You’re Buying What? A 1947 Chris Craft Deluxe Restored.

by Valerie Stabenow

I grew up around wood boats on Lauderdale Lakes in southern Wisconsin in the ‘60s. Those were the boats to have, but unfortunately, that was not possible for my family at that time.

Fast forward to 2006, living on a lake north of Madison, WI, when my non-boating husband suggested looking for a Chris Craft. I was able to locate one, a 17 ft. 1947 Chris Craft Deluxe runabout, not far away. It was in “okay” shape, but most importantly, was complete and had all his (yes, my mechanical friends are all male), “jewelry”… the chrome vents, bowlight, stern pole socket, and cutwater (a vertical metal piece protecting the bow).

I’ve had a few years of experience with several old British sports cars, so taking on this boat didn’t scare me. After all, there are no brakes, no suspension, and a minimal electrical system.

After the first summer of sorting him out mechanically, a local wood boat shop owner offered me space to redo my boat’s deck and sides. I have refinished many pieces of furniture, so those skills came in very handy for work on the boat. All the deck hardware, the windshield, vents, lights, rub rail, etc. were removed. After stripping all the old marine varnish, I spent hours sanding and fairing (eliminating, where possible, high and low areas). Then came stain and many, many coats of marine varnish along with a new interior (professionally done.)

Two years later, the boatworks again offered me the opportunity to use space at their facility, this time to redo the boat's bottom. Historically, wood boats were put in for the boating season and moored to allow the wood bottom to ‘soak up’ and the spaces between the wood bottom planks to swell and lessen leakage.

All boats leak some, even the new fiberglass ones, but as you can imagine, leaking concerns are more significant for a vintage wooden boat. However, modern technology to the rescue—I installed a ‘no-soak’ bottom replacement through epoxy encapsulated Okoume marine plywood. The engine and gas tank were taken out; then, the boat was flipped over.

I spent three weekends just removing the screws and taking the hull boards off. Several cross-members/ribs were replaced, and I used oak planks from a tree that we had cut down years ago, which was an excellent use for them!

The new Okoume inner hull (Chris Crafts have an inner and outer hull) was fit and installed. The original cedar hullboards under the bottom paint were planed, encapsulated, and put back on.

Nine months later, the new bottom was complete, the waterline and bottom were repainted, and BCWYWF was back on the water. And you may be wondering about his name—BCWYWF—Be Careful What You Wish For, because you are responsible then for taking care of it!