[ 2010.08.22 ] New Helm / Used Motor

Father in-law rebuilt my helm.
Pic 1 / Pic 2 / Pic 3 / Pic 4 / Pic 5

[ 2010.07.02 ] Seating in and Motor dead

Father In-Law did an amazing job putting in red cedar plank seating!! He put in 3row seating; one stern, one helm, and one fore-helm. With the little ride in the bow area it makes a natural footrest for the bwo seating. Next he has agreed to do the Helm in the same wood to tie it all in and match. It will look AMAZING! On a less happy note, the motor is dead. The rebuilt starter never worked and then the motor started sucking air. Well, maybe it was sucking air before and we just did not notice it. Either way, I'll need a replacement motor for next year.

See the pictures of the new seating here: Click Here

[ 2010.06.19 ] Transom Done and Stripping Interior

Pemaquid Marine sent pictures of the finished transom and I added pictures of the boat the carpeted fishing decking from the last owner now removed. Thanks to my father on-law Dennis for helping me pull everything out and next week he'll be putting in plank seating for me. I had a rebuilt starter put on and the boat should be in the water for the weekend of July 4th. Wish me luck!

See the pictures of the transom repaired and interior gutted here: Click Here

[ 2010.06.01 ] Transom Repairs have started

Pemaquid Marine took some pictures of the Transom. First they started stripping away the outer fiberglass to prepare a patch. What they found was rotted plywood core and nothing to stick the new fiberglass too. So, they gutted the whole transom after letting it dry for almost a month and have started the transom repair this week.

See the pictures of the transom being checked and then gutted here: Click Here

[ 2010.04.22 ] Boat at Pemaquid Marine for Repairs

Pemaquid Marine were very nice and have given me a reasonable quote to get the boat back in the water and reduce the chance of further damage. They might take some pictures of the repair process and if so I'll post them up. Have to repair the Transom extensively, remove all the stuff on the rails, fill the rails and then put a border/rub rail on them. From there we'll run it for the summer and see how we like it. If we do, we'll get it finished up and re-painted.

[ 2010.04.18 ] Original Chris Craft Castaway Ad

Thanks to the nice folks at the website http://www.thehulltruth.com/ I was able to see this original Castaway ad from the 1960s. This is the look I will be shooting for as I restore the boat over the next few years. We'll see how it goes, but it should make a nice family cruiser.

[ 2010.04.17 ] Project Boat Acquired

I'm not sure why I took on a project boat. I don't know anything about working with fiberglass, or boat repair. What I do know is that it is a Chris Craft Castaway and there were only 125 of them made. I guess that makes it pretty exclusive. Now to see how much it will cost to get it fixed up.

[ 2010.04.08 ] Marc finds me a free boat and motor

Marc found me a free boat and motor. He says it is about 16' and send me a few pictures of it. 40hp motor that needs a starter rebuild. The hull has a few cracks and it was set up as a fishing boat. I agree to take it and we set up a date to pick it up. He got the registration and we shall see.