Bare bones!

Here we go! No turning back now. The bottom and the 1st. stake topside plank is removed. And for one short, little second, the dreaded thought was there.... What in the hell have I put my self into, but only for one short, little second though....... Then I got back into my dreams of shiny mahogany and flathead six sound over a mirror lake.



No big surprises, just a confirmation that all bottom frames and most topside frames must be replaced. There will be much work in straightening the hull, Improper storage and the bow being exposed to weather for many years has made the bow bend down.



"Dry rot" and frame movement. The chines are totally gone.

And the patient is.......

.....resting comfortably on her back. Ready for bottom removal and hours of leveling and straightening before fabrication of new bottom- and most topside frames.



The entire bottom - transom corner is wrapped in copper flashing, nailed in with hundreds of copper brads. Some kind of window glazing or putty was put into rot voids.

Roll-over day!

After much planning, the day had come for my first antique boat roll-over. I've made lift frames, made my own "Dannenberg light" rollers, brazed the hull and was ready to go. And it went as smooth as can be. With help from my neighbor, it was done in 1 1/2 hour, including setup of frames and rigging.



1/3 of the way around. I could have tighten the 4" straps a little, but just enough clearance.



Everything held up just fine. and ready to roll back into the shop for bottom removal and straightening.

Brazed for success?

The old crocked hull need to be supported before attempting to roll her over. Cross brazing with tie-inn to the keel is installed.



Since I don't have enough roof height in my shop, the boat needs to be moved outside for the roll-over. I installed built inn dollies that will work as support when moved inside again. Take the wheels off, unscrew from the engine stringers and start leveling and straightening.

Boat works, finally!

Most of the other projects are finally done, so now it's time for boat work! Remaining hardware is now out of the boat, ready for some structural brazing for the turn-over.





The "wiring harness" is out, complete with Homer boxes and all. I will save it for future reference use.



Are getting things moving along now. installing brazing tomorrow, and turn-over in the next few days. Ordering White Oak for the frames, and a new bandsaw is already on order. Check back for updates!

Loaded!

Got both the correct K and the KLC engine loaded on the trailer for the trip down the north-east corridor to Van Ness Engineering. David will purchase the KLC as a core engine.

The rebuilding of the K will be done in late August, and I can't wait......

Correct K engine.

I have not been able to do much work on the boat this spring, but I picked up a correct pre-war K engine in northern Connecticut over the weekend. It is correct 1940 vintage, and is ready for complete rebuild. There are many machine shops that do good work on Chris Craft engines. From recommendations I'm in discussion with David Van Ness to work on my engine. Once we agree on cost I will take it down to his shop in New Jersey.