OK, OK, Hold On, We Know What You’re Going To Say. But!
Now, just to get things out of the way regarding this 1955 Chris Craft Capri, we realize, as does the owner that its an aberration. It’s written all over it. BUT! You have to admit, that deep down in your heart, you have thought of doing the same thing. Coooome on!
Now on a Capri, maybe not. Maybe an old simple utility. But ya gotta hand it to the guy, he went for it. Now, if you are horrified, fine, but then you can buy an original one at Katzs.
All original at Katz’s marina way the Woody Gods wanted it! Click HERE
or here at Sierra,
1957 Capri at Sierra Boat Co. HERE
Or of course there is still this one… you would have the only one Aberration!
Thar she blows
She is ready to rock!
To accommodate creative WoodyBoaters, the Michigan chapter has a “Modified” class at our Algonac show. The boats are judged on overall workmanship and quality of finish. This one looks like it was very nicely done. Come join us on June 24 if you want to have a great weekend and see some wonderful boats!
Well at least his starting bid isn’t something too high like $200K because he feels its a one of a kind.
First thing for me in the morning is to tune to WB. …and then I see Jim Carey. I tuned out right now.
HA, who knew Jim Carry had such impact?
There is room for modified boats in this hobby. I’ve seen some incredible “resto-mods”. Its all in the execution. Jim Street’s Cobra and Tony Brown’s 25 RR come to mind. This Capris is cool.
We need to embrace resto-mods, hot rods and customs whether at a show or not…. I’m glad the Michigan chapter is ahead of the curve. Now we all need to get there!
I have to admit that looks like it would be a fun ride with that 350 under the hatch!
Without the back bench seat, where does the wet dog sit?
Add some gold fiberglass and you have a Cobra. Would look great! Just like those Fiero based Ferraris!
Such hypocrites. A Chrissy craft mod is bless as being cool after blasting Ulrichsen and Century mods.
That’s not hypocrisy, we beat up on all Centurys.
To each his / her own. But other than a repowered, which is understandable and, in many cases, the right move, I just can’t get with restomods on boats. Perhaps it’s because I don’t see better lines, colors, interiors, dashes, etc than what was original. Gauges for instance… Several times, I’ve looked inside a boat and seen aftermarket gauges. My reaction is always disappointment. I think to myself, with a little more effort, the owner could have found and put in a set of originals. Not quite sure why I feel this way about boats vs cars. I get the whole restomod thing in cars and have seen some beautiful, way cool work by guys such as Chip Foose. I also understand why restomods make sense in cars vis a vis handling, braking, steering, and ride, especially if the owner wants to drive the car regularly. My sentiment re restomods in classic boats is so strong that I have been taking a heavily modded restored boat I own and systematically returning it far closer to original. It’s been to three different shops along the way and is having finishing touches done at present by Mike Green, who is doing a great job making things right.
Overall, it has been a stupid use of money, and I have only myself to blame for buying a boat without even knowing at the time whether or not it was done right. And without really looking over a similar model in its original form for comparison. Actually, I also have my WoodyBoater friends to blame for undertaking this return to originality. They have been riding me for years about this tiny screw that’s incorrect or that wrong fabric, or that gauge in the wrong place or that chrome that’s aftermarket or, god forbid, CARPETING! … Sigh. Anyhow, when the work is done, the boat will be beautiful, and I will finally be happy with it.
I guess what I’m saying is know thyself before buying a classic boat. Know what you want. Pure. Semi pure. Tastefully modified. Or merely old that floats.
In a classic boating world that includes fibreglass (get used to it) I think you must consider performance boats like Donzi that are modified in some cases just as soon as it left the factory. This is how these boats have been used since the 1960’s. To hide that part of their life after all this time seems wrong.
High end Livorsi gauges and throttle controls cost way more than original and are desirable mods. K planes/tabs added/upgraded, fresh water kits, drive showers, performance kits , upgraded sterndrive & power, de-cluttered engine bay, etc… this is what most do to a performance boat.
Granted, there are a few original and preserved boats like an original 1964/5 Donzi Ski Sporter 16, or a boat with provenance that should be kept original but, many of these performance boats were raced back in the day. You can bet a race boat was not factory original.
When we expand our universe to something greater than the Chris-Craft build cards we must consider a different set of rules.
I USE my boats so, my woody is repowered and I like it that way. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t keep a boat factory original if it were rare enough and “fit” that type of special category. On the other hand, My plastic (and rare) 1965 Formula Jr. project is being built as a tribute to the race hull design family derived from Wynn MIll II and it will be modified almost everywhere.
Cool boats need to be cool. Some are cool because they are original… some are cool because they are not. Live and let live!
Amen, brother Sean
Alex, you forgot to mention the zipper… 😉 Everyone individualizes their boat one way or another, be it a special clock, certain font, special name – heck, the manufacturers have always built to owner specs on request, (within reason) so I think there is a place for “mods” in the hobby and in many cases, the innovations are very well done. On this boat, who knows? Perhaps the original deck was ruined at some point ( I think of that post-storm pic featured in the header sometimes – maybe this boat was one of those) and rather than restore, the owner made it his/her own. I am with Alex on the instruments though – just can’t stand modern “vintage” gauges in otherwise vintage boat presentations…
Back in the late 90’s I was part of a team that ran in the Catalina Water Ski Race. We had a 42 foot Fountain and had to cut 3 1/2 inches off the pointed bow so we would be under the length limit. By the next year there were a bunch of guys doing the same thing.
To each their own. Some things are better modified.
In the case of our 1972 XK19, the original colors were horrible, off White with a brown stripe down the middle…Chris Craft was clearly dabbling in the wrong kind herbal inspiration to paint a boat to look like dirty underwear.
My reaction is: What’s the point. Personally I like the original much more than the re dux and you have lost the back seat!
Uhhhhhh….. don’t know what to say.
I am
Finishing this 1953 riviera , pulled the 283 out and went with original KBL , original stain to new decks , back to original gauges … I think the goal is to get as. Lose to original look feel and sound of this boat roaring down the lake June 1st 1953 in Syracuse , Indiana
This is a 21′ model, not a 19′ like the ad says. Pretty rare boat.
The boat is an aberration. The good new is she has been saved and a future owner could put her back to original.