• 1956 Century Coronado
• 1959 Chris-Craft Ski Boat
• 1957 Century Coronado
• 1955 Chris-Craft Capri
• 1966 Lyman Cruisette

We’re always excited to get another Coronado into the shop.  As most of you know, it’s one of my all time favorite woodies.  Good looking, powerful, and one with a lot of usability with it’s open design and capacity for up to eight passengers.  We’ve done many Coronados and this particular boat is just like the one we use at our lake.  And we love it.

The owner purchased this boat from a bank up north that had repossessed it along with other items from some unfortunate soul.  The boat had received some attention along the way, and most of it done incorrectly… as you can see.   She also came with an underpowered Ford V8.  We located a period-correct 331 Hemi which will go in and be a better match for the boat’s performance capabilities.

As always, after documenting every aspect of the boat we roll her over and begin on the bottom.

Oh yeah, the chine splash rails were also shot.  Had to cut and steam new ones. It’s easier to strip and do some rough fairing while the boat is upside down.  Now we’ll roll her over and check out the decks.

We seem to be doing quite a few of these ’59-’60 Ski-Boats these days.  This may be our third or fourth one this year, and we just got another one in a couple of weeks ago.  This boat will go to Texas when finished, even though it comes off a lake in northern Indiana.  She’s going to get a new bottom, strip & refinish, and some other cosmetic attention… but the owner will do the interior and some other items himself down the road.

Now it’s on to rolling her over and starting on the hullsides…

We’re always excited when we get a Coronado in the shop, and part of the reason is my love of these boats.  Please don’t misunderstand, I have a passion for all of these classic powerboats… it’s just that I have a special place in my heart for the Coronados as I own two of them and believe they are about the best wood boat ever manufactured.  

The ’57 was the first year of the new design change in the ’57-’58 models… and they were pretty awesome when they came out.  Larger in length and width than their ’55-’56 predecessors they were still very fast, offered even more interior room, and continued to provide that great ride.  Bottom line… they’re just cool boats and increasing in value every year as more and more boaters are recognizing their finer points. 

A gentleman from Alabama had seen a couple of these on his lake down south, always admired them and then decided he was going to have one.  He contacted us about finding one with the Cadillac power (good choice) and in complete condition.  We looked at more than one before deciding on a boat located up in Michigan.  It had a Hemi in it, but we felt confident a Caddy could be found for power.  We brought the boat back to the shop and started making our list of all that needed to be done… which is a lot.  After pulling the Hemi (which we’ve since sold to another client who’s having us put it in his ’55 Coronado project), we heard Dave Van Ness on the east coast had one.  He did indeed have one in rough condition and is now remanufacturing the motor for this boat.

Ok, enough of the background on this classic.  The bottom was leaking quite badly and part of the reason is fiberglass was laid over the original bottom.  As always, the wood has rotted from the inside out and the fiberglass just started falling off… I mean really (as in literally) falling off.   So you know by now that’s where we start.  When the bottom is done we are going to re-plank the boat, do a glue & screw, new interior, flooring, gauges, chrome, etc, etc.  The only thing we’re not going to do is put back on the hardtop.  The owner does not want that on, so we’re going to put that up for sale in case anyone out there is looking for one.

Ok, Ok… so she needs a little work.  A couple hundred dollars and a few weekends should do the trick.  Oh yeah, will you pass me another pint of Grey Goose while you’re at it?   Actually, we love these kind of projects… the ‘Full Monte’ as we call them.  Nothing is more satisfying than taking a tired ole gal like this Coronado and giving her the full makeover.   Now, let’s get started…

So that’s where the water was coming in…

I think we can re-use most of this… just add a little epoxy.  (Only kidding)

A new bottom transom frame, keel, chines, multiple frames, chine splash rails, etc. were badly needed before the new 5200 bottom could be put on.  May as well do it right the first time, then she will not be problematic down the road.

Now, it’s rolling her back over and moving to the hullside planks.

******UPDATE******

Once we rolled her back over the old planks were removed, battens were replaced,  framework checked and repairs made, and new planking fabricated.

You can’t beat the router method for getting the tightest plank seams possible.  Yes, it does take longer as you need to have the proper set-up.  But once you see the tight seams it makes all that extra effort worthwhile.  Just take your time and do it right.  Be sure to have the proper width spacers and change your router blade every few planks, otherwise you’ll get splintering.

We always stain the decks first, masking off the bottom section to catch any drips.  When preparing your stain, make up 30%-50% more than you think you’ll need, as boats always take more than you plan on.  Then when you have stain left over put it back in one of the cans and mark it for your boat.  That way if you need some later for touch up you’ll have the same mix and it’ll match.  Be sure you have all your rags cut and ready before getting started.  We like to use old varnish brushes for staining.  It’s a better quality brush and makes applying the stain much easier with no shedding of the brush.

Now it’s on to sealing, varnishing, and finally painting the white accents.

We’ve had the pleasure of restoring more than seventy-five of these classic boats, and some models just seem to stand out a little more than others.  The 21’ Capris are one of those extra special boats.  They’re sleek, roomy by runabout standards, pretty quick and maneuverable, and just a sexy boat by anyone’s standards.  The Capris were the successor to the very popular Riviera models.  They still retained the beautiful two-tone finish (blond and natural) but incorporated some attractive design details.  The clipper bow, or bull nose as some call it, tapered rear deck, and most noticeably the sleek wrap-around windshield that gives the boat a much faster and sportier appearance.  I owned a 19’ version and just loved the boat.  The 21’ is a better riding version and provides more room and comfort in the cockpit.  

This particular boat comes from the Atlanta area.  She is really tired and needs what we call the ‘Full Monte’, or in other words…everything.  So, that’s what she’s going to get.  We’ll start with a new 5200 bottom, then move to new hullside and deck planking, complete refinish, re-manufactured power (MBL-158hp), new correct windshield, flooring, chrome, etc., etc.  This will be a twelve-month project. 

Well, once you have the boat upside down you really know what you’re dealing with.  As with most original bottoms of this era they’re just plain worn out.  The photos tell the tale.  We’ll take it off and then see what else needs attention.

Once rolled back over we pull off the hullside planks as there were several short planks and most were badly cracked and thin at the butt joints.  The owner agreed to have her replanked with the glue & screw method so the varnish won’t crack at the seams over time.  It also makes a much stronger hull.  To do that however requires replacing all the battens so the adhesive will be between new properly sealed wood.  Don’t try this with old battens and planks… you’re just asking for trouble.

We’ve always had very good success with our plank cutting method for achieving tight seams, but we’re always looking for new and better ways to do things.  So, I took the guys up to my buddy Don Danenberg’s shop in Michigan and he gave us a lesson on the ‘routing’ method for cutting planks.  He even allowed us to try it out on his own ’39 Barrel-Back he’s redoing.  Yes… we did hold our breaths in fear of having the router run wild and put a huge gouge in the wood.  But Don, the ever-patient teacher, gave us very good tips and showed us how to fabricate the router base to achieve the best cut.   

We could not wait to get back and try it out.  We purchased a new and very hi-quality hand-held router (or laminate trimmer), made the base and then tried it out.  Well, I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.  The plank seams were… ah, perfect.  And it’s simple as well.  We had a little learning curve, but before you know it we were cutting the planks roughly to shape, clamping to the hullsides with spacers and then trimming the plank edges to match the lower plank.  When we removed the spacers and clamped into space it was a perfect fit… no buts!  We removed the planks, sealed with CPES and then glued the backs and edges.  The final result was outstanding; I’m a little embarrassed we had not been using this method earlier.  I give Don the credit for showing us… so thanks!  A little Captain Morgan, dinner, and some good cigars conveyed our appreciation.

******UPDATE******

It took some time to properly fair the hull, but once finished it turned out fantastic.   As always we begin with 40 grit, then 60, 80, and finally with 100.  All the fairing occurs with the 40 grit, all the other subsequent grits are really just to remove the scratches of the prior grits.  Continue to press lighter and lighter with each grit.   Then we move on to the decks.  We had originally planned to only replace the blond sections which were terrible, but once we striped the decks it was pretty clear they would also need to be replaced.  Multiple cracks, misplaced bungs, enlarged deck seams, etc. makes it necessary to replace the entire deck with new ribbon Philippine mahogany.  We used clear Philippine for the blond sections, which is a little less grainy and lighter in color.

When doing the blond sections where the blond extends from the rear cockpit down through the engine hatch and rear deck, we use one continuous plank to have the grain consistent throughout the entire rear deck.  It makes a very nice appearance.  It may take a little more time but the result is always worth it.  It’s also necessary when cutting the edges of the plank to do so with a 5% bevel to allow for the crown in the decks and get that tight butt fit.  If you don’t you’ll end up with seam cracks, which will ruin the appearance.  Once we have all the woodwork completed it’s time for final sanding (remember, no more than 100 grit) and then we make sure the hull is cleaned off.  We like to bleach the boats, which will uniform any inconsistent colored wood and/or bungs and make for a very consistent color after staining.  It takes a little time to properly mask off the blond areas and then we mix our stain.  It takes us about two hours to stain.  Be sure to allow at least two days after bleaching before staining, otherwise you may get some very ugly discoloration around bungs and other areas where the bleach may take a little longer to dry.  Let the stain dry at least another two days before applying sealer.

Below is right after bleaching.  We use a two-part furniture wood bleach that you mix 50/50.  After mixing allow to sit for about ten minutes to establish its potency then apply with a foam brush.  Always start at the bottom and work you way up, otherwise it will leave drip marks that may not come out.  Move fast and make sure you get as even of coverage as possible.  The boat will look wet for an hour or so before it begins to turn white.

Getting close now…

“Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful trip, that started from this tropic port, aboard this tiny ship.”  Yes, that’s right…it’s the first line of the ballad from one of my favorite TV shows from the 1960s---‘Gilligan’s Island’.  This Lyman is actually one of my own boats.  I have two close boating friends that each have one of these fantastic boats, and the first time I saw it I thought, ‘I have got to have one of these’.  They’re large; twenty-six feet long with more than eight feet of beam, a V-berth, head, sink, ice box, counter space, a dining table, and this one even has the hardtop with ventilating windshields.

Jan and my favorite kind of boating are on river cruises.  You get to run your boat for long stretches, the scenery is constantly changing, and you get to stop at all kinds of interesting places.  So, as we want to do even more of this type of boating Jan asked me to find a Cruisette so we can do more cruising with some female-friendly amenities (i.e. indoor head).  As luck would have it I did find one near Sandusky, OH where the Lymans were manufactured literally sitting in a field left to rot.  Although she was in pretty bad shape it was something our shop could definitely handle.  As soon as Jan saw the white boat she exclaimed, ‘Hey, it’s the Minnow!’  And that’s how she got her name.  Now everyone who visits the shop refers to this Lyman as the Minnow (as in Gilligan’s boat namesake).  Actually the boat on Gilligan’s Island was a 1964 Wheeler…but so what?

Lymans are not all that sexy as far as classic boats go, but they are without a doubt one of the most under-rated boats ever produced.  Everyone I know that has one swears by them and would never consider parting with their lapstrake boat.  The Lymans, probably more so than any other boat, has a rightfully earned reputation of handing even the roughest of water with great ease due to its steep entry and over flared forward hullsides.  Its lapstrake design also does an excellent job of keeping everyone dry.  This is actually our first real experience restoring a lapstrake boat, so we’re on a little bit of a learning curve here…as they are a completely different animal that the standard caravelle planked boats were accustomed to.

Much to our pleasant surprise we found absolutely no rot in the marine plywood bottom.  We kept poking around but just couldn’t find any.  Frames were another matter, however, so we steam bent a bunch of those and replaced as necessary.  The bottom wood was just too good to replace, so we decided to keep it.  We soaked the hogged areas with water for two weeks then made some reverse clamps from the interior and worked the hogs out with little effort and allowed to dry for two weeks.  When we removed the clamps the bottom straightened out and kept its shape.  Whew!  I really did not want to replace it if possible.  The keel fin was just worn out, so we made a new one of those as well.  We replaced some fasteners, sealed with CPES after sanding down, primed and painted.  Now she’s ready to roll over.  Already I can hear the ‘Minnow’ saying, ‘Thanks, my back was killing me and I feel better already’.

******UPDATE******

As with most boats…this one has turned out to be much worse that originally thought.  The shelves are rotten, not to mention most everything else related to the decks, we we’re replacing most everything that has any question to it whatsoever.  While we’re at it we’ve decided to beef up the forward deck frames, and replace the decks themselves with a double-layer of 6m Okume and then 4m Sapele mahogany on top…which will make for a beautiful topside.  The transom took one entire 4x8 sheet of Sapele marine ply as it’s so large.  The progress is slow, but we are making progress.  Hope to have the woodwork completed by the holidays.

Uh, it’s really true…we are making progress.  Only a thousand more hours and she’ll be ready to launch.

******UPDATE******

As you know, this Cruisette is my own boat…which means it hardly gets worked on.  That being said, my goal is to have her in the water some time this season.  We are making some good process.  The decks and transom are all done and we’ve got one side all faired and primed.  We’ll need to do some additional work on the hullsides, but she’s getting there.  Mike is working on the interior cabinetry, replacing with Sapele for a more attractive look.  With any luck (and I mean any luck), we’ll have her ready for staining in 6-8 weeks. 

******UPDATE******

Slowly but surely we’re making progress on this great boat.  All the woodwork is done and finished.  Now we’re waiting for the engine and interior.  Stay tuned…