Well I was sitting there with an 11 and 12 year old today talking about something we were watching on TV and got a call from Mark Hunter, said he was near Cedar Creek aboard a 31 Commander! I said I'd walk down to the dock and try to flag them down.

Upon reaching the dock I couldn't see a Commander so we started calling out what we could see visually and finally I said "is there a pontoon heading in your direction now", the answer was "yes" and we had just made a positive ID on the boat.

Here they are pulling, we were discussing the water depth on the cell phone at the time.


They pulled in gently and I had a delilghtful visit from these two guys who live here in Tennessee, corresponded with, met with Mark a few times, talked to Dwayne on the phone but never had the pleasure of meeting in person. They arrived in Dwayne's 1972 31' Commander Express, powered with a pair of nicely rebuilt 350Q motors. The Express model, contrary to my parents Sedan, has a similar aft deck arrangement as my 38 Express, just a little smaller in overall dimension.

The boat looked good, work in progress in a few areas like many of our Commanders in the fleet. All the glass and gelcoat looked good. Interesting latter to the flybridge, I had not seen one that folded completely up and out of the way like this one, pretty darn slick. Looked factory but don't know about that. It just pivots at the center span and the entire thing folds up to stowe above.

These photos were taken with my rather poor cell phone camera, I had it on the "wide angle mode" for some of them, so you expert photographers out there please cut me a break.









And then they were off, cruising out of Cedar Creek by the entrance of the yacht club not too far off to the right of the photo. A couple guys out on the lake having fun, Commander style.


I always love seeing a father and son team like this out on the water. My dad got me into boating when I was a kid learning to water ski behind an Evinrude 36 hooked to a Duracraft that had fins and tail lights! Back then, I was already taking note of all the wood speedboats that had that great Hercules sound barking out the big copper exhaust pipes. I trust Dewayne got Mark into boating a while back too. Same goes for the Toth, O'Donnell, and Schrage families is suspect, and the Klokas too. Like father, like son!

Hey guys, it was great seeing both of you, now that you know where we are, give us a call any time. Sorry I didn't have the Skiff up on the lake, I decided to hold back due to the weather and yes indeed, it did cut loose later in the afternoon but I bet you were already in the slip by then. It came down in buckets, probably will be beautiful on the water tomorrow morning.

Regards, cheers, best, don't be a stranger at the docks or here on the forum!

Paul

I have always admired the 31 Express, because its a step into the elegance of Chris Craft yachting, but still small enough to be easily handled by one guy. With a pair of small block V8 motors they have plenty of power, and they are all Chris Craft when it comes to good looks. There are plenty of larger boats out there on the water, but few of them have so much packed into a 31' hull. I think I recall seeing a note somewhere about this model being the one they produced the most of? No wonder!

Dave

I've driven the 31 Sedan version of this hull on a few occasions (327Q power) and they will get up and go! They seem ideally suited to a pair of small block V8 motors. Yes, the 31 Sports Express came with a 427 solid lifter option, but the Sedan and Express were only offered with the small block V8 motors. Of course, you can always do a big block transplant like Don did in the event you need to

I like the hull a lot, they're quick and long enough to not bob like a cork. From what I understand they're pretty efficient on fuel as well. Nice power to weight ratio, a great model with a lot of features packed into a 31' length.

If anyone wants to see one running, check out this link from Don Hancock! A nice demonstration of what the hull looks like at cruising speeds.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/424840/message/1246543758

regards,

Paul

I buzzed the Hunter residence on Station Camp Creek this week-end and there was a nice little 31' Commander sitting under cover looking quite happy. On my way out, I ran into TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) who was busy pulling over PWCs and giving them tickets if they didn't have a fire extinguisher on board, ha. I waited a while, they stayed right there at the entrance to the cove, so I just motored by and gave a polite look, so as to not establish eye contact, and motored right on down the river at a nice planing speed to get the heck out of the way. On Labor Day week-end, TWRA seems to use this as their yearly fund raiser. I'm sure they pulled a few drunks off the lake, so just as well, but a what good is a fire extinguisher on a PWC? Just roll it over?

I motored by the Hunter residence trying not to make a wake too big, which is a chore with the Skiff as it displaces a good amount of water. Nobody fired any shots over my head so I guess they were either looking the other way or I was going slow enough!

regrds,

Paul

It was a fabulous week-end in Nashville. Sadly, I got hooked into doing "other things" all week-end long, and basically watched one of the nicest week-ends of the season slip by. However, I did find the fuel pump on a 1983 928 (don't laugh, it is very well hidden), and I worked on the Bronco tow vehicle, etc., so not all was lost. Now I am really keyed on the next nice week-end, and it will be NICE even if it is raining.

In the meantime, while I was slaving away, the Hunter boys were out on Old Hickory having a big time. They even buzzed our place, we sure wish we were there to say hello. Thanks, Mark, for the photos, looks like you all had a fabulous time.. Your Dad looks good up there on the Command Bridge, what a fabulous way to get the family together!














I can see where the water level is already down a bit from that shoreline photo. Wouldn't affect anything out in the channel, but there are a few places around where it would make a big difference, like getting into Gallatin Marina! I always have a tough time finding the darn channel, and have been in 5-feet of water so quickly it is unnerving, as the under water terrain is obviously a very deep creek channel coming out of Gallatin, but for some reason I always have to "hunt" for it.

Great day, thanks for the pics.

Regards,

Best,

Paul

Hot off the press, more photos in from Dwayne Hunter

"Please see the attached 3 photos which include my grandson Blake Hunter and my first mate Elsie.
We named the boat after her "ELSIE MARIE".










Good looking young man, lucky too, to have grandparents with a Chris Craft!
There is no substitute for growing up on or around the water.
Also, every woman would love to have a nice yacht with their name on it!

You guys captured one of THE prettiest days of the year for that cruise. Good times!

Regards, best,

Paul