Looking to refit a 1987 Chris Craft 178 limited

[John Elliott]

Hi all! Im new here and am looking to gather some information before i decide to make the plunge into a boat refit. The boat Im looking to acquire is a 1987 Chris Craft 178 LIMITED. the areas of Immediate concern are the flooring and stringers/ frames. I've been researching online in order to find out what is involved and the proper method as to how to proceed but have not found anything on this particular model or anything i would consider close. I'm pretty handy all the way around electrical/ mechanical/ fabrication, etc. but i want to make sure i go about this right way and have a plan of attack. Im providing pictures and yes it is very rough but from what i can tell the hull/ deck and aluminum extrusions appear in very good shape. I realize this will not be cheap but i also like doing the work myself when i can and am looking for knowlege and advice since this is my first attempt.

 

[kcassells]

Cool, welcome aboard. After 3 posts you can post pics. You can also copy and paste any time just depends on the size. To get around it make 2 more babble posts then you can move forward with pics.

 

[John Elliott]

Thank you!

 

[John Elliott]

[No message]

 

[John Elliott]

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[John Elliott]

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[John Elliott]

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[John Elliott]

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[John Elliott]

Well..... Is she worth saving? "worth" being a relative term.... or should i run like hell?

 

[Bayou Dave]

Personally, I would run like hell! Looks like she has been out in the weather for many years.If you get her for free you will probably invest at least $5,000 and who knows how many hours of labor on just the boat. Then probably tons more cash on the motor and outdrive.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Chris Crafts of those years were usually OMC powered. agreed that it will cost you about 5-8k to get it back to a safe and reliable useable boat. worth is totally up to you

 

[John Elliott]

Thanks for the replys! The long and short of it looks like I should run like hell haha! I think I'll try my luck building a lumber yard skiff. They seem pretty straight forward and won't be inheriting someone else's problem.

 

[Scott Danforth]

or spend the $2k you would put into a lumber yard skiff and buy a tinny with an outboard and go boating today

 

[CrazyFinn]

Well..... Is she worth saving? "worth" being a relative term.... or should i run like hell?

I'll be the dissenting voice here (every conversation needs somebody who looks at it from another perspective). Or at least encourage you to think about it differently.

Is it worth it? That's something only you can decide. Assuming it costs you $5000 plus countless hours of labour... at the end of it, you will have a boat that is "brand new" in condition, no rot, you will know everything about the boat. Plus you will have the satisfaction of a job well done - something you built yourself. What is that worth to you?

Can you buy something that you will have that much confidence in for $5000 (not including the labour - because we all do this as a hobby)?

No, you will not be able to sell it for what you put into it, and you won't pay for your work - but that's not why any of us do this for!

 

[chevymaher]

Only thing you have to replace I didn't is the foam. I kinda like the boat myself.

 

[John Elliott]

I appreciate the different view points I'm receiving, I'm still undecided. I realize I didn't share my "refit" ideas as of yet. I wasn't planning on flipping/ reselling her. My intentions were to basically start with removing the engine (what's left of it and sell it off in separate pieces and cut out the flooring and examine the stringers/ frame for integrity ( how likely is it that they are still good? Looks like it had it fair share of barnicals indicating it spent much time stewing in the water) replace the stringers if necessary, replace the flooring with 1/2" mdo, lift the cap/ deck from the hull and complete the bow flooring while replacing the transom and converting to an outboard ( used engine) as far as the interior I was going to source some teak and use it in place of the deteriorating pads and cushions and do what I can do as far as freshing up the outside, and just use it. What am I missing?

 

[John Elliott]

The seller is asking 300.00 which includes the trailer.

 

[chevymaher]

So your paying for a good trailer and getting the boat free.

 

[CrazyFinn]

I appreciate the different view points I'm receiving, I'm still undecided. I realize I didn't share my "refit" ideas as of yet. I wasn't planning on flipping/ reselling her. My intentions were to basically start with removing the engine (what's left of it and sell it off in separate pieces and cut out the flooring and examine the stringers/ frame for integrity ( how likely is it that they are still good? Looks like it had it fair share of barnicals indicating it spent much time stewing in the water) replace the stringers if necessary, replace the flooring with 1/2" mdo, lift the cap/ deck from the hull and complete the bow flooring while replacing the transom and converting to an outboard ( used engine) as far as the interior I was going to source some teak and use it in place of the deteriorating pads and cushions and do what I can do as far as freshing up the outside, and just use it. What am I missing?

First of all - make sure you REALLY like the boat, or you will end up hating it, and not finishing it. Not sure what to think of your "conversion to outboard" idea. You will have to figure out how to deal with the cap and providing clearance for the O/B. If you have an outboard already, or easily available, maybe... Personally, I spent many years fighting with, racing and rebuilding old outboards - and am quite happy if I never need to do it again! Everybody has their own preferences.

Just assume right now that you will need to replace anything in the bottom/back of the boat that originally contained wood. That includes stringers, floor, and transom. Get ready to do a lot of grinding and glassing!

 

[boedekerj]

I found myself in a similar situation last year, although I thought that mine was in better shape than yours appears to be. It turns out, it needed a complete "gut" of everything below deck. So far, I'm $500 into boat/trailer. $400 into SeaCast. $700 in wood, cloth and resin. So, I'm $1,600 in, about 160 hours, and (in my estimation) still have about 160 hours and $1,000 more left. So, with all that said, I learned a few MAIN lessons (and thousands of little ones) both firsthand and from more wisened folks here on iboats:
1. A visually "good" boat can very well need a full gut down to the stringers and transom. (Check out FriscoBoater's YouTube "biggest mistake" project.)
2. If you need to do a "full gut" on a boat, it almost doesn't matter how visually great it looked. You're going to be replacing everything on the inside anyways.
3. If you've got to rebuild it, at least you can make it anyway that you want it.

If you want to flip this, to make money on it, run away (or any boat, for that matter, I've heard). If you want a boat you can put some serious sweat equity into, take some pride in, and if done right, you may be able to pass it down, why not? I'm betting you can get $100 for the trailer, $50 for the block. Then you're (worst off) $150 into a mistake. I've made bigger mistakes than that in a shorter period of time.

My 2 cents...
-jb