We found our 38 sitting forlorned at a dock on the Ohio River. After agreeing to purchase it (for a song) they agreed to haul it in prep for the trailer trip to Nashville, and we drove to Cincinnatti 5-week ends in a row, cleaned it up, hauled out a ton of junk, repainted the bottom, etc. I asked them to install new cutlass bearings but they didn't bother to do that for me.
We had the boat buffed as she sits here, and then they trucked it to Nashville, backwards, and it's a wonder they didn't blow out the windows because they did manage to blow out all of the headliner and damage horns, crack glass, and even damage part of the hull which had to be repaired. In essence, the trip cost me nothing, because they ended up not charging for the trip, but I had to pay to fix everything.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder! This boat has since undergone a total interior restoration, including granite galley, refinishing of the teak toe rail, all new mahogany side panels, etc., photos of which can be found in the master index files.
At the time we found this boat, we also owned a 35-foot wood Sea Skiff, which we eventually sold later in the (winter) season. This photo was taken just weeks before the temperatures started dipping into freezing weather.
We were like a couple kids. Great fun, and we've had a LOT OF FUN with this boat since then. She's a lot better off now than she was in this photo, that's for sure.
Funny thing, when the Previous Owner took us for a ride, he managed to run up onto a sand bar, ha ha. As you can see, he didn't scuff the hull any, but it sure rattled him, and it didn't really impress us. What impressed us the most, is the fact that the motors actually started, ha ha. (I later found out that one cylinder had the valves adjusted so tight, that it had zero compression in it. After a proper valve adjustment, the motors then ran extremely well, and continue to do so to this day).
Regards, Paul
1966 38 Commander
Original 427 power
Added note:
The words, “Chris Craft Commander For Sale” can change your life! They can also cost you a lot of cash, and a lot of work, but if you love boats it can be a very rewarding experience too. Here is a photograph of our 1966 38’ TRADITION, as she sat upon initial haul-out for inspection, before we decided to take a chance and purchase her. The motors ran but they were basically unknown entities and we thought the boat would have to be repowered, which luckily turned out not to be the case. Those big iron Fords have run 15 years with good performance, and they still have a lot of service left in them. Now back to the reality of buying an old “fixer upper” Commander, the work starts and it seems to never end. Just take a look at some of the postings that Curt Hill, Jerry Namken, George Klein, Bill Policastro, Dave Varnadore, Don Hancock, Mike Burdette, Chrs Wade, Bruce Martin, Warren Pateman, and many others have experienced with their near or total restorations, along with the link I’m about to reference to you about our own boat. If you want to get into Commander boating relatively inexpensively, the hulls are SOLID as a rock, and that is the good news. The bad news is relative, because a bad day on the boat is most likely better than a good day at the office, in most cases but not all. The bad news is, there are going to be enough projects on board to last you a lifetime, lol. Well not THAT bad, and not specific to the Commander line. A Commander is a great restoration candidate, simply because Chris Craft of the era used awesome fiberglass technology and premium mechanical equipment. In many cases, our boats still have the original power 40 years later.
Most of the time problems with old engines are a result of ancillary equipment needing attention. The main mechanicals generally last a long time if the motor has been given good oil and routine maintenance, but anything can wear out if it get a lot of running time. Ancillary equipment is another story. There have been lots of motors pulled for repower jobs, just because the engine missed or overheated. This could have been a simple ignition or carb issue, or an impeller, water pump cam, or faulty pressure control valve, all of which are pretty easy to fix. So taking on an old Commander presents a variety of pretty standard mechanical challenges, along with all of the normal cosmetic challenges one would find with any old glass boat. Commanders got the good mechanicals, and they got the best gelcoat too. The interiors are, in many cases, trimmed with solid mahogany. If you like being on a boat, working in a marina, have some basic skills, and have the time and temperament to do a restoration (in many cases, doing much or all of the work yourself), then a boat like the one I bought might just be the ticket for you. To see some of the work I’ve done on TRADITION over the years, check out the following link. It will illustrate some of the fun stuff you may have ahead of you. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s also been a heck of a lot of fun, and the rewards of sharing this boat with many friends along the way has also been priceless. !!
