swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

burroak

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Mar 29, 2007
Messages
651
Re: swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

Beautiful boat!
Whatever you do, don't glass it! Wood lasts because it can breath. Fiberglass will seal it temporarily and then cause it rot. I had a '68 Owens 26' that sat out of the water for the winters. It dried right out and when the summer finally rolled around I just launched it. Yes, the bilge pump was busy at first but within a week it had sealed itself up.
Congrats... I'm jealous!

If I were speaking of what most of us on this forum know to do, I would agree. Not for the same reason, however.

This seems to be the correct approach for such a valuable boat as TD's prospect.

http://www.star-distributing.com/howtoguides/drybilge.html
 

sankanother1

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 26, 2007
Messages
129
Re: swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

Tashasdaddy.Did you get your hands on that beautiful c/c yet?I sure would like to see some pics.
 

tashasdaddy

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
Joined
Nov 11, 2005
Messages
51,019
Re: swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

still dealing with idiots.
 

cougar1985

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 7, 2005
Messages
1,023
Re: swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

there,s a small boat builder up here that makes wooden boats though the biggest i think is 18 or 19 foot.i have recently come into possession of one of these boats(cedarstrip)its 50 years old and the bottom was glassed from the factory (maybe later).the wood on the bottom is perfect!it all depends on what you want from your find i guess.if you plan on keeping it why not use a epoxy coating on the bottom?you can always strip it off later if you plan on selling.now my previous wood boats, and there were a few,were all fresh water boats and the method i used ,because they were trailered was to fill up the boat with a hose and let them swell over a few days.keeping the boat covered when not in use will also help the varnish to stay it,s original color and not darken.thats a very pretty boat by the way.
 

scoutabout

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Oct 14, 2006
Messages
1,568
Re: swelling a wooden Chris Craft?

Gorgeous boat ,td! Definitely want to see some pics and maybe hear a soundbite of her underway.

On the subject of swelling it up I have also seen guys leave them launched but still in the slings of a Travel Lift for a couple of days -- I guess so they can sleep at night without nightmares!

Also check the stuffing box and maybe consider a splashguard as described here:

http://www.docksidereports.com/stuffing_boxes.htm
 
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