He Has Plans, But First, Needs Plans?

What happened to her eyes?

Fellow Woody Boater John Gage sent us in this cool story on his special Kit Boat built by two engineers, talk about doing it right. Take it away John.

This boat is a 1951 kit boat that was built by a couple of engineers from Chrysler in Detroit. It is a 21′ CC and I am pretty sure the hull was based on CC’s 21 footer from 1950. It looks like they only sold the 21′ model for one year then used the 21′ foot hull for kit boats. The 21′ Elgin kit in the ad in your article looks like the same boat.

Elgin Kit boat ad

Rough photo. But all we got

Darn close

There is a date stamp on one photo that is incorrect. I had Dave Scholten at Firehouse Boats redo the hull with Smith’s penetrating epoxy in the fall of 2014 and that is when that picture was taken.

Nice

Clean

The engineers who built this boat went all out and it was probably more impressive when they finished it than any 21 footer that CC built in 1950. It had more options than any factory built boat I have ever seen photos of for a 21 or 22 foot cruiser. It has a sliding cabin door which doesn’t intrude into the cockpit, Ivalite spot light, chrome grab rails instead of the typical wood cleats, windshield wiper, cigarette lighter, Chrysler Ace (of course), docking lights, jump seats are type usually used in much larger CC cruisers using cast fittings (no bent tubing stuff here), the original window coverings were factory Venetian blinds and I have had those retaped and ready to go, original depth gauge, chrome CC logos (Not a kit decal) chrome transom strips, rub rails, gimbaled beverage holders, mahogany boarding ladder, flush toilet,and sink.

Lots of goodies

Lots and lots

I don’t have any good pictures of the interior, but picture the interior interior of the 22 foot “Bowfin” with original vinyl covered cushions, Venetian blinds, cushioned panels for back rests, ceramic flush toilet, and sink with original 1950’s formica.

Stuff, lots of stuff

And some cup holders

Retirement is just around the corner and I hope to start working on her soon.  I have had no luck locating original drawings for this kit. If you know of any sources give me a shout.

I bet it Rocks and Rolls!

Also, the original Coast Guard registration is “Rock and Roll”. She is in Holland, Michigan.

John Gage

Mmmmmm, anyone have a set of plans?

/12 Comments/by
12 replies
    • Troy in ANE
      Troy in ANE says:

      Greg: I wonder if John could take this boat to any special shows this fall if he could get it completed by then?

      • Greg Lewandowski
        Greg Lewandowski says:

        That’s a great idea Troy. John could have a blast with the Michigan gang all week in Port Huron. Click on the Boat the Blue banner on the left side of this page to get all the info. We will be regularly updating that website with all that WoodyBoaters need to know to “Bring Your Boat Home”.
        John and I could talk about the history of that kit boat cruiser. I may know those Chrysler engineers that originally built her.

  3. Mark in Ohio (sometimes da U.P.)
    Mark in Ohio (sometimes da U.P.) says:

    Neat Boat! I rode in and skied behind a smaller CC kit boat with a 40 Evinrude on it when I was young. A lot of the lines on this one remind me of that boat. Didn’t the crates that it came in double as jigs for building the boat?

  4. Randy
    Randy says:

    I believe CC did make this 21′ cruised in finished form, but I would have to check my old ’50’s brochures for dates. Some of the kit line did evolve from this. CC also provided some kits to Sears to sell in their Elgin line. CC shut their kits down around ’57 as I remember right. I bought one of their 12′ Meteor sport runabout kits at that time when they sent out flyers deeply discounting their remaining models.
    The decals supplied with the CC kit boats read “Chris Craft” on the top line and “Kit Boat” right below — no chrome emblem.
    When Jerry Conrad was working at the Mariners’ Museum he ran me a copy of a full set of drawings for my C-C 10′ Racing Pram Kit Boat — very reasonably priced.

  5. Ollon
    Ollon says:

    We still have a utility version of the same boat sitting in my father’s back yard on Long Island. Hasn’t been in the water since 1984. The Mariners Museum has all the plans and can make copies as soon as they reopen. I need a set too so I can do the restoration. The hard part will be getting the boat out to CA.

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