considering chris craft constellation.

Gathering info on early 60's 30' Constellation from previous owners that help evaluate a purchase i am considering.
Details other than keel and planking integrity are what i am interested in.

 

There are many things to consider with the purchase of this era craft. I'd strongly recommend you continue questioning the owners of these yachts, but place much more value in the remarks of a professional surveyor's opinion (one that you hire), on the specific boat you are interested in. There are enough systems and complications, aboard a vessel of this class, to be well above the understanding of even a very knowledgeable owner. Would you buy an expensive used car (a 50 year old one) without having your mechanic give her a real good looking over? There are just too many things to miss, which is why we hire surveyors.

I work on these old girls all the time and frankly there aren't any "deals". Okay, maybe a few, but out of a hundred early 60's Connie's you'll find, at what seems a fairly good price, most of them will need to be dragged to the land fill, maybe 20% will be in repairable shape (though likely not particularly cost effective) and a scant 1 or 2% will be real gems, requiring a little polish. Most folks know if they have one of these gems and value them accordingly. Every so often (a few times a decade) I'll stumble upon a real deal, sleeping under a good tarp in a dry barn for the last 20 years. I look for these types of boats all the time and in my area have a pretty good idea what is available, what will become available (dieing or disinterested owner, etc.) and what has potential if the situation with the owner changes dramatically.

Maybe you've gotten lucky (I hope so), but the odds are greatly against this, which is especially so if you haven't a healthy amount of experience, working with these vintage yachts. This is where a survey pays for itself.