Restoring Chris-Craft Boats to their Original Beauty
So, I started removing the many layers of paint. I use a heat gun to remove the many, many layers of paint. After removing the layers of paint, I start to see an image in the underlying coats of paint; something in red and it definitely showed marine at the end. Removing the paint from the top deck was especially …
Here she is…my Gage-Hacker! She was used by Lake Patrol on Lake Geneva. Can you believe someone took this beautiful boat and painted her?! Not only was she painted white and red, but she had been painted several times. The paint was probably a quarter of an inch thick. At some point in time, they added driving lights to both …
Gage-Hacker built about 25 boats of the 22-footer between 1961 and 1967. Most of them are still in use on Lake Geneva today and many of them are still in the hands of the original purchasers. Five of the 26-foot boats were built. Each was unique in some way. One of them had twin engines and was built more heavy …
Gage-Hacker only had two models of boats in early 1958. The Gage-Hacker 22’s length was 22‘6“, the beam was 7‘5“, freeboard forward was 37”, freeboard aft was 25”, draft was 24” and built with a V8 to 240 HP with a fuel capacity of 40 gallons. The Gage-Hacker 26’s length was 25‘10“, the beam was 8‘3“, freeboard forward was 42”, …
This is the next boat in line, a Gage-Hacker, and I’m very excited about this opportunity. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. So, I would like to tell you about the history of this boat. The designer was John L. Hacker, a boat designer for the navy, who was internationally renown and identified with speed since the early 1900’s. …
I first saw this 1951 Chris Craft Holiday in a warehouse in Michigan back in early 2012 and just loved the look of the old girl. Talking with the owner over the next year, we agreed on a price and I was able to purchase her in August of 2013. It took me a couple of years to be able …
Last fall I had the opportunity to deliver one of my boat bars to it’s final destination. What a great spot for it to end up. It’s perfect and looks right at home. The pool was just installed, and it is nice. I installed an LED bow light with a remote control that turns it off and on and even …
The engine was rebuilt with new valves, pistons and rings. The carburetor, fuel pump, alternator and generator were completely rebuilt. I also converted the system from 6 volts to 12 volts. The engine was sandblasted, primed and then painted Chris Craft engine blue. The teak floor needed a lot of love. It was in pretty bad shape. I gave it …
Both boat bar structures have been built out of treated lumber so they can be used indoors or can be left outside. Please keep in mind that I can custom build any bar to your specifications for interior or exterior use. I started planking the outside of both boat bars with the old original exterior planking from a Chris …
Now that I’m waiting on the interior for the Chris Craft Holiday boat to be done, I wanted to do something with the reclaimed wood I saved from it. So, I’m building two vintage boat bars. They both will be weather proof and will be a great focal point around a pool or out next to the lake. The first …