The staff at the Resort Boat Shop wanted to show our customers what a complete restoration project looks like from start to finish, so during the coming months, we’ll chronicle the restoration of a 1946 Chris-Craft Sedan Cruiser. In the blog posts, we’ll detail challenges, successes and what to expect when you work with our restoration team. This is the third installment of the series. Previously, we discussed the scope of the project.
Since winter is one of the best times to complete maintenance on a boat, we’re using this winter to restore a 1946 Chris-Craft Sedan Cruiser. During the past month, our team has performed an initial evaluation to determine the degree of the restoration project. The initial evaluation is a pivotal part of the restoration process for each boat, no matter the size of the project.
“We have discussed the feasibility and scope of the project with the owner, and with a happy heart, we are moving forward as hoped and planned,” said Jim Brown with the Resort Boat Shop.
The project is starting to take shape. In the first step, which you can see in the first photo below, we prepared the hull to be rolled over by removing the drive train, engine, shaft, fuel tank and most of the entire cabin interior. In most restoration project, we need to flip the boat over to work on the bottom of the boat. Sometimes, we can physically rotate the boat by hand, or many hands actually, but other times, we need some special mechanical help.
After installing a temporary interior framing for stabilization, seen in photo two, we lifted the hull between two hoists. We used specialized straps — photo three — to carefully maneuver the hull to an inverted position and then stabilizing it on cribbing to keep the wood boat safe.
After surveying the extent of the damage on the hull of the boat, the team at the Resort Boat Shop determined the chines and the keel need replacing. To do so, we are in the process of cutting through the bottom laterally and removing it in large sections — the final photos.
Interested in seeing how to remove and rebuild a damaged frame? That will be the net part of our project! We’ve had some great successes so far and overcome a lot of challenges. The boat will only continue to improve and take shape from here.
Do you have a challenging restoration project? Contact us today to get started.
