CC to compliment their larger classic Commander.




























Regards,

Paul

Larry sent in a note with hard copy photos (photos will be scanned and uploaded tomorrow).

Larry claims this 20' fiberglass green hull Chris Craft Sea Skiff is a 1965 model and it may well be just that. We all know Jerry Conrad's ESSENTIAL GUIDE is quite essential, and not entirely accurate. Example given: The 38' Commander was available with a pair of 327F motors but this is not mentioned in the Essential Guide, and there are numerous other omissions. Nevertheless, the EG is one fabulous work, and we Commander and Chris Craft collectors and fans would be "up the creek" without it.

Therefore we can't take issue with someone who says they have a 1965 boat like this. Perhaps it was sold at the onset of the model line, say in December of 1965?

In any case, NAVILLUS is one great looking "almost Commander" hull, built in the same plant at Cortland New York as the 19' and 23' Commanders, and a host of Lancer and Corsair models too. Larry hails from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, so some of you guys on The Forum might see this one out fishing. With the three boats in this post alone, we have about 4% of the total production.

Stay tuned, photos in the morning.

Regards,

Paul

Here's Larry's "almost Commander" home port of Grosse Pointe, MI. The boat looks to be in quite good shape, clamshells are potmetal and pitted and I understand he sanded them down nicely, prepped them and painted them white. The price I got for rechroming mine was $175 each due to the need for flame soldering repair prior to chroming potmetal. I was lucky to find some good ones. Front seats have been replaced, no wonder because the original CC configuration is rather strange and seats five up front. Talking with Larry on the phone, he is an older gent who loves boating and loves to fish with this one. He remarked about the sound of the V8 when trolling, and said the boat will get up and go. He's running a 13x13 prop. So here's proof there ARE some of these still out there, a well built product if cared for properly, able to endure the test of time, changes in politics, fuel prices, global warming, market spikes and valleys, and a whole host of design fads along the way. Still a good looking and good performing boat. Thank you Larry, for sending in these photos, and yes indeed, we do hope to see you at Huron. Wow, maybe he'll bring this boat Dang, I might have to drag mine up too? Would be tough flying in from Denver to pull that one off.









Regards,

Paul

Vintage 19' Chris Craft Corsair
G.M. 283 V-* Chris Craft Marine Engine
asking $3,900 (#3 out of 70 Made)
**As Is - Running Condition
*On Site
http://www.southcapemarine.com/home.htm


It is interesting to see another one on the market, becuse these particular boats are quite rare these days. There were only 70 made in 1966 and another 10 in 1967. This one, being a salt water boat, probably has a lot of pitted hardware but I'll bet the basic hull is still sound. I'll also bet the stringers are cracked.

What is interesting about this one, is the fact that I paid $3900 for mine. By the time I got mine to Nashville, paying the shipping charges from Medina NY (up on Lake Ontario country) it was a $5300 boat, but that's okay because it had a nice trailer too.

Then came the new transmission, new manifolds, $1500 worth of upholstery, all new floor structure, restored instruments, all new steering gear and cable, new shaft and bearings, a few props, new glass, radio, GPS, depth sounder, antenna, the need to disassemble the seat structure and rebuild, a fully rebuilt floor structure with Nautolex covering, new motor box, new fuel filter system, new fuel pump, new freeze plugs, $800 worth of rechroming, reinforced stringers, fully cleaned and painted bilge, new bilge pumps, and before I knew it, I easily had a $10,000 boat on my hands that did not include any of the labor time I put into it. Since I'll bet I have 500 to a thousand hours on the boat, at a $20 rate that would add another $10,000 to $20,000 to the price of the boat.

What this all means, is you better like the project you are spending time on, because you'll never recover the cost of the time (and equipment) you put into the restoration unless it's one of those exotic Barrett Jackson kind of boats or cars that people just go nuts over. This Skiff is ultra cool, we love it, and I have NO intentions of selling it.

They were not expensive boats when manufactured, but they are very good looking, capable in rough water, and many have gone by the wayside and have been lost. Now the ones that remain are suffering from the cost I have just outlined to get one back in "as new" condition, and may still be lost.

On my project, I was lured in by the apparent low cost of the initial boat. As the project progressed, I happily paid out the dollars as I went along, not realizing how much it was really taking. In the end, would I do it again, ABSOLUTELY !! It was tremendous fun, and now I have a boat that almost nobody else has, spare a guy on Lake St. Clair and someone in New Jersey! :-_)

I'm sure there are more out there, but they don't show up very often.


Regards,

Paul

Well this is an interesting story allright.

(Former owner) Larry sent me the photos I posted, then he put the boat up for sale on ebay and it sold before the auction was over for the asking price (buy-it-now price) of $8500. After the sale the new owner called me, excited about the boat and discussing how he was going to break the news to his wife. We discussed a few options and the fact that the boat would not fit into his garage, and it may be better off in NC than Phoenix, etc.

Then we find the sale didn't go through, figure the wife found out about the deal and WHAM-O on the big boat restoration project.

Then later, I get an inquiry from Dave, who now has the boat in Michigan and who is a fellow Porsche 928 owner too! We've corresponded several times and I'm confident the #12 1966 Sea Skiff will be well cared for and brought up to a standard better than mine! For you windshield fans, I understand he has removed the windshield, so we can all speculate how long it will take him to get that windshield back on the boat, lol, Greg Mason this includes you, ha.

Not many of these boats out there, and the ones that are appear to be fairly well known. I'm sure there are more, and I'm also sure there are some with a quarter inch of dust on them, stashed way back in a garage, warehouse, or barn somewhere, possibly next to that Packard! After having met Dave via the internet, following up via telephone, I'm looking forward so seeing his progress with the Skiff, and to assisting him in the event he needs info too.

Regards,

Paul

Hello to all;

I'm a new member of the Commander site and recently acquired the Chris Craft Sea Skiff Paul Plechter has been watching for awhile on E-Bay. I wrote Paul privately and have spoken by phone with him and think we have started what I hope will be a long friendship. I live in Harper Woods, MI about 5 miles from where this skiff, hull #GUA200012N, was languishing in a well in the Grosse Pointe Woods MI waterfront park. The boat has about 780hrs showing on the meter and has an original Chris Craft 327F in the engine bay.

It starts up and runs good but I haven't even had a ride in it yet as I was up to my eyeballs selling a 17ft Com-Pac sailboat, trying to get the Chris Craft ready for a Michigan winter and figuring out where and how to store it. At a bit over 8ft high on the trailer it will not clear either my 7ft high door on the garage at our summer home in Garden Michigan in the UP or my fiancee's 8ft door in Port Huron Michigan. Also the bottom of the boat was totally encrusted with baby zebra mussels just to add to the fun. I wound up winterizing the engine on the trailer in the driveway in Port Huron, cleaning the bilge, then took the boat to a local marina where they took it off the trailer and acid washed the bottom 3 times to get it clean. Then it was off to a friend's in Goodells, Michigan to be stored for a few days until the sailboat was picked up by a new owner from Colorado which freed up the garage in Port Huron.

My fiancee know's the way to a man's heart is throught the garage door so she generously offered to let me store the boat and work on it in her garage in Port Huron. Once the sailboat was gone I towed the skiff back to her house and removed the windshield and put it into the garage. So, the hull is basically sound, the machinery is runnable but the boat shows it age and needs a lot to make it right. The original front seats and steering wheel are gone. The wiring is a fright because of the numerous pieces of electrical gear that has been added over the years. Previous owners had no respect for the originality of the boat and have drilled a ton of holes on topside glass to mount compasses, radios, fish finders, planer board mounts, rod holders and on and on.

I have spent a couple of days removing all this stuff including all the gunwale canvas snaps since the cnavas will be replaced and am now starting to fill every hole with Smooth-On military spec white epoxy. I got the port gunwale done today and patched a 5inch long fracure/gouge in the gelcoat where the chine meets the transom. If I'm real ambitious I will go back to Port Huron tomorrow and do the starbord side and the dash. Once the rough repairs are done I will dimple all the repair sites and apply Evercoat gelcoat repair to all the sites. For now the poor thing looks like someone put band-aids on a drive-by shooting victim as there is a piece of green masking tape over each hole to form the epoxy. Here are a few pictures.

Dave






















Edit comment: old photo links deleted, new archived photos of Dave's project have been added to this post. Paul

Congratulations Dave, It's a great looking boat. I bought a 1965 IO, but it needs alot of work. And I can't start on it until I get our 36 foot Commander SF back in the water. That should happen mid next year.
Good Luck and have fun.

Captain Glenn

Dave,

Major congrats for finding and acquiring a rare boat that should be a lot of fun. These are time machines, when you twist the key it tells you immediately "it's 1966" because those are straight pipes with no mufflers, unless of course, the previous owner either specified them to be installed by Chris Craft, or had them installed. From my discussions with Larry, I think you have the original straight pipes which makes this boat sound very husky.

The other day I chased a friend in a huge Sea Ray, who was curling the largest wake I've seen in quite some time. I ran right up onto the crest, held there like a surfer, and then gently powered over and the hull performed beautifully. Dry even without the windshield.

Seeing your photos without the windshield make me laugh. Here I am, with people all over the place now razzing me about the fact that I have no windshield, and now yours is off too, ha ha. The fiberglass classics are going into full swing. We are right there now. Wood boats are cool, expensive, and a lot of them are trailer queens or boat show queens, fewer and fewer really being used daily. ACBS has just recognized boats of 1968 and older as "MODERN CLASSICS" which is a big step for ACBS. I served on their International Board of Directors, Charter Member of their largest chapter, Chapter President, and conducted a lot of boat shows myself over the years, and I can tell you there is an attitude about fiberglass that has been whittled away over the years, still there, but now we're legitimate in ACBS with early fiberglass Skiffs, Corsairs, Lancers, and of course COMMANDERS too!

Our boats have an interesting place in the Corsair Sport Boat history, coming out of Cortland, New York. Ours are the same hull as Glenn's transdrive Corsair, except for the top casting. You'll note these bottom hulls are the same, but the top deck which was glued to the hull at the rub rail, is different on Glenn's early Corsair and our Skiffs. All very cool boats. The one Glenn has appears to be an early (very rare) top casting, it's actually the only one I've seen quite like it. I think the raised nose rail was a feature they tried for a while and then changed.

These were not premium offerings, note the wood grain vinyl dashboard. They were utility models, and that's what I need for my boating style, and they're just easy to live with. The Skiff (and Lyman) designs just look salty. They're reminiscent of many historic Lake Erie boats of the past, the Maine Lobster boats from the past, many purpose built boats that had a nice bow flair for a reason. Nobody in Tennessee has seen anything like it, ha, it's just plain fun to take it out. They're good performers, have a little history associated with them, look good, and are just plain fun. The restoration process was also a blast for me, great fun too.

Keep us posted on your progress, let me know how I can assist. You know I've got a lot of pretty obscure photos of original seat construction,etc., in the event you want to go back to the original style.













How about those engine stringers?
Hey, this is some good action huh?
Sure beats watching TV !!








regards,

Paul

Hey Paul, did you reuse those square headed lag bolts or did you go get some hex head SS lag bolts from Ace hardware?
It's pretty slow turning those in with an open end wrench unless you've got one of those dandy square sockets.

My uncle restored a WW 2 Ford built jeep that had an "F" (Ford script) stamped on every single bolt. By the time he chased all over the country for those fasteners he was a drinking man. Its a good thing CC didn't stamp all their bolts, can you imagine Jerry trying to find original bolts for all his boats! Somebody would have to start a foundry.

Nice boat Dave, keep us posted on progress and have fun!

Greg M

Yes, I looked them over, didn't see anything wrong with them, put them on a wire wheel to clean em up with a shot of primer. Should be good for another 30 or 40 yars. Saw no structural deterioration.

I have a friend who restored a 1995 Chevy pickup truck to Hershy car show standards, and during the time he was refining the truck for a winner, he was marked off because he had a few hardware store bolts showing, ha. He was quite disgusted, but judges know to look for that stuff and they found it quickly.

You are rightm, they turn in slowly with an open wrench!
Low-tech all the way and love it.
This boat is about as simple as a tractor.

regards,

Paul

Hi Paul; For sure I want to go back to the original seat design, was just thinking about writing you privately about that. Any pictures, dimensions, ideas for replacing missing seat back hinges highly appreciated. You may want to E-mail some of that directly so I can salt that away in my Chris Craft files for later reference. I'm still working on the deck fiberglass, beginning to experiment with gelcoat repair. I bought an Evercoat kit and find it pretty awkward to use. The deck gelcoat is actually somewhere between off-white and almond even when sanded through to original tint. Plain white will not match. I just ordered a pint of pre-mixed white from Tap Plasics and will tint it slightly to bring it closer to a match. I've also rounded up a correct gas cap and a period correct Taylor Made remote spotlight that is in near perfect condition. I also found one white rub rail style at Wefco Rubber that is pretty close to the old dried out stuff and attaches to the aluminum anvil shaped substrate correctly, should have that in a few weeks. Thanks to you and all for your interest and support. I really was excited to hear we are now considered modern classics- think my fiancee thinks that's a pretty good description of me too LOL.

Dave...

Yeah, I guess being called a "modern classic" these days is a compliment, for me anyway, lol.

Ahout that Wefco Rubber, please send me a link or reference on that one, because everyone who has a Lancer can also use that stuff. I need some too.

As for the seats, yes, I have all the measurements and you can build yourself a good original set from my info. I'll send you some links offline.
It's my pleasure to assist, boating is one of my favorite endeavors.

Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul; As I stated this pattern is close. I'd suggest no one order it until I get mine and can report how well it fits and works. From their home page pick the tracking and other list and open it. Style 468G has the anvil-shaped opening and measures 7/16" wide at the widest part of the anvil which agrees well with the profile of my sample. Pictures of my sample attached.

Dave

Rub rail Wefco Rubber in Tracking and Other list, style 0468G
http://wefcorubber.com/extrusions_marine_rub_rails.asp















Edit comment: Old photo links deleted, new archived image added. Paul

I looked through the Wefco web site three times and never found the 468G extrusion, and I'm anxious to see if your hunch works, because I think there are plenty of people out there who can use this stuff, if it fits and works.

here are a couple photos of my same extrusion and metal edge, photo taken at aft corner where the chrome piece rounds the 90-degree turn.





regards,

Paul

Today I got a box from Wefco Rubber with 60ft of nice new white rub rail that I am now sure will fit the aluminum rail on my 65 20ft fiberglass skiff. It is different in that it has a wide lip on the top that will lay on the aluminum extrusion and the outboard profile is thicker and round rather than flat with sharp edges. Wefco offered to eliminate the wide lip but I elected to leave it on with the idea if I like the way it looks it stays, if I don't I can cut it off. The internal channel part of it is identical to the original vinyl rub rail. Here are a couple of pictures. I'm 50miles from my boat today but will be going there tomorrow to work on it.

I will take pictures of an installed sample this weekend and post early next week. I've been working steadily on the boat, mostly on topside fiberglass filling a bazillion drilled holes with epoxy then repairing gel coat, just sent a box of instruments to Dale Kocian in Wisconsin for restoration and a box of chrome parts to Rod Graves in Alabama. Beyond that work on topside fiberglass continues and the boat is now nameless as I took the NAVILLUS Class of '65 name off the transom, discovered it was once named PAULINE and will probably rename it SHADY LADY after I get it ready for the water.

Additionally I have been talking on the side to Paul Plechter and now have detailed pictures and dimensions that will allow me to scratch build correct front seats to replace the aftermarket pedestal models someone put on the boat. There's lotsa stuff to do, will probably do the engine stringer reinforcement, need to dig into carburetor, water cooled manifolds, flooring and supporting structure and the wiring which is a disaster and will be drastically simplified and replaced. A busy winter is on the horizon...

Dave...


























Edit comment: Dave's photos have been archived. Paul

It will probably cost more to repair that Morse main housing or a single pitted clamshell, than to restore an instrument. Flame soldering over pitting is a labor intensive process.

Where did this clamshell come from?
It's not stock from the boat. Probbaly added years ago because someone had it in the garage?


GREAT find for the rub rail trim, there are a LOT of people out there with small Commanders and Lancers that could use this stuff if it fits!

Regards,

Paul

Hi Paul; The little clamshell is mounted 0n my boat on the starboard stern over a bronze thru-hull fuel overflow vent. See picture below It was gooed on there with the same sealer I found on the factory installed cleats, fuel splash collar and exhaust rings and installed with brass screws so I suspect it came from the factory that way. See attached picture. There is another nylon thru hull just in front of the clamshell for a stern mounted bilge pump.

Dave...

My boat is 7 boats older after yours and it has no signs of a device like that, nor have I ever seen one like it. It would appear to have a function, however, if you look inside and see the severe upward link on the connecting hose, there appears to be plenty of uphill piping to keep water from getting into the fuel tank from that vent.

That clamshell looks like it came off a boat 10, 20 or more years older.

Just my opinion.

Paul

I will look at the hose routing tomorrow morning. I can eliminate it if you think it should not be there. If you are pretty sure about it I should tell Graves not to plate it.

Dave...

Hi Dave,

I'll bet it's brass, from an older model Chris or other brand. Personal opinion is, "Chris Craft didn't install a clamshell like that". Someone obviously thought they would be out in such rough water that they should do that to keep water away from the fuel overflow vent. Optional equipment is sometimes in order, such as an oil cooler if you're towing something heavy routinely. Some of the other guys should chime in on this one. Personally, unless you're going to be out in really heavy weather, I'd leave it off.

Regards,

Paul

I'm awfully glad you spotted this Paul. I sent a note to Graves and told them to stop work on this part only for now. If someone makes a compelling case that it belongs on the boat I can send it back to Graves when I send my windshield stuff down. Maybe I saved enough to offset the $150 worth of historic documents I am ordering from The Mariner's Museum.

Thanks.

Dave...

Photo below is how my project turned out, I elected to sand and paint the potmetal part with a silver mag wheel paint from Eastwood, with clear coat. So far that's given good service with no signs of wear. I found my control stalk in a parts bin at the Mt. Dora Boat Show flea market a couple years ago, ten bucks. Yeah, I know I'm repeating myself. Just a good opportunity to compare similar details. You know all these cut-outs and overlays for controls like this were all done by hand in the shop. These boats were hand built in the true sense of the word. No chopper guns!





Below is Country Music Super-star Alan Jackson's 19' Commander FIRST GLASS, at our YC in Nashville a couple years ago, note the same MORSE control system.

Hello to all; I think I have won the big battle with the topside fiberglass. The first few pictures below are where I started from. I want to bring this boat back to it's original simple production condition. There were just so many holes drilled on the topsides, gunwales were worst between planer board platforms, downrigger mounts, rod holders, Billy Bass decals, 2 sets of canvas snap locations if not 3. The instrument panel cowl top was also riddled with holes for compasses, fish finders, radios, antenna routing holes etc. Added to that there was a 6 inch long void in the gunwale gelcoat down to the fiberglass roving and another below the waterline at the aft end of the chine rail very close to the bottom. I took all the extra stuff off including all the snaps, cleaned, filled and sanded the topside glass then used Tapco gel coat to repair all the voids. There were so many of them on the outer vertical edge of the and top surface wear points that I finally rolled those surfaces from the aft end of the windshield wings to the stern. That leaves a textured surface but it is durable, one color, easy to grip and free of holes or discolorations.

Dave, Please stop right now.

This work looks way too good to be posting here.

It makes me look like a slacker.

You are gunning for me, hoping to have "the nicest Sea Skiff of all", and sadly, I fear you are on the way.

Actually, all joking aside, the work you're doing is classic, fixing the sins of a previous owner or three, and ohhh if someone were only there when whomever it wss pulled out that electric drill. In the past people have seen me write about using restraint when they think about cracking a can of paint to lighten up that dark mahogany interior like it is a low cost condo on one of those make-over TV shows. I try to hide the disgust, but quite honestly some of the butchering I've seen on classic boats is disgusting. On the other hand, seeing what you are doing is uplifting, and all I can say is MORE POWER TO YA !!.

Years ago I saw a Hummingbird fish finder cut into the dashboard of a wood Chris Craft speedboat (it was a Sportsman Utility, I use the term "speedboat" generically). A few years later after quiet ridicule and somewhat concealed gasps from onlookers, the owner of the boat finally showed up with properly restored instrucments and a nice original looking dashboard. We were all thrilled, and so was the owner of the boat.

Keep up the exquisite work!

Regards,

Paul

Paul- You are no slacker and you showed the way. Everything I have been able to address was done by you, before me. Remember the greatest form of flattery is duplication LOL. I only have the one boat and Ford posted a $1B profit today which means I can stay retired for awhile...

Here are a few other items and a few questions...

The engine in this boat appears to be the numbers matching original 327F as the port manifold plate carries the correct engine serial number according to the hull card copy I got from Mariner's. The only way it is not is if someone swapped it out and put that manifold back on to make it look like original. Is there a way to match the engine serial number stamped somewhere on the block to the Chris Craft engine assembly serial number on the manifold tag? Where is the block serial number stamped?

I also looked at engine stringers figuring I would have to figure out how to get the engine out of the hull to repair and reinforce the wood stringers. But alas as shown in pictures below someone, maybe even the factory already installed 1/8" thick side plate reinforcements. They are a little different than yours as the inboard plates cover about 2/3rd's the length of the stringer including front mount area then extending aft and outboard plates cover about 2/3rd's the length of the wood stringer including rear mounts and extending forward(I may have the coverages backwards but the point is neither plate covers the whole length of the stringer). I can not find any sign of fracture and a less than scientific quick check of engine alignment suggests it is very good or not far out as even with a less than 1 season old cutless bearing the propeller turns very smoothly with light force by hand, no signs of any change in effort to turn it in any position. I will of course eventually disconnect the coupling halves and do the 0.002" feeler gage check.

Also heard from Graves and my plating is done and on it's way back today.

See pictures of my new instrument panel project. Mine will differ from your in that mine is built up with 1/8" mahogany strips laminated over a 1/8" piece of very nice birch plywood obtained from the local hobby shop. I made the mahogany side same size as original masonite piece and let it overhang birch plywood about 1/4" all around as after it is finished and fitted I will reinstall the aluminum trim around it.

Last of all I got a little time to look at my windshield and most of the anodizing is pit free and intact. Restoring this windshield will still take some work but think it will be pretty original looking when done. It is missing 1 vent regulator arm, thumbscrew and bracket. all the chrome plated hardware needs to be plated as it is pitted and dull. I also have 1 broken front glass and the plexi sidewings need to be replaced. There are some holes and stripped fastening points to deal with in sidewing frames. It also gets a new windshield wiper.

Wiring is the hot rivet now and I got an old Craftsman 10" cast iron table saw in the garage that needs some help but I will go get some marine plywood and start in on front seats, vent covers, etc. soon.

Dave...

I may have an extra couple of vent regulator arms sitting around. I'll post a pic later. If you can provide a good home for them, they're yours - gratis

Eric

Whether they are the right part or not thanks a ton for the offer. I'll be anxious to see them.

Dave...

While these are really a nice quality chrome plated brass, I found a better (for me) solution and don't need them.




If they look ok let me know, we'll figure out a way to get thm to you.

Eric

Hi Eric; These do appear to be the right parts. I am leaving Detroit in a few minutes to go up to Port Huron and work on the boat. I will make a very careful comparison and send the length of mine so we make sure I'm not taking parts that someone else can use and I can't. Then if you would send me an E-mail at dkrugler@msn.com I will send shipping address. If you tell me what your shipping cost is I will take care of you if we do this so you won't be out the shipping. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your kind offer.

Dave...

They may be short, the ones for the Skiff are 11-1/2" as I recall.

Regards,

Paul

Umm...

Guess what I worked on today.

Did anyone bring marshmallows?

Dave

Why do people (always previous owners) seem to do such ratty wiring jobs?

One time I set out to organize the wiring at the helm of my big boat. I traced wires and if the didn't seem to really do anything I either cut 'em or spliced 'em. At the end of 8 hours, I had filled a 35 gallon garbage can with wires, clamps and inline fuses (always a bad sign) and everything still worked! Go figure.

Eric

First I'd like to say a hearty "thanks" to Eric Jensen who is sending me some windshield parts I need. Parts worth a few bucks, willingness to lend a helping hand, not only Eric but Paul and everyone else on this website who has sent a kind word to me about the Sea Skiff... priceless.

I've had quite a bit of experience restoring factory wiring on mostly hot rod cars where people have made simple wiring systems untraceable, unrecognizable and just plain messy. I'm kind of a neat-nik anyway and nothing makes me more upset than not being able to understand why some electrical function doesn't work. I quipped about bringing the marshmallows in my previous post because the wiring was so hacked over on the boat that it was a floating firetrap. Not only was the added wiring poorly done, high current connections to a couple of cigarette lighter style accesory plugs fell off in my hands as soon as I turnd over the control mounting panel they were installed in, but the original wiring connectors are suspect in many cases because the wire itself is frayed almost completely through right next to the attaching terminals. One example was the battery feed to the ignition switch. As soon as you look 1/2inch back down the original wire harnesses they are as sound as a dollar (maybe that's a bad comparison these days but sound as a Euro just doesn't sound right). They just need someone to solder or properly mechanically crimp new connectors on after trimming off the frayed ends. I have the basic factory wiring diagram to work from and now that all the added stuff is gone it has become simple to identify which wire does what and where it is supposed to go. I will replace all the switches and probably the overly simple original fuse block which consists of a piece of plexiglass with 4 inline fuse holders on it with one that has enough fuse holders to service the necessary added safety equipment like bilge blower and pumps a horn and windshield wiper with a centralized fuse panel so I am not looking all over the boat to find them. I will take pictures when I have something more constructive to show. Before I start I will take a picture of the now empty back side of the instrument panel to compare to the ball of wires I originally encountered.

Dave

Hi Paul; One mystery I have with my wiring you may be able to put to rest. The factory wiring diagram shows 2 wires in the main harness marked "Temp Gauge", a red one which comes from the temp sender on the engine and a lavender one that also appears to come from a temp sender on the engine. The wiring diagram also clearly shows a separate temp gauge which our boats do not have, we have a temp idiot light which is part of the oil pressure/ammeter gauge assembly. The physical main wire harness has a red temp gauge wire that comes through from the sender near the thermostat cover up to the dash then has a couple of panel lamps someone crimped on the instrument panel end of. The lavender wire IS in the main harness but is cut off very neatly flush to the end of the harness cover jacket at the dash end. It is such a neat job that I suspect the factory cut that lavender wire off because it is not used on our boats. Do you recall anything like this when you worked on your boat? Did you find a lavender wire cut off on your main harness? Is the temp idiot light circuit simply a lamp fed from the + buss bar under the dash through the red wire back to the normally open sender on the engine which shorts to ground on overheat to complete the circuit and turn the hot light on?

Thanks...

Dave

Yes, I know about the idiot light system on this particular boat.

Like an idiot, I decided to "be" an idiot and not hook it up.

Functionally, it serves NO purpose what-so-ever for me. I would never see the little light anyway.
I will most likely hook up a temp gauge in my lower console, or hide one facing up on one of those lower foot panels, somewhere where it will not detract from anything. I may use an alarm bell, but would rather see the gauge than hear the alarm going off, maybe both. Right now I am running cool with no gauge and no idiot light. Ignorance is bliss!





The photos above show what my under-dash looked like, but since then I have had to replace the entire rack and pinion assembly, so mine no longer resembles the original condition in any way.

Regards,

Paul

I have a 1956 17' Speedboat with a transplanted 283 (actually a 327 block) flywheel forward installation that I put in, from a little newer Chris Craft. The boat got a 283 in 1959 so my old style Hercules gauge would not reflect the dual idiot light system, but that motor has a sending unit on each manifold. I noticed my restored gauge has an idiot light on each side of the gauge, but I seem to recall the 327F only has one sending unit.







In any case, mine are not wired (yet?) and that's just one more thing I have not done, that I will tend to later

regards,

Paul

Paul- I'm using a basic wiring diagram I purchased from Mariner's Museum. This wiring diagram's title block says it is a

"BILL OF MATERIAL"
"Chris Craft & Sea Skiff runabouts with
single screw Chris Craft 283 engine"

"Basic wiring diagram 1966 models"

dated 3/9/65.

The revision block lists 2 changes,

"A: Ign feed was 14ga" dated 7/6/65
"B: Feed to ign fuse was 14 ga" dated 7/13/65

Both items are 12 ga as shown on this drawing.

The engine diagram states it is a Chris Craft 283 engine and it does show 2 temp sensors, 1 on each side of the manifold. Since the 327F only has 1 they undoubtedly just cut the lavender wire off so they could us a carryover wire harness.

TMI

Dave...

Hey now I'm wondering if the 283 was the old style flywheel forward or the 283F. Anyone who got one with the flywheel forward got the one that won't scoop bilge water, but they also got the old style tranny that ran off oil common with the motor sump.

I have one of those in my wood speedboat, it is a hotted up version and it will run faster than Matt O'Donnell's twin carb Lyman (just seeing if he's paying attention, you know how slow those Lymans are).

Paul

Gee Paul; Your dash looks clean compared to mine before we started and it also looks like yours had that same rectangular saw-cut dash on the right side that mine does. I'll sort thru the idiot light thing, if I only run it after dusk maybe I would notice if it came on eh? Thanks for the info.

Dave...

Hello to everyone. Hope you all had a good weekend. The weather was beautiful in Port Huron, MI and I spent a good part of the weekend re-wiring my skiff. A few of pictures below will be repeats to refresh your memory of where I started from with wiring and instrument panel. I wound up completely gutting the instrument panel, pulling out the fishfinder transducer, Xintex sniffer sensor and some precarious wiring for the 2 bilge pumps. I installed mostly new switches, a 6-fuse panel that handles everything on individual fused circuits except the 2 bilge pumps. I was able to use a hot-bus + feed for the 6-fuse panel. For these bilge pumps which run automatically on float switches and have a manual overide I put in a second 4 fuse panel downstream of a 3 position panel switch that is normally off and can swith on either both pumps on automatic or both pumps in manual overide mode. Each mode then requires it's own 2amp fuse times 2 pumps equals four 2 amp fuses. I used Ancor marine grade tinned wire and elected to solder all terminals on the wires then cover exposed termial sleeves with shrink tubing to make high quality durable connectons. I'm not quite done yet as my horn and searchlight are still in boxes and will stay there until I do one final sand and wax on the topsides. Then the horn and searchlight will be installed. Connections to these items, bilge blower and pumps will include installing a good quality terminal strip near each of these accessories to make neat serviceable connections between the accesory item and the end of the duplex wire that feeds them. I will also campaign the trim tab wiring which can still be seen drooping down along the starboard hullside. I wound up removing the incorrect swivel front seats and taking up front floor and starbord aft trim panel and floorboards out to work on this project which will lead to hull cleaning, replacement of floorboards with new Nautolex covering and new vinyl for trim panels and fabrication of correct front seats.

I'd like to know also if anyone on the Commander's website has or knows where I can find either or both of the following switch identification tags, these are the round chrome tags that are installed under the panel trim nut that tells what the switch function is. I need one that was used on Chris Craft boats that says "SEARCHLIGHT" and I know there is another round tag that may or may not be a Chris Craft part but it says "HORN" on it. The searchlight tag was used on constellations. I saw one of each of these on E-bay in the last few days, both part of auctions for instrument panels that started with initial bids of $50 and $90 which is more money than I care to spend on them but my panel won't be complete until I can find these 2 tags to complete it. If anyone has either of these and is willing to part with it I will gladly pay a fair price for the tags and cover cost of postage.

Thanks...

Dave

Dave I have a couple old dash panels laying around I will look to see if I have what you need. I should be able to get to the shop later this week.

Max

Hi Max; Thanks a ton for looking for me. If you have any of these please E-mail me at dkrugler@msn.com so we can work out payment and I can pass you a shipping address. Thanks again!

Dave...

Dave I wasnt able to find any for spot light or horn on the parts dashes, The horn looks as though it may have had a sticker instead. All of the dashes I have have a matching sticker but I will keep looking through hardware boxes to see what I can dig up.In the meantime checkout http://www.classicboatconnection.com/boat_supply_catalog.htm Page 21 they advertise that they have them for 20.00 oh well less than 50 right

Hi Max; Just for kicks I sent an E-mail to Joel Lemanski who was already getting a couple of replacement clamshells chromed and digging up some correct seat hinges for the seats I will eventually build and lo and behold he had the Searchlight switch tag. That was the most important one as it will make the instrument panel switch layout look concentric and complete. Sometime if I can find a horn switch tag that would be great too but not a showstopper if I don't. Meanwhile I heard from Dale Kocian and he is Fedexing my restored instruments back today. I also scored a correct aluminum steering wheel on E-bay which will be powdercoated white along with seat hinges when all arrives. Anyhow, thanks a ton for looking for these, i really appreciate the support.

Dave...

Been there, spent a lot of time under the dash of a 1966 20' fiberglass Sea Skiff! I see your steering has been replaced as that is not the original rack and pinion, steering wheel is also not original of course too, but if it works, keep it. I changed out my steering after finding it was totally frozen, tried everything including the flame persuader, wouldn't budge. The rack and pinion were good but the cable was totally frozen up, probably corroded inside. I installed a Teleflex system, but the shaft didn't match the old one, so I had to set the oversized wheel hub onto the smaller shaft using an epoxy bedding. This was done by lubing the shaft lightly and wrapping it with a very tight single wrap of plastic cling wrap from the kitchen, and then setting the shaft into an epoxy bed in the wheel. I used a steel rod at the notch to be sure things never got loose. Once the PC-7 cured up, I removed everything, dressed it up, and now the wheel effectively has a smaller opening that fits perfectly. It is just one more example of how obsessive we can get with these old boats. Fun!

I like the dashboard you did, using the old metal trim, nice.

Your wiring job looks way too neat.

Regards,

Paul

Dave, If you want an original steering wheel they have one and ebay, just search sea skiff it was at 39 dollars

Max

Hi Max; Yes I spotted it I think Saturday when it first went up for bid. I have the first bid on it and have talked to the seller. It is black instead of white, don't know if it was molded that way or painted that way but in any event I will eventually make it white. One mystery for me at least is what kind of center cover did these wheels have on them? I've seen a closeup on a couple of different boats and the column nut is exposed I assume because the decorative center cap is missing? I bet Paul Pletcher knows something about that...

Dave

Better hit the antique boat show flea market circuit.

Reece has one on his 36' TF. I knew the broker who was listing the boat, so before it sold I was eyeing that cap, but alas, Reece got it, ha.


Those wheels are cast aluminum. It makes no difference what the color is. A nice powder coat job, it would be a new wheel any way you look at it. I sprayed mine with an automotive paint, looks good, but it has chipped a bit. Not a problem, will use a better grade next time, only takes a few minutes, may go epoxy paint next time. Easier than driving to the powder coating place and back

Paul

Hi Paul; That's good news that these wheels are aluminum. There is a powdercoat place not too far from me so may just go that route. Do you have a picture of the correct center cap? What is on it, a Chris Craft emblem of some sort? Did you have to modify the column cover to install the old wheel on your new steering setup?

Dave...

Hello to all; This past week was a busy and productive one for the restoration of my 20ft 65 Chris Craft fiberglass Sea Skiff hull #12. Monday morning I went to the local Lowe's home center and picked up lumber to build a 10ft x 10ft swim raft that will be built and launched in Garden Bay, Lk Michigan next spring. The women all are excited that they will have a nice place to sunbathe and consume liquid refreshments and swim. My bigger interest in the swim raft is I will be able to wade out, unsnap the Chris Craft from the mooring ring and walk it over to the swim raft. The swim raft will have a boarding ladder and some of that nice white vinyl edge all around the edges to make a safe place to board the boat from. I'm putting the boarding ladder on the raft, not my transom!

Monday afternoon I paid a visit to Mike Stennett at Nautical Lumber in Warren MI to pick up two 4x8 sheets of 1/2 inch and one 4x8 sheet of 1/4 inch Hydrotech marine plywood along with 30ft of 1x2 red oak to fabricate new floorboards and seat parts with.

Tuesday I received a box from Joel Lemanski at Classic Boat Parts which included a pair of re-chromed clamshell vents to replace my very badly pitted pieces, a "Searchlight" round matching Chris Craft switch tag and 4 pretty nice original correct seat hinges.

A couple of weeks ago a friend of ours, Leo Hein, who owns Hein Construction in Goodells MI donated an old Craftsman 10" cast iron table saw and an older band saw to me to help with the woodworking aspect of the project.

Wednesday I took a friend with me to Port Huron to unload the marine plywood and help with tearing the saw apart that had a thump and ran with a lot of vibration and noise. We also worked together to remove the port side outer trim panels and measured all trim and floorboards so vinyl yard goods could be ordered for trim panels and correct Nautolex white plank floor covering could be ordered for the floors.

Then on Thursday the golden box arrived from Dale Kocian containing my beautifully restored gauges. Thursday evening I loaded my parts and the the trunnion for the saw in which I had installed new arbor bearings and a good set of cast iron drive pulleys into my van and headed for my fiancee's home in Port Huron where the boat is being worked on.

Friday morning I spent working on re-assembling the saw and getting it all adjusted up. It is now a nice smooth quiet running saw to be used for building seats and replacing various wood parts in the boat. Finally after lunch Friday I unpacked the gauges, photographed them and went to work installing them in my new instrument panel. I had a few more connecting wire harness parts to make up and installed all new instrument and idiot light bulbs. I installed my searchlight tag and picked a spot on the starboard bow to mount a nice old Taylor Made spotlight. I had also previously mounted a single trumpet horn on the port bow.

Friday night my fiancee who's nickname "Shady Lady" will eventually grace the transom of the Skiff and I went to Goodells to visit our friends the Hein's. Shady and I share common lifetime tragedies as both of us lost our first spouses to whom we were happily married to catastrophic disease. I lost my wife in 2000 to complications of connective tissue disease and Shady lost her husband in 2003 to cancer. We found each other 50 miles apart on Match.com and it was magic for both of us, we will be married July 24 of next year and the reception will be in Goodells at the Hein's. Besides owning a thriving construction business Leo Hein has pronounced himself "The provisional mayor of Goodells" and of course we have to go to "Town Hall meetings" in his beautifully finished pole barn to quaff beer, eat pizza, swap lies and play Cornhole.

Saturday morning I got up and had breakfast, then got on the phone with Roy Breymann who manages a West Marine store on Jefferson in St. Clair Shores, MI to order the vinyl and Nautolex. There was a West Marine Advantage members promotion that got me a $40 discount on my order. Saturday afternoon and Sunday were spent policing up loose ends for the wiring. I removed the rear seat structure to investigate the bilge blower wiring and replaced some poor crimped and taped wire connections with soldered terminals and a terminal strip. I did the same for the connection of shunt fuse holders to the duplex cable that takes the shunt feed to the ammeter.

The next project will be a thorough cleaning of the now stripped hull and then I will paint some of the bilge area with gray Bilgekote. I am anticipating a slower week this week as I am hosting Shady and some of my side of the family for Thanksgiving turkey dinner. The boat project will all slow down for the Christmas holidays as well. I hope everyone on the site has a great holiday week.

Dave...

Man all of that looks familiar. Very good looking job you're doing, it's evident you'll be smiling in the springtime. These are very cool boats, we always get a kick out of the fuss people make over ours no matter where we are with it. Get accustomed to rubbernecking, ha.

Regards,

Paul

Hello to all; I trust everyone had a good dose of Thanksgiving and are all fed up with turkey sandwiches by now... My Thanksgiving weekend included a visit from my sister from Pennsylvania who has 8yr old triplets, 2 boys and a girl. 20yrs ago I would have been really excited about that and it was fun but at my age I was glad when they all went home so I could get back to the boat LOL...

The big accomplishments over the weekend were a thorough re-wire of the trim tabs. This included installation of another 4-place fuse block, eliminating a big coil of extra servo wire and associated crimp sleeve connections that were poorly done, installing a couple of routing clips to eliminate drooping wires under the starboard gunwale and providing some slack where wires go thru the transom and were chafing on sharp sheetmetal bilge vent pipes. The decision was made to install the additional fuse block because there are still a couple of pieces of electronics gear to install, the VHF radio and a future Garmin 431S GPSmap sounder combination. After tidying up the wire routing I soldered terminals to servo wires on the end of the wire harness and their corresponding wires on the control box. I re-attached the loose label on the control box and remounted it. Harness to control box connections were joined via a new terminal strip.

Drooping servo wires seen here in far left corner of picture were shortened and routed thru a couple of new routing clips so they are now neatly tucked up under the starbord gunwale over the length of the boat.


Re-mounted controller box. The flopping label was re-attached and taped over to keep it dry.


New fuse block services trim tabs and provides fusible circuits for marine VHF radio, a future GPS and leaves one spare.


Shortened trim tab servo harnesses are re-joined to control box via soldered terminal ends and a new terminal strip.


My worst job over the weekend was washing down the bilge with TSP and flushing with 10 5-gallon buckets of water. After I get it dried out thoroughly it will get a bath in thinner, a scuffing with coarse emery cloth and some gray Bilgekote paint.



Then, yesterday, I started the next series of projects first of which was replacement of the ancient bilge pump discharge hoses. The boat has an Attwood Sahara auto manually overidable pump in the stern bilge and a Rule auto manually overidable pump under the access hatch in the front floor. Of course in the process of replacing the stern pump hose the discharge nipple on the pump body broke off so it went to bilge-pump heaven in favor of an identical new pump. The bow pump appears to be newer and is in good shape. Picture above shows pump end of new stern pump hose. Picture below is stern hose to thru-hull. Bow pump hose is hiding behind the white bow bilge pump wiring in second photo.




Yesterday's second project was installation of an instrument sub-panel I made up to accomodate the control knob for the deck mounted Taylor-Made spotlight. This one is a flexible cable operated light and is period correct for the boat. The only thing I don't like about this light is the cable droops down under the dash. It is in an area that probably won't be a problem but a rod-operated light with a right angle gear driven head would be nice. Oh well, the cable control works nicely with reasonable effort. Also visible in these pictures is another project which was installation of a steering friction brake on the Teleflex helm. It is the little knob that hangs down from the column cover. I was going to fabricate something like this because it was a feature on the original boat's steering system which is long gone, probably for the same reason Paul Pletcher had to replace his steering system, a frozen up cable. Just for fun I did a Google search on steering friction and lo and behold I found out that for the princely sum of $10 Teleflex offers a brake as an accessory for the rear mounted steering system and the slot for the knob screw is already molded into the standard column cover. Paul- get on your knees buddy and look at the bottom of your cover and you will probably see a slot! Installation requires removal of column cover and the metal faceplate and replacement of the nylon shaft bushing with a different bushing that extends up the steering shaft and accepts a clamp ring that the friction knob screws into. This took about 20 minutes to install.




The last project for this week was I decided now was the time to install those wierd bilge vent inlet frames before I forgot and installed reupholstered side trims at which point there is no access to the mounting nuts behind the fiberglass. The frames were among many parts I sent to Graves plating and they are beuatiful now. I elected to replace the original chrome-plated brass mounting screws which had machine nuts, flats and locks behind them with stainless stuff and self-locking nuts. These are not fun to get the nuts on and tightened even with side-trims and vertical fiberglass vent ducts removed. They sure look nice though...




Last monday I picked up a 40lb roll of yard-goods vinyl and Nautolex flooring from West Marine. I re-habbed an old Craftsman 10inch table saw and bought the electric stapler and Monel staples. I still need to pick up some outdoor carpet cement and screed from Home Depot but that's on my to-do list. I will probably start by rebuilding the front floor structure as Paul did with his as mine is wobbly.

Happy boating...

Dave

Dave,

Updates like this affect others more than you may realize.
These updates really do inspire other people to jump into projects like these!

By the way, I went into convulsions when I saw your wiring job, because it looks so much better than mine.
I will refuse to ever let you look under my dash.

Regards,

Paul

Dave,

When you screed the glue on, you will be laying down ridges and valleys, ridgetops will be wetted glue adhesion and valleys "could be" the source of a future air bubble due to air trapped inside. To fight against this I screeded out the glue, placed the vinyl onto the piece, turned it over and then took a wood block and pressed it onto the surface of the vinyl and dragged it the entire length of the piece, each way multiple times, forcing out air and making sure there was a very tight bond. This forced excess glue out the ends, which was cleaned up. I then flipped the piece over and pulled the vinyl around to the backside where I secured the middle with monel staples.

Go from the middle on one side, to the middle on the other side, and work alternatively to the ends, much like you would torque a cylinder head. This assures you have a nice flat piece that will stay flat. Once this was done, I put my pieces on a flat floor and weighted them down until the glue cured. Maybe an overkill but a darn nice flat floor.

regards,

Paul

Ok Paul; I had read on one of your posts that you used a 2x4 after the flooring was down to smooth it tightly onto the plywood. I wonder if an old fashioned wooden kitchen rolling pin might work even better. I was surprised to see the Nautolex has a thin fabric pad backing on it. I am glad you stated how the stapling should go. My other question is was there some logical way you lined up the plank lines on the higher rear floors to the lower front floor? I lay in bed at night thinking about some of this stuff. I have energy and budget to do a lot of this stuff about once. I try to stick to the old adage measure twice cut once these days.

Who did your front seats down there? I'd love to send my new seat frames to someone who has recently done a set like ours since I do not have the old seats to show to anyone up here as an example...

Dave

Well today's mail brought a packet from the Mariner's Museum for my new 20ft fiberglass Sea Skiff hull #GUA-20-0012N. The engine number is 705576 and it is a 210hp 327F. Think the reason it is titled as a 1965 model might be the ship date from the Thompson Corsair plant shown as 11/15/65. It was shipped to Colony Chris Craft Inc in Algonac Michigan. The official Chris Craft Runabout Equipment Record BSO #38645 was signed by Earl R. Cook on 11/2/65. Factory options included a Taylor folding top and side curtains 06-01-00, cockpit cover 08-07-00, bilge pump 16-09-02 and a windshield wiper 20-04-12. I will probably order a boat owner's manual, engine manual and parts list, wiring diagram and if I can figure out which one(s) might be appropriate a construction drawing. There are no less than 7 trim and decorative styling drawings starting with a master print dated 5-26-65 and ending with one marked Supersedes all previous to Dec 20, 1965 plus 1 side and tip view details. If I eliminate drawings dated after my boat is shipped there are still 5 trim and styling drawings. These are $35/pc so if anyone has any ideas on how to get the most appropriate drawing for hull #12 please let me know. Thanks.

Dave...

........scan this stuff and email it ?

I'd like to take a look



Paul

I see a few minor differences in these boats, all in the trim and attachments, the hulls are the same and I'd love to know the serial numbers.

Mine has the factory installed lifting rings and bow rail. Paul Impellizeri's boat has an aftermarket bow rail and Larry's boat has none.

I did note that Paul Impellizeri's boat has the factory standard masonite dashboard with wood grain vinyl and aluminum trim, and he also has some aftermarket (but Chris Craft) rear clamshells. Larry has the orginal clams, but his are painted.

It would be a real hoot to have these three boats together again, because it is actually quite likely they have seen each other in the past, probably in the Corsair Division manufacturing plant at Cortland New York. It might have been only a fleeting glance over the shoulder, as one of them was rolled out of the plant for shipping. it's quite likely they share gelcoat from the same batch. The Essential Guide reports that 70 were built in 1966 and 10 more in 1967, all with green hulls.

Regards,

Paul

These boats have the obvious design for staying dry in rough water, very pronounced flair of the bow to deflect spray, and a LOT of windshield for added protection. I'll bet the guy from Sea Girt, New Jersey, has had his out in water big enough to make him appreciate the design of the boat bigtime. As for Larry bringing his boat to the rendezvous at Huron, I suppose he could do that two ways, by trailer (easy drive) or by water, the latter looks like about 120 miles by water, which would be fun, but more practical by trailer.

I like the design and the stance of these boats, very high freeboard, boxed look just like the wood Sea Skiffs, and built with a purpose of being out in the chop. I have not seen one of these consciously, but since Sea Girt is not far from me maybe I'll see
Mr. Impellizeri on the water some day. One thing for sure, if I do see one of these green hulls I'll know immdeiately what I am looking at!

JB

Hello Paul

I have a Sea Skiff here in Finland.(photo) I'm very intresting
all material what you have on your boat. Photos and so on.

Jari Seppanen
Finland

Hi Jari, and WELCOME ABOARD, we're delighted to have a Forum member from Finland, and the boat looks great. I don't see SEA SKIFF script on the aft section of the hull, nor do I see CORSAIR, so it is hard for me to tell if it is a painted Skiff (they were all green gelcoat) or the Corsair, some of which came in the red and white. Is your boat painted or gel coat? If it is gelcoat, then it's a Corsair, but with identical hull to the Skiff. I see the cast-in intake vents, which are rare as can be, ha! Don't lose the trim piece for that vent, you'll never find another one! It was ONLY used on this hull, and not many were made.

Please send us a note about power, where you found the boat, how long you have had it, etc. Also, the serial number for this model is located right up there on the front under the nose rail on the port side, and on the very back of the starboard side just under the rub rail, embossed into the gelcoat.

I have always liked the Skiff and Lyman lines, and this boat has a lot of those lines, but of course the older models of Lyman in particular have a very distinctive character all of their own. This hull takes on the character of the later series wood Chris Craft Sea Skiff like the Ranger series, and has the benefit of being fiberglass. It has a hard chine however, rather than the round bilge design of the real wood Sea Skiff, and therefore handles a bit different. Mine wants to lay over on the chine at speed and does not like to make high speed tight turns as needed for water skiing, and therefore I have to slow down in order to bring the boat tightly about. That's a small price to pay, however, for having such a cool boat, and we continue to get very favorable comments everywhere we go with it.

As you can see from my photos, I have yet to install the windshield, namely because it's so much fun running without one, but soon because the ladies don't like the wind in the face quite as much as I do.

Regards,

Paul

Hello from Finland

There is only three small holes.

-Jari-

Jari,

I'll look at my Sea Skiff script and also the Corsair Script, I have both actually, picked up the Corsair script on a lark because we were going to name all the bedrooms in our lake house after a Chris Craft, and I wanted to have the Corsair room, the Sea Skiff room, the Commander, Constellation, etc.

I'll get back with you on this one, maybe upload an image to this post.

stay tuned.

Paul

Hello again

Sorry my language and writing....i hope you understand.

Many thanks for you, when you answer my e-meil.
The story is very intresting with a boat and me. How i found it? Last week, on tuesday, i siting to my office to lanchtime and surfing in the net. I going to finnish netsides "nettivene" it's english "boatsnet" or somethig. I only looks what i find there, is there some interesting. First sides somebody sales the Chris Craft boat a few hundred euros. First i going the google and looks on the photos and i found the fotos on your boats and the storys, how many boats this model is manufactured. What this mean? I call the salesperson and i ask is this the thru. I asks and he answer. All's oukei. I buy the my first boat on the phone and i tell him, i'm coming next saturday on the Nokia , near by the Tampere city and i collect the boat on my home. I understanding, i'm founding the something especial.
Now i have a boat without right engine and transmission, nothing, on the inside. Ebay i find the CC steeringwheels. It's not a right, but...its almoust same model.
Now engine and transmission is manufactured Renault Marine, only 48hp.

Hull number is 088200064N.

I have a little bit a restore with my boat. I need the time and a good nervs....
Some day i run the Gulf of Botnia between the finland and sweden, our small but so beautiful archibelago. I hope.
I sending more photos to you.
....Now you understand, why i need the more photos and knowledge.

I have ask you some questions. Where is pilge pump (emptying) hole on the hull? Right side or left side?
It's rightside on my boat. So, why ask this. Because all pictures what i found the Corsairs, it was a left side.
I don't know nothing on my boat history, how and when it's coming to finland, but i must try research.
I sent a hull number for you and i'm sure it can tell more, what models my boat is.

-Jari-

HI Jari,

Wow, you move fast, and congratulations, you do have something special alright, especially in Finland! You probably have the only one like it in the entire country, chances are very good, and I would be amazed if there was another one. Most of these boats remained in the upstate New York, USA region, with some going to other parts of the Great Lakes, like Erie, Ontario and St. Clair, and Michigan too, and some made it to Wisconsin. We recently became aware of two in New Jersey, on the Atlantic Ocean side. Few really made it much farther than that, from what Ive seen.

Ill look up the serial number when I get back to my reference books, and Ill post the findings. If you look at the aft section of the hull you will see it is a fairly deep V section. Not necessarily a real deep V, but certainly one that is carried all the way to the transom. As a result, the boat is quite happy in the chop. A friend of mine said he had his out on Lake Michigan in six foot seas, and he would just put the rpms on 1900 and let the hull do the work, it wouldnt pound, it just crested the waves and kept everyone dry.



Youll also note the beautiful flair of the bow, something I never get tired of looking at. It is similar to the beautiful flair of a 38 Commander hull, and it is not only a thing of beauty, it is very effective in diverting spray away from the cockpit.


As for the engine, it must go! You may want to send the starter to Reece Ewton, here in Tennessee, as he is looking for one for a marine Renault, and on second thought, you may just want to put the whole motor in a box and send it to him COD, ha (Cash On Delivery). I'm sure the freight would be tremendous!

I see you need a rudder, I can give you measurements from mine, and they are available. Maybe you have yours inside the boat ? The dashboard and steering wheel need to go back to original, in order to give the character of the original boat. You will probably need to use a conservative electric instrument substitution, because these instruments are rare for this model, and the guy who restored mine said he very rarely sees them. If you get some non-fancy plain looking nice instruments, it would be next best thing to searching out originals, but I'll help you find them if you want to. As you may have seen, I took the liberty of doing a custom mahogany dashboard on mine. since the original looks cheap, and it was cheap. The entire boat was never meant to be a premium boat, it was just built of premium fiberglass and with premium proportions!

All of your floor structure will need to be replaced, and if you want me to I will send you dimensions from my boat. The front cockpit is actually a step down from the aft section of the boat. I see your wood stringers are intact, but I do not see if they have been reinforced with a layer of aluminum like I did. They will either need to be totally recut from fir (and I would still add a layer of aluminum inside between the new pieces, or the existing stringers if they are good enough will have to be reinforced to take the pounding you are sure to see as soon as you leave port in salt water.

The boat is intended for a small V8 and I hope you are able to find one in Finland for use. They have no mufflers, although I think you could get them as an option, most people did not. You can hear what one sounds like by listening to this recent video!


With this boat the most fun will be to try to keep it as original as possible, using the same hardware, etc., because it is a rare one for sure, and you will have lots of people giving you comments where-every you go. You will need to find the chrome script for the boat, and well help with that. The boat looks rough inside, but in reality it is not much worse than the one I restored. Since Ive been all over mine I can give you a lot of help with various issues. Thanks again for sharing the images.

Regards,

Paul

The reported hull number of 088200064N does not make sense, look again to be sure.

Could it be the first digits are ORB instead of O88?



First here are the 20' Corsair Sea-V numbers:

ORA-20-001 TO ORA-20-075 (1965)
ORB-20-001 TO ORB-20-070 (1966)
ORC-20-001 TO ORC-20-040 (1967)
ORC-20-2001 TO ORC-20-2035 (1968)

Hull side color for 1965-1967 Red and White.
Hull side color for 1968 White and Red.
All have the "N" suffix due to the fact that they were built in Cortland New York.





Now the 20' Sea Skiff numbers.

GUA-20-OO1 TO GUA-20-070 (1966)
GUB-20-001 TO GUA-20-010 (1967)

Hull side color is green, all serial numbers also have the "N" suffix due to the fact that they were built in Cortland New York.


Visually the hull looks like the Sea Skiff due to the vents and clamshells. Color wise with the red and white, it seems to suggest a Corsair. We can not be too sure either way until we check the serial number again, because these boats were so low production and used the same hull, they could have easily changed a few details at any time during the model year. I noted that some of the Corsair models actually had the same rear potmetal (expensive to restore) clamshells, and some of them had a cast fiberglass vent. the photo in the ESSENTIAL GUIDE has clamshells fore and aft, but that photo is not the same as in some of the brochure material I have. Therefore the mystery goes on!

Check the serial number again on the hull, not the paperwork that came with the boat !!

Also look through this thread, there's more in this single thread than you will find anywhere else on the internet about the Corsair 20' Sea V or the 20' Sea Skiff Sportsman.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1170893458

Here are a couple images from that thread








1966 Sea Skiff


1967 Sea Skiff


Note the difference in forward vents and clamshells on these images. The 1967 Sea Skiff photo is identical to the 1966 photo and they air brushed out the vents and rendered in the style of rear clamshell vent you have on your boat and mine too. Since they only made 10 Sea Skiffs in 1967 it did not warrant a dedicated photo shoot for the marketing brochure that year!


Now for some fun, check out the windshield and side rails (optional on the Corsair Sea V), the boat below is wood, built by Thompson (under Chris Craft recent acquisition). It is VERY clear where the fiberglass Sea V and Sea Skiff came from, they probably pulled a mold off one of these wood boats. This is right at the time when Chris Craft was acquired by NAFI (National Automotive Fibers, Inc) and then Chris Craft bought out Thompson, and they called the boats Thompson Chris Crafts, as a matter of fact my Sea Skiff has a Thompson/Chris Craft sticker on it, and all the original seat cushions had Thompson Boat Compay of New York on them.




Regards,

Paul

Hello everybody...

...and a lot special thanks to you.

ORB 200064N is right hull number. Boat is Corsair.

I'm sure i need for help to you. I have to be going forward step by step and clarify my boat history.

Now, i'm going to jazz happenig...Ranta Jazzit... "Beach Jazz Happening" in english

See you tomorrow.

Jari

I got a nice telephone call yesterday from Richard Duane who is the second owner of a 1967 20' Corsair inboard. The boat was used as a taxi to an island cottage, and it sat out for quite some time and needs work. The motor is shot and Richard is replacing it with a 220 hp Chrysler 318, which should make a good motor for this boat. Very interesting details, however, as we were going over the finer points of restoration, we discovered the vulnerable wood motor stringers of the Sea Skiff design were REPLACED with hollow fiberglass box beams just like the Commander in this series of Corsair.

I had to repair and then reinforce my wood motor stringers, which spanned from one fiberglass abuttment to another, never getting into the wet zone, but becuase they looped downward toward the bottom of the boat they exposed the grain of the wood in a very vulnerable way, causing mine to crack. I heard CC actually had a retrofit for this, not sure, but I think CC offered aluminum reinforcing just like I devised on my own, for my Skiff. Richard won't have to worry about this because his motor stringers are fiberglass with embedded steel mounting points. Interesting, and we do learn something every day.

The Corsair uses the same basic hull with very minor differences, to my 1966 20' fiberglass Sea Skiff. With this particular fiberglass motor stringer improvement, the 20' Sea V is an improvement and a more durable boat for restorers and collectors. As Richard gets into his restoration, he has promised to send photos, and I'll drop him an email to be sure we can follow up on this one!

Regards,

Paul