Restoration of Makin Waves

Jeff Horton

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The Heart of Dixie
OK, I have put this off as long as I can but this is my next big project. I have talked about it for years but I am a little intimidated by this one. First a little history.

I bought this as an ugly ducking 20 years ago, refinished and did a few repairs to it. Used it several years and then it developed some problems that I did not feel like I could fix. Problem was no competent boat builder will give you a firm price for repairs because till you open the boat up you never know what your getting into.

Here is the original story about finding her. Makin Waves

Fast forward; Not having a ton of money I was afraid of getting into something I could not afford. So she has sat on the trailer under cover for the last 7-8 years now. I have the skills now to fix it but it still scares me a little, but most important I have the shop space so I am not out in the weather! So I am about to pull her in the shop and start the restoration.

Storage has obviously taken its tole on the paint. But it has been covered so while the interior is a mess, it 95% dirt and just needs a major cleaning. There is at least one and maybe two strafes in the hull that have to removed and partially replaced. 3 or 4 ribs that need to be replaced or sister framed. But while I am at it I plan on replacing some of the bright work that I didn't feel comfortable doing the first time. Previous owner did some stupid things and badly stained the wood by stapling upholstery to the wood, and it that wasn't bad enough he use steel staples which rusted and blacked the wood.. Some of brightwork has been painted and obviously want that to go back to a varnished finish.

Other than the hull, it's pretty straight forward work, but I really wonder what I am getting into on the hull!

Oh yea. And the trailer needs some work too. :doh:

Here are some photos I shot this morning. Wanted to get some before it came in and I started tearing it apart.

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Now you know why I have been cleaning up and moving out (selling) some stuff in the shop. I have a large space so yes. The length is the biggest issue but I will still have 3-4 feet at each end. Once I get it inside I am going to decide where I want it before I take it off the trailer. Obviously once it is in place it isn't going to move.
 
Wow that is only nice old boat, the potential sitting there, with some serious sweat equity, is huge!

So you are going to strip it back to the original wood, get rid of the red paint, right?

How is the drivetrain? Motor rebuild in the works? What does it have for a motor?

That is going to be one heck of a job, but when done, wow, it will be a real beauty! :thumb:
 
Actually Stu, this boat came from the factory painted. It is Douglas Fir plywood strips, not mahogany. I think it was originally white with a pale turquoise top strip. Similar in color the the 57 Chevy. The Sea Skiffs were made for use on the coast and the Great Lakes, big water. I have been out in some nasty stuff before and while your going slow, it's an amazingly smooth easy ride. Here is what she looked like 20 years ago and will look like again, just better.

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It's a 283 Chevy with a marine conversion of course. I have not cranked it in a long time but it ran perfect so I don't expect any surprises. It's actually pretty low hours on the motor. It has obviously spent a lot of time on the trailer before I got it.
 

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I'm envious, I've done a ground up restoration on a 18' Starcraft Aluminum and one on a 17' Imperial Fiberglass, stringers, deck etc....I would luv to find the right wood boat project! The fiberglass was a learning experience I don't wish to tackle again{an itchy messy mess}. The alum. had a fair bit of woodwork, here's a finished shot of it, I did the dash{in R-oak w/mahogany insert}, deck{floor} side-boards, storage, transom, trailer bunks... lots of challenges in both & lots of fun! Have a blast!
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Ken, your in Sea Skiff territory. Lots of them were sold on the Great Lakes and lots of the are still around just looking for a good owner. If anything every happened to mine or I were to sell it (highly unlikely!) I would be looking for another Sea Skiff, maybe a little older than this one. Not as good looking to most folks as a mahogany runabout but I find the usefulness and smooth ride in rough water outweighs the looks of varnish.

I sometimes scour the web for Sea Skiffs and the majority I find are in the Northern states, Michigan being a one of the big areas I find them. And, except for the few dealer owned and restored models they are very reasonable in price.

This is one of the earlier models with wood windshield and the small width planks. If I were to look for another this would be what I would probably seek out.

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What a great project! Fun! Fun! Money! Money! I hope you keep a running pictorial to post the steps and progress. There are lots of forums and help on restoring boats. If I had spare money for a big hobby that is where I would spend it. I always wanted to restore one of the Chris Craft cabin cruisers.
 
I went down to the (basement) shop this morning with the intentions of cleaning up a little and getting ready to pull Makin Waves in. Ground is rather soft after all the floods we had so I figured a tractor was the tool of choice. I know my battery is dead so I was figuring on getting it in the shop tomorrow. But when I went outside we had a hard freeze and ground was solid. I figured if I hurried I could get it moved outside the shop on the gravel before the sun hit and that thin layer turned to soft mush.

Once you get the momentum going it's hard to stop. Ended up just pulling in the shop since my darling had come down stairs to help me. Backing it into the shop alone with a car is a blind operation. The windshield JUST clears the top of the door, so you have really watch it backing in. You have to back a 2-3 feet, get out and check to make sure it's clearing everything. Get back in the vehicle and repeat, over and over!

Art asked about space and it has been a long time since it was in here, so I wasn't sure how much space I would have. But there is plenty or room. Except for head room when standing in the boat. I will have to angle my table saw for anything long so that it doesn't hit the bow, but otherwise it fit better than expected. And once I get the swim platform off, I may move it back a little before it comes off the trailer.

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I still have a lot of cleaning up to do from the kayak build and I need to make some dedicated space to store all the stuff that is going to be coming out and off the boat. But it is inside and work can begin.
 
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I have looked for a factory brochure or some photos of the boat in it's original state for a while now. Finally found and bought a copy of the sales booklet Chris Craft published. This is the page from the brochure. I found it on line an a hour after I received the one I purchased in the mail! :)

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