The
Journal
of the Pacific
Northwest
Chapter
Antique
and Classic
Boat
Society
World Wide Web Edition/ Dec. '99 Issue
After searching for what
seems like forever, I found a 1955 19’ Chris Craft Capri, Hull number CP-19-008
with a KLC-120 HP Engine.
Though it’s not the pristine Tahoe Concourse showboat and it needs a total
bottom replacement, overhaul of the motor and transmission, side and deck refinishing,
new interior, windshield, instruments, propeller and steering wheel. It’s
still the cats meow to me.
I purchased it from Tom Lampman of Poulsbo. Tom bought it shortly after the Pacific
Northwest Ice Storm in the mid 90’s. The previous owner had it stored on a
hoist in a boathouse on the west side of Lake Washington. The roof collapsed on
the boat exposing it to the elements. It sat this way for about a year when Tom
stumbled across
it. Tom had planned to restore it and use it as a tender on a 120’ yacht he
and a buddy owned. As things go, 10 to 12 years later he still hadn’t gotten
around to restoring the boat.
I ordered the hull card from the Mariners Museum and found out it was shipped from
the Cadillac plant on October 26, 1954 to Bryant’s Marina in Seattle. So it
seems that this boat has been here all its life and I would like to track down the
original owners. If anyone has information or remembers this boat from the past
please let me know.
My first order of business was to take pictures and inventory what I had. I took
pictures of every angle I could for later reference. As I removed a part –
another picture. In a few days I had the boat pretty well stripped down as well
as the motor and transmission removed. I was ready to flip the boat for bottom removal
when the cold set in. My shop is a metal pole building with no insulation. It was
actually colder inside than it was outside. In fact there was ice on the 
metal
where it sweated.
Because of this I decided to insulate and heat my shop before continuing the restoration.
I was concerned if I used regular bat insulation that the metal sweating would eventually
cause mold, mildew and rot. I came across a Door manufacturing company in Tacoma
that makes door blanks with fiberglass panels on the outside and injects dense foam
between the two layers. They then cut out the center for different sized windows,
the piece cut out is then
discarded. Some of the pieces measure as large as 23” x 64” x 1.75”
thick. What I did was square them up on my table saw, then cut them to fit between
the framework of the building, then added another layer overlapping the first securing
with 3” screws to the framework. On top of that I’m now putting on ½”
sheet rock giving me a total 4 inches of insulation and sheet rock. The insulation
was a ton of work but with it behind me now I’m glad I did it. The insulation
combined with a new electric heater makes the shop more comfortable to work in.
I hope to be back working on the boat in a couple of weeks. Don’t be looking
for this boat in the water any time soon. I realize it will be a slow work in progress.
I’ll keep you informed.
Warren Olson