Chris Craft Restoration

[my69chris]

Hi Everyone~

I have recently acquired a 36' 1969 Chris Craft Cavalier and am just starting the process of restoring it. My fiancé is rebuilding the motors and rewiring the electrical on it, but I am doing the facial and structural aspects. The bottom has already been redone, so my question today is about the decking. When we purchased it the original decking had been cut off and replaced with untreated plywood. So, my first duty is to work on redoing the front decking before we get too much moisture in the boat. I would like to do the white fiberglass over marine grade plywood with a teak runner down the center of the deck and finish with the original wood teak guard in a natural finish. I am not sure about the fiberglass? Also the top deck has a coating on it that looks like canvas over wood (is that right) that I would like to strip and put on the same type of fiberglass coating. Does anyone have any suggestions for me? I need to get some reference materials! Any guidance would be much appreciated!

Thank you!
Amy
If God had wanted fiberglass boats, he would have planted fiberglass trees.

[yokebutt]

Amy,

You certainly need to seal up the exposed plywood pronto, but you already knew that. If you want the teak details to be flush with the surrounding deck, you'll have to raise it up, marine plywood covered with epoxy resin and glass should work for that, in fact, laminate the exposed plywood with epoxy and glass to begin with. Epoxy doesn't tolerate UV radiation very well, that's where the white paint comes in.

Good luck,
Yoke.

If God had wanted wooden boats, he would have planted isotropic trees.

[PAR]

Your boat came with a canvas deck of traditional methods and the substrate was untreated plywood. If you're doing a restoration you should maintain the original materials and methods employed by Chris Craft, who were pretty good at it.

If you've not a lot of experience in laying deck materials (canvas or the 'glass, if you go that route) you may want to hire out the finishing of this job. It's not hard, but does require some experience to do reasonably well, certainly in a restoration.

If your hardtop is planked, then you must use canvas, the way it was, but if it's plywood (likely) then 'glass here will work too. You should practice the techniques and methods in these large areas, on smaller areas (like scrap pieces of ply) to get a hang of the materials.

Epoxy and 'glass work (what you'll be using) is all about procedures and setup. Once you get these things down and feel comfortable with them, then the epoxy and rubber glove time is minimal effort. The real time is the setup and having everything where it needs to be, according to procedure and techniques used. This is where the experience comes in. Your first few epoxy runs will be a mad rush in a Chinese fire drill and a lumpy, gooey mess, but you'll get the swing of what the materials need from you and figure it out. Learning in place on the foredeck of your yacht generally isn't a wise way to do things.

I guess I should ask, what type of "restoration" would you like to do? Is this an investment, a show winner, a real clean but not white glove or just a clean up to putter around in, that can show blemished finishes, un-straight canvas seams or wavy 'glass on the deck? A glassed deck will not fool anyone familiar with Chris's, but if the "sort of look" is all your after, many have chosen this path, mostly for the maintenance reasons over plywood only.

[dr.j]

Amy,am I to assume that you are planning to strip out and replace your foredeck,or are you merely looking to spruce up what you already have? If you are planning to glass over the existing deck,then you must ensure that you are using the correct product. If the old deck has been left exposed and uncovered for a prolonged period, then it is probably contaminated to the point where you will have to deal with it before you consider applying anything over top. Glass or epoxy do not bond well to greasy or oily substrates. No amount of scrubbing will entirely remove all contaminants.The white fiberglass that you refer is probably gelcoat applied over the fiberglass. Are you intending to install teak over the whole foredeck, or just the king plank and at the margins? Perhaps you could provide some accurate photos from up close and from a distance. As has been previously stated, redoing the foredeck, or any task for that matter, can be done if one has the knowledge, skills, and equipment to perform the job. I am not a big fan of covering anything with fiberglass or epoxy if I can at all avoid it. I feel that wood boats should stay wood. As concerns the boat deck, if it is canvas over wood, then it is just as easy to use the same material to replace the old one. Of course you have many options, it is only a matter of time, labour and materials costs if you are planning to do the work yourself. Do not be discouraged by those who tell you otherwise. It is your boat and you can do with it as you please. Repairs or even refits can be done with relative ease if one has the time,knowledge and wherewithall.

[wdnboatbuilder]

i would have to agree with Riccelli. the white glass is probly canvas. if anyone is interested i have a 1960 18' riv. r-18-960 hull number. if youyr deck is in need of new glass or plywood better check those deck beams. good tool would be a nickle by tapping on the wood listenning for hollow spots

[seven up]

Hello my69chris,

i wanted to make some comments about your restoration/repair on the 36 Cavalier.

the side decks i found to be 1" thick solid oak covered in resin soaked canvas up to the foredeck at the cabin corner where a 1/2" marine fir was used to the forepeak. the upper deck or bridgedeck was covered with the nautolex white with black stripe marine floor covering over 3/4" marine fir substrate. the stern fishwell used the same nautolex. the underside of this nautolex has a canvas appearance. our crew removed the canvas from the side decks, forepeak and elsewhere with an ice melter and bbq tank. a large water supply is a required precaution for fire...and it has to be watched and checked for serveral hours after. the nautolex on the bridgedeck is still there.

dynel polyester cloth gives the visual impression of canvas covering but is applied with your favorite resin.

the hull sides are 1/2" ply with a paper type substance fused to the outer surface...for smooth finish i guess. the upper ten to twelve inches of the hull sides are a seperate piece the length of the boat.

the bottom ply is 3/4" and the keel is solid striped mahogany.

these plywood Cavaliers were built fast compared to planked Chris Crafts...even the cabin mouldings use bronze fasteners.

at any rate how's it goin ? it's been a year. got any pics ?