Any good wooden CC Corinthian resources?

Salimbag, why are you running this same subject on POWER PROPULSION ??

 

See---www.marinersmuseum.org-------have your boat or hull number ready for CC information.

 

That's the one. There was a survey done about two years ago that put it in pretty good shape, and I think it's been on the hard since, although the marina folks tell me it was in the water last year, which frankly I don't buy. Aside from a small hole in the hull (is this a bad thing on a boat?) behind a damaged splash rail, things seem to be in pretty good shape. The survey lists pages of recommendations, of course. Nothing too scary, just a lot of worn belts and hoses and clamps and the like, some small spots of dry rot around the windows. And it is being left uncovered this winter! Of course, the hull will need to be refinished before it's put back in the water. As to the winterization performed on the boat, I have only the marina's word. I'm generally a trusting guy, which may not be a good idea in a boat purchase.

All in all thje project will be a lot of work, but compared to the half dozen other boats of this type/vintage I've looked at it's very clean. Still, I think Willie's claim that it's in "Great Shape" is being a little charitable.

I placed my original post with a little too much enthusiasm when I said I was "jumping into the project." I should have written that I have every intention of jumping into it if I can work out the numerous details associated with the sale. There's another boat I am interested in in Duluth, but if I can work it out this CC is currently my first choice.

I see you're a midwesterner. Do you know the boat, or did you just see it on the web?

 

Is this a problem? I suspect "powerboats propulsion" and "wooden boat restoration" would each have potentially different readerships, each of whom might be able to help me. And even though neither could (so far) answer my original questions, each thread nonetheless took off in its own direction, each providing unique and valuable information, for which I am thankful.

I also thank YOU for your suggestion regarding Mariners Museum. I had been to the site before but somehow didn't quite "get it." I'll fill out their form now!

 

Others have occasionaly taken issue with some of my postings,
but I would wager that they will take not issue with this statement:

This boat is going to eat you alive.

This boat will chew you up and swallow your money
and spit-out your bones.

I have not seen this particular boat, but I have seen this
particular story many times: Enthusiastic Guy (E.G.) finds
Huge Decrepit Old Boat (H.D.O.B) in back-row of marina storage
lot that can be bought "cheap." E.G can picture himself cruising
up and down the Mississippi River in freshly-painted H.D.O.B. in
a mere 6 months. That's the "vision."

The "reality" is that, in 2 or 3 years, E.G. has morphed into
B.F.E.G (Broke Formerly Enthusiastic Guy) and is looking to either:
1) Locate a fresh E.G. to take this pig (still on blocks in the
back row) off his hands, or 2) has turned-it over to the marina
for unpaid storage. And the marina owner has a call into his
lawyer to talk about wage garnishment for unpaid storage.

You seem to be relying heavily upon the photo-copy of this 2-year-
old survey that you have. Well, a lot can happen to a wood boat in
two years, plus you have no idea whether this surveyor was any
"good" or not, plus assuming he was "good," you don't know if he
was paid enough money to make it worth his time to do a "good'
survey.

Best thing you can do with this 2-year-old survey is to fold
it up into a paper boat; it will most likely be a more "seaworthy"
boat than the Corinthian is.

Since you have apprently not actually bought this boat yet, the
smartest thing you could do would be to walk away from it without
looking back.

The second smartest thing would be to find a surveyor with
extensive experience with wood boats, and pay him $600.00 to
$800.00 to do a thorough survey on this pile of C.C.C.W. (Chris-Craft
Cord Wood.)

If you are the least bit concerned about writing a check for $600.00
to $800.00 for a really thorough survey, then that is a very good
sign to stay away from an old wooden boat of this size and complexity,
as writing checks of $600.00 to $800.00 frequently is a prerequisite
of ownership.

If you have to have a wooden boat "project," find an old Chris-Craft/
Trojan/Owens or similar single-screw 25 or 26 footer, pay someone
to haul it to your house, so you can work on it any time you have
a spare hour or two (with no yard sotorage fees) , and don't
plan on havng it in the water for at
least two years.

That's my opinion.

And I always have one.

 

WoodButcher is 99 % correct. You have a better chance of becoming the president of the USA. It is that bad of a endless repair job. Know when to say NO objectivly and LOGICLY. You can do a lot better. I still look at big old boats. We all do.

 

Response to Woodbutcher regarding doomed boat project

Oh, I have no objections to your post. Well, a modest objection, and that objection is that "Enthusiastic guy" does not necessarily equal idiot:

I have seen the boat. I have been on it a dozen times. I have crawled all over it inside and out. I have unscrewed access panels I could barely squeeze through and dove into every corner of the hull with a headlamp and a digital camera, crawling on my belly like a spelunker. I have modest knowledge of wooden boats, but moreover I have a cousin in Long Beach CA who sells yachts, and would rate as a foremost expert - a REAL expert. He regularly buys and sells wooden boats for his own use, preferring them, (he just picked up a 40-year old 29' wooden sailboat for $4000 that he is personally restoring), and he is involved in the decision making. I have purchased every book I can find on pertinent issues, corresponded extensively with dozens (West Epoxy and the Rot Doctor are sick and tired of hearing from me) about what this might take. I have dragged poor unsuspecting souls who have some knowledge of boats to come check it out, and am hounding people on forums like this.

I may have been misleading in that I may have made it sound like the purchase was a "done deal," I didn't think that revealing precisely where I was in the buying process was that important in this quest for information. Let's call it an "almost done deal." Notice I am buying all the manuals and information for the boat NOW before the purchase, and will have another survery done (This is for insurance. I'm content with my cousin's opinion for purchase). I am spending hundreds on the decision-making process before I buy. I'm OK with that because even if the deal doesn't go through I am having tons of fun learning all this.

Boats like this are a "bargain" because they do require a lot of work (I have no intention of paying anything near the asking price). I can do most of the work myself, which I enjoy (hard to believe), fully expecting to substitute my time (and that of my poor unwitting brother in law) for money. I fully acknowledge that there's a chance that your predicitions of disaster will pan out. All I can do is to take every precaution in hopes that it doesn't, and be willing to accept my fate if I am wrong and you are right. Such risks are inherent in any "good deal." But I bet I'll persevere.

So, let's see what we have: Cynical Presumptuous Old Fart (C.P.O.F) condescends to Middle-Aged Conscientious Cautious Potential Boat Buyer Who Although He Has Modest Experience With Boats Has Undertaken Numerous Other Ambitious High-Knowledge Projects Like Experimental Aircraft and Home Construction (M.A.C.C.P.B.B.W.A.H.H.M.W.Q.B.H.U.N.O.A.H.K.P.L.E.A.H.C.), trying to discourage him from what could very well be a disastrous enterprise. And C.P.O.F. is right to do so. But I think those people who have objected to C.P.O.F.'s posts in the past might prefer if he first questioned whether they were approaching the deal smartly rather than assuming they weren't.

The reality? We don't know. Who knows where (M.A.C.C.P.B.B.W.A.H.H.M.W.Q.B.H.U.N.O.A.H.K.P.L.E.A.H.C.) will morph. But if a year from now he does morph into a happy (although probably nonetheless exhausted and broke) boat owner C.P.O.F owes him a beer.

 

Let me stick my neck out, with your money. If you find a big old boat RUNNING and LOOKING GOOD in the water, that is JUST old. And then passes a tough, close and detailed inspection that will cost less than 1/3 of your honest maximum funds. BUY IT NOW. ------------Is that a reasonable deal guys?

 

Thanks. This is all good fuel. Incidentally, hello. I'm writing this this from Rutgers.

 

Jersey burned up most of it's marine fire wood years ago. You can look at our other boats a lot closer.

 

When an electronic ignition equipped outboard goes bad,it dies,right there,right quick.There is nothing the operator can do at sea unless he carries spare modules.When a point system acts up,the operator can do a dozen things to get the thing running again to get back home.This applies to older outboards that came with conventional point systems.It also applies to older inboards of any ilk.Would I change my new Yamaha to points?No.Would I change my 1955 Johnson 25 to electronic?No.

 

I agree totaly. Carry a spare Thunderbolt distributor and coil. That is my quick fix. Fuel-- I still need a spare 2002 Merc. 2 bbl carb.

 

An outboard and an inboard systems are very different. I'd like to see you take the flywheel of an outboard at sea to change the points. I continously hear opinions against electronics from people totally ignorant of them. Electronic technicians will use modern technology unless they are restoring something for sentimental reasons.

 

I have never had to replace the points or condenser or coil of any outboard motor . It was always fouled plugs and bad adjustments due to old gas in leaky gas tanks-condensation build up. 2 strokes are much more reliable than 4 strokes. Reason the OB'S have so few problems, is so few parts. Reed and petal valves outlast any OHV valve train, 10,000 to 1. Cork floats sink. Thats in motors +20 years old. Thats it for keeping it running, unless the person takes it apart. If your on a deserted island with a old OB. Guy on the other side is fixing his new 2005 computer OB. Who is leaving and who is staying?

 

Richard: if what you claim is true, outboard parts manufacturers would be out of business. Maybe the guy with electronic ignition wouldn't be stranded in a desert island to start with. If I remember correctly Gilligan had points and condenser.