The WoodyFloater 99’s Hull Card Opens up More Questions

1930 Chris-Craft 17ft Runabout  Hull Card – Mariners Museum

After the extensive search for her hull number, stamped on one of the stringers UNDER a strip of wood, has opened up so much more coolness. A huge thanks to the Mariners Museum for helping out, and now sending me her hull card.

Sitting there, her birth certificate

One may ask, why is the hull card so important? Well, it’s the boats DNA, her birth and delivery. You can start from there. Then of course her history gets sketchy, and part of the enjoyment of current stewardship. There is an emotional moment when you look at the pencil strokes. I know it sounds silly, but it’s palatable. Even if it’s a brief second, it’s there. Her truth,

Is that Grey?  

The biggest twist in the hull card truth is in her engine.  It is clearly a later B in her now. Fine. Rebuilt. Yada yada. And according to many, all of them came with Grey 4’s. BUT? we all know thats to general. And according to this , Model – A… Which would kinda line up. mmmmm?

Now according to Dave VanNess ” under the engine where it says model a there is a horsepower listing of 4–41 between 1929 and 1933 gray marine made a 4–41 model it was rated at 41 hp. so it’s a little confusing because there was a model a which is listed under ENGINE put under horsepower there was 4–41, but there was not an engine a gray marine that was known as a model a. So it adds to the confusion a little bit clearly what you have is a later engine. Now I can tell by the transmission if it started life as an a or a B so if you want to take the cover off and take a picture of it, that would clear up what you have.”

Screenshot

And here is another thing. She was delivered in May 1930.  she is #129…okay…. But Brocks prototype hull card says

Prototype hull card

SO? here is thought on this, The prototype stayed “in the family” until they were all shipped. May 1930. They cranked out a bunch, at least 129 or more the first run. The prototype was used by the factory for images, testing and other things. And then sold. durring the spring shipment. So a build sheet would be interesting to find on 14000 – One can also surmise, that in order to crank out 100-200 boats in that short of an order, a huge part of the factory was shifted to building these lil hero’s. Remember this is ll PRE war. The advances in manufacturing were yet to be really put to the test durring the war time effort.

If you want a Hull card or any other info on your love child, you can CLICK here at the Mariners Museum