...1938 Chris Craft...

[ParadiseRoad]

...Double Cockpit Forward Custom Runabout...

...this is a nice one...

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3hD-9Mk3Sg[/ame]

 

[Salty RI]

Nice biat in 1954 my father bought a 18 ft Centry with a Chysler 300 engine.

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[pawngal]

Every summer there is a wooden & classic boat show here in Okoboji.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kwWNHsgTz4"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kwWNHsgTz4[/ame]

 

[gman51]

Back in the 70's my landlord had one almost like that. His didn't have the covered deck behind the rear seat. That was a really good boat. That boat rode the water like a Caddy rides the roads. It was nothing for that boat to pull two skiers with ease.

 

[Rudi]

They don't build 'em like that anymore!

 

[cherrypointmarine]

Rudi , that's for sure ! Those were floating works of art . I'd hate to see what a nice rebuilt one goes for these days .

 

[rockquarry]

My dad and his cousin owned a Chris Craft very much like the one in the photo in the early to -mid 50s. Had a four cylinder engine. Very heavy boat for a 17-footer I presume because they had a tandem axle trailer.

For those familiar with Dallas, they kept this boat in the White Rock Lake (in the middle of Dallas) boat house during the warm months and used it for skiing and a little, probably very little, fishing.

Very pleasurable boat that required a lot of hull maintenance as I recall in the off season while it resided in our garage. City of Dallas finally outlawed swimming and skiing and no boats with motors greater than five horsepower. I think this was around '56 or '57. Seems like there were other Chris Crafts on White Rock lake as well as the one described.

 

[linde]

While in Seattle I visited the Hiram M. Chittenden-Ballard Locks and witnessed the most elegant Chris-Craft I've ever seen . . .

Russ

 

[onebadvet]

Not that I am old, but has a kid I remember going to NH and going out on my Uncle's Chris Craft speedboat on the Lake, and he let me drive it!
It's something I will never forget, how fast we went that weekend on the lake.

 

[ParadiseRoad]

Rudi , that's for sure ! Those were floating works of art . I'd hate to see what a nice rebuilt one goes for these days .

...the one in the video I posted..."Flyin' By"...went for $65,000...

...almost seems like a bargain...

 

[pawngal]

While in Seattle I visited the Hiram M. Chittenden-Ballard Locks and witnessed the most elegant Chris-Craft I've ever seen . . .

Russ

Appears to be a 65' Constellation, Probably worth close to $200,000

 

[Chuck24]

Anyone interested in doing a restoration or research, the Mariners Museum in Newport News has all the old files ,plans and diagrams, also a few nice ones on display.

 

[ACORN]

My wife’s grandfather had a 54-55 Chris-Craft. Cool old boat. Drew some admiring looks when we took it out on the lake. Unfortunately when Pap died we think another family member stole it and sold it.

 

[sureshotbob]

If you want to check out some nice CrisCraft boats check out member dockmurgw's brother Jim's restoration shop in Bristol,Ct. at vintageboatrestoration.com .

I've known the family for many years and they are a very talented bunch.

At the bottom of the page is a fitting tribute to James Murdock SR. that I'm proud to say was a very close and good friend.

 

[soFlaNative]

They don't build 'em like that anymore!

What is the nautical equivalent of "coachwork"?

 

[joe44va]

Thank heaven they don't build them like that anymore. Spent half the time dealing with the brightwork.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Back in my Puppy Dog days,
Knew a Lady MD who had one.
Hers had a Flathead Ford.
Hand Salute!
OMG! When she went full throttle, which was just about all the time,
What a sound!

 

[Salty RI]

A lot of them had Ford flat heads.

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[sureshotbob]

If you think the flat head Ford motor sounded good you should of heard the Wright Tornado V12 airplane motor on the 1939 33' Hacker Craft named the Helen A. done by Jim Murdock at vintageboutrestoration.com .

 

[JJEH]

I've read books about Chris Craft, their beginnings and management changes and their ultimate end. From being the kings in wooden boat design/building to falling behind when the industry switched to plastic.

I like how the current models look and I've used their online boat builder, just to find out I need 3 more full-time jobs and live another 60yrs...

The old(er) ones are very nice to look at and high quality, for sure.

 

[PALADIN85020]

I think Leroy Jethro Gibbs has been trying to build a boat like that in his basement for years. I'm still wondering how he's going to get it out of there when he's finished...

John

 

[JJEH]

I think Leroy Jethro Gibbs has been trying to build a boat like that in his basement for years. I'm still wondering how he's going to get it out of there when he's finished...

John

He'll have Abby figure that one out...

 

[Nevada Ed]

In 1957 my father knew a friend that had a summer cabin on the south end of Lake Tahoe, Calif.

My brother and I would go to the stream in front of our cabin and catch fresh wild trout for them, in trade for a boat ride and water skiing for half a day.
Not saying he was well off but he also owned a "Gull Wing".

Those were the days..........
cold water and hot to warm golden sands to lay on and the beautiful sound of that boats engine
as we zipped across the water, enjoying life. It does not get much better.

 

[625-7]

Clayton Ny

Any of you boat nuts, car guys, outdoorsman with nothing better to do may want to spend some time at the boat museum in Clayton Ny. Along with that there are many other attractions in the area! Google some pics of the museum to get yer motor runnin