Chris Craft Constallations; quality of construction?

[Deadwood]

Hello all,

What is the consensus, assuming there might be one, regarding the overall quality of boatbuilding that went into the larger Connies (57') built in the '60's? Have never been able to find anything substantive on the subject. How did the quality compare to that of Trumpy, which is usually highly touted, although I've never seen anything that gets specific about the basis for that opinion.

Thanks.

[gonzo]

They were well built. Some people tutt-tutted at them becase of the low price. Chris Craft lowered their price through high volume, standarization and quality control. Older boats like that, are likely to have a lot of rot. Have a surveyor knowledgeable in wooden boats or a marine carpenter check it out. The bow stem and transom frames are usual places for rot.

[Deadwood]

Thanks, Gonzo. My guess was that they were likely reasonably well built, but wasn't sure. Any suggestions for good sources of information regarding the specifics of construction of these boats? I've looked around on teh web a lot, but haven't been very successful.

[gonzo]

I typed chris craft construction details and google gave me millions of answers.
http://www.mariner.org/library/chris-craft

[Deadwood]

I searched a lot but not that query. What I was looking for was knowledgeable opinions on the quality of the builds. I'll use your search terms and go at it again.

As for the Mariners Museum site, I just discovered that this week. Looks very informative.

Thanks.