Lost Key for Chris Craft Boat

[Aquaman-PSD]

Hey all, I went with a friend of mine last night to pick up his new old boat. He boat an 84' Chris Craft 18' Open bow recently restored. the interior is obviously not done by a professional but still looks decent. the exterior is decent but was painted... ANYWAY! we went on a test drive friday and it ran fine but when we went to pick it up last night the PO had misplaced the key... can't say it hasn't happened to me! So they agreed to knock $500 off the price and give him a week to find the key before we put a new ignition in it. My question is what would it take to either have a key made or to install a new ignition in this boat. Can you even have a key molded for a boat this old? Or maybe Chris Craft would be able to send the code for cutting a new key. Any thoughts? Just for reference here is a picture of the boat, he got it for $2700 after the $500 rebate. I think it was a pretty good deal for a recently restored boat. Would be a heck of a deal but..... DUN DUN DUN!!! OMC outdrive!!

 

[BRICH1260]

Re: Lost Key for Chris Craft Boat

My guess is that he is going to have to replace the entire keyed ignition system under the dash. Doubt you will find a key for a boat of that year.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: Lost Key for Chris Craft Boat

Just put in a new ignition cylinder/key and call it good. You can find them at any marine store for cheap ($20-30) and it takes less than 15 minutes to install on most boats as access to the underside of the dash is usually pretty easy. Here is a link to the iboats selection of ignition switch sets:

http://www.iboats.com/Boat-Ignition...0023375--session_id.311847443--view_id.216622

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Lost Key for Chris Craft Boat

Replacing the switch is the easiest way to solve the problem.

If you want to stay "Original" for any reason, Take the switch to a Real Locksmith at a Real LockShop, Not a Hardware Store.
They can re-key the lock for $5 to $10.