New Chris Cat Project
 

I bought her about 30 days ago, shes getting alot o love. New engines, new transom, new forward bulkhead, new paint.......pretty much everything. Im like a kid in a candy store, really enjoying this project!

First night in the hangar....got t make some room tommorow.

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These engines look pretty good , but I have no idea whats inside or who built them, so off to my motor guy!

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After I pulled my drives I realized I needed somewhere to put them, so off to Lowes for some Metal. Works great!

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Soooo, once I pulled the gimbals....it was easy to see where the water was coming from, both gimbals had corroded so bad they pushed themselves away from the stern allowing water to soak in the transom. You can see in the pic no studs were in the bottom four holes on the gimbal....How did it float?

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And this my friend is noooo fun! It just got a little less exciting, the digging out and the grinding are always the worst......Dammit boy! Ill be so glad when the fiberglass is done. ITCHY AS HELL!!!!!

The bottom two pics, all the rotton wood is gone, its sanded and ready for glass....Shew

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Next is creating a template for the transom and forward engine firewall. To the tune of around ten cardboard boxes and a roll of duck tape....and a cold beer! One or twelve.

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After the cardboard box finally got to the right size I sketched out the transom onto a piece of luan, or what i would call thin plywood. This template is for the forward bulkhead, close to the same shape as the stern.

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This dust dont itch....


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Two pieces of marine A<B fur, a true three quater board, laminated together ready to be installed.

Followed by a three inch thick coat of polybond spread on the stern before I bolted it together to create a serious bond with no air pockets, along with 25 carrage head bolts and my impact gave me a good feeling about the transom being what it should be.

i like these projects! keep posting pictures!

looking good!!!

Im impressed my man...nice work. while you are there, any plans to cut the drives in higher?

that's a tough question is'nt it???

most ran 3's or 4's... if you want to upgrade and use a bravo, i asked myself a couple time how would I know exactly where, or how hi, or low, I would have to cut the hole... can't really easily modify the hole once it is cut....

Yeah ,know what u mean. I'm goin back w the ssm2, I know they are dinosaurs but these are in great shape. I'll be getting my buddy's fives once he gets his sixes, I'll stickem on the stand and wait for the twos to retire. With the extent ion boxes the hole in the stern won't be so hard to deal with. Thanx for ur interest......I'm new at the offshore stuff but learning a lot looking and listening.

Looking good.... Lots of hard work there.... Keep the pics coming :):)

Fabulous job!It'll look good whe can hardly wait to do sea trials. Would like to hear what it does speedwise and how the new engines sound...you tube for sure!

I love cats! Can't find a Chris right now, but playing around in my buddy's Spectre. Does 100mph but I m not a big fan of outboards....

I noticed a big difference in handling of a cat vs a v hull

Its a labor of love. Ill b posting more shortly....thanks!

Im pretty fired up and excited, been looking a cat for a long time. Itll be a while getting her done , but keep looking....ill be posting more soon. Thanks

Will for sure be upgrading to fives.....goin w exstention boxes as well. putting the old twos back on this round....but as you know nothing stays the same very long. Thanks for checking it out!

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The stern and firewalls final fitting before glass. Got a little ahead of myself.....I left this pic out, trying to keep them in order.

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One final fit before the fiberglass, those things are tight getting in the engine compartment.

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Before the wood is put in place....I had to continue the stringers to the outer shell of the transom. Once the stern was all dug out I had a two inch void between the two. You can see in the patterns I slotted the stern to slide over the stringers on all the replacement wood.

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This is where I put the squeeze on her to get her tight once the polybond was applied. May have showed this step already.....DUH. Cant help myself, this shiaat is cool as hell!

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Here's the result of a good ole squeezing!
You can see the polybond done its job creating a nice solid core between the outer shell and the stern board. zoom in and check it out! Sweeeeet!

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Here we go.......sticky fingers. I laid up a nice thick layer around the perimeter of the stern board about twelve inches wide, then a nice thick piece of mat over the entire stern. At this point I dont need the cold beer.......High on styrene! wooohooo

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The top pic is the stern all laid up, only thing left is to smooth it up a little t make pertty. bottom pic is the forward firewall in the same state. I sure do feel good knowing all this new wood and glass are in place...Its like having a new boat!

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After getting all new wood and glass I started stripping and shaving......those rails and antenna mounts ECT....really dated the ole girl. Shes starting to look alot better! Holy crap that thing is sexy!!!! I have some guys that work at a local boat shop straitening her up and slicking her down. Should be shooting some primer by the end of this week. There is some long boarding goin on!

going fast !!!

Damn, sure is looking good! Im glad to see the boat getting the facelift it deserves. Decided on a color yet? Silver, hint hint. LOL.

[QUOTE=Cobra100+;3759730]Damn, sure is looking good! Im glad to see the boat getting the facelift it deserves. Decided on a color yet? Silver, hint hint. LOL.[/QUOT

Decided on white w black where the windshield should be......but you rang a bell when u said silver, holy crap I think it would look good silver. shiaaat.....decisions decisions...I get an idea and there you go changing it....

I have a 390x that I am very content with however as I said a cat is a different animal.
I have been in some poker runs this summer and going to another one this weekend in my buddy's 30 Specre Cat. The boat handles extremely well and I am surprised of the differences in a v-hull compared to a cat.

I've been looking around for a old CCcat but they are few and far between. I have been extremely "brand loyal" to Chris Craft for the last twenty years! I have owned six but no cats yet. (I suffered the dreaded disease of "twofootitis") :party-smiley-004:
You really have a treasure there so take care and rebuild it properly with love and devotion. That is going to be one awesome boat when its done!

:ernaehrung004:damn timmy your going to have your chit back together before me! i think you need a break....... to come help me :lolhit: And to think i was worried i was going to be waiting on chris to get my motor done, can i get some of that good energy crack you got so i can move a little faster!! O yeah do you want to come with with me to pick me motor up?

Looking good, it was tough to pass on that boat when I looked at it. Too many unknowns. Glad it went to someone who was willing to take the time to make her whole again. I just couldn't take on a second project of that caliber. Thumbs up for sure!!!

Its for sure a big project....I was able to get it with a little horse trading, witch in turn allowed me to take on the project. It definatley had some issues. I'm getting in the short rows now though.....all the glass is done, will be shooting primer this weekend. Im very excited to have this boat. Thanks for looking.

Keep it going- we need UPDATES

timmy we need some updates !!:evilb:

yep! silver is already painted?????

Wow your moving along quite quickly.
Looking forward to more pics!

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Great job .
Been there and now seeing light at the end of the tunnel .
This is my project . It's coming together after a year long break . Motors are done , drives rebuilt and still a ton to do .
Thanks for the inspiration .

I'm a dog !
Started this project in March 2008 and have been boatless since I sold my 42 fountain last October 'cept for a Zodiac .

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/c...o-project.html

You are making some great progress my man,,,,, nice work!

Updates ?
I'm prepping motors for dyno .

CarolinaCopters..... Awesome job man! Glad to see you're doing it right. This is my old boat. I sold her to Benny a couple years ago. I got the boat from a guy in Wisconsin. Keep the updates coming. Love seeing her get what she deserves.

Jared

Was this boat for sale in 07-08 ish?? blower motors?? I think I remember calling on it but it was sold already! Nice cat!

Keept the pictures comming!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We need pics...............

Wannabe

GTO.... Yes, I believe I had it for sale around that time.

Hey guys.....Ive been crazy busy with work and things, I've made awesome progress on the cat! Can't wait to share it with you all...... I appreciate your Interest in my project. Will post it soon. She's painted white with a black transom, it looks awesome. One engine has been on the dyno...just under 600 Hp. The other one is almost done as well,Was very happy with that. My drives are done and bolted on. Ccat30.... I'm happy to hear from a prior owner of my pride and joy. Can't wait for you to see it. I'm very proud of her! Progress pics coming soon

Sneak peak
 

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