1955 CC Hurricane Restoration

By the looks of that engine I hope it floats.

Waldo

Looks great. Just in time to play with your new boat in a few weeks.

"End of the woodwork". Congratulations Alan, that is quite a milestone, especially in consideration of all the woodwork that went into it. No small task as 23 pages times 30 posts per page will atest.

nuff said   

sure has been amazin' to follow this up to this point. A milestone for sure..but lotsa fun stuff for us all to watch still to come.
Thanx for taking the time to share all this with us.

john

Thanks for the compliments everyone, sure has been a long road to get to this point. I have "for the most part" had a good time working on the boat, have learned an awful lot along the way about wood boats, woodworking and myself. Most important thing has been the patience it takes for a project like this. Like many here this is truly just a hobby and has to take a back seat to everyday life, a typical week gets me one day to work on it so the process is painfully slow.

Next up will be stain and cpes, then I plan to get the sides painted to the waterline and get the deck primed and painted. I "think" my next logical step would be to get some mechanical work going,ie: Underwater gear, steering, fuel tank dropped in and then of course drop the engine in and get electrical run. That's a pretty good list right there.

I still have floors, ceiling planks, dashboard and interior to think about, sorry to say guys but we're a long ways from seeing water yet.

I'm saving the varnish for next winter because I really need to set up a clean environment for that and I'll probably empty the garage over the summer, clean up and fashion some sort of temporary clean room.

I do have a trailer and for the sake of saving money I plan to strip and rebuild it as opposed to having a new one made, it really just needs a little work and then a sandblast and paint job. Depending on progress next winter that may be my spring project.

Anyway, it's been fun and I will keep the photos coming as I make progress, thanks for the support.

Can't wait to see what it looks like with some color!

Alan, It just keeps getting better and better !! I always can't wait to see if you have posted more pics from the weekend !

Lakeview wrote: What a unique Correct Craft to restore Alan-you are a "true" craftsman-Congratulations!-For us wood afficionados out there,can you disclose your project budget in general ? Looking forward to your next post of Photo's

Thanks, on the budget I don't have a problem disclosing that. Some will think it's a small price to pay for a classic and some will think it's crazy so.....

I set a $20,000 budget on this entire project from the very beginning. That includes the purchase price of the boat, motor, trailer and all materials to rebuild it. Labor was never a factor and is for obvious reasons not included. To date I have spent $16,500, I figured spread out over 5 years that would work for me. The remaining major expenses are interior, gauges, rebuild the trailer, wiring. Most other major items have already been procured so I really think I'll be in at budget which is really just a self imposed goal.

I have no idea what the real value of the boat will be when done, what ever someone would pay for it I guess that is not a concern. I will probably try to insure it for around $30,000 but may get it appraised before hand.

If you're going to do one of these boats you must start with a low cost boat, I would not imagine any wood correct craft would be worth more than a few thousand if original bottom is still on it. I paid $2000 for the Hurricane but that included a lot of extras and $1600 worth of chrome plating had already been done so I thought it was good start. By far my largest single expense was the Hemi engine which I didn't have to buy but couldn't resist! LOL My thinking on that was I had to spend $3000 plus rebuilding the 327 Grey that came with it or drop a little bit more on a rebuilt running Hemi so it made sense to do that. The value of the Hemi alone was a good addition to the boat.

The boat will be getting stained this weekend, it is bleached, final sanded and ready to get color so I'll post some new photos this weekend. The color sampling I've done so far looks awesome, I can't wait for saturday morning.

Jim, a Capri is one of my favorites and I actually believe the Hurricane is sort of Correct Crafts answer to a Capri. Similar styling even though the Correct Craft incorporated painted plywood instead of bleached Mahogany they share many similar features.

What a fun step to see, very cool.

Alan - Thanks so much for sharing photos of your work. Your boat is definitely a work of art. I think I remember you saying the varnish application won't happen right away. Does the stain lighten up if not sealed right away?   Just curious . . .

Steve it's Interlux 573. Chris Craft Mahagony

Chris, It will get sealed within the week. Still not sure if I'm going to use Interlux sealer or CPES. Going to do a small area below the waterline tomorrow with CPES and see what it looks like, if I don't like it I'll go the tradional sealer route.

Jeff first ride is free if I get one in your separator!

Ditto what jbear said....WOW!
BTW do you still have the 81? or did it get sold?
Was thinking of your boats, 55, 81, 2011(12?). About every 30 years. Pretty nice cronicle of CC boatbuilding.
1955 was the year of my birth, and the slant back stern reminds me of my 93 Sport, so that Hurrican is very cool for me
Of course, then there is the Hemi

Wow It is looking great !! It is going to be a masterpiece !!