My ( wood ) boats ! 1956 17' Chris Craft Sportsman
December 31 2007, 12:52 PM
Hi Matt,
Thanks for getting me to dig through some film photos and scan them. I have some much better ones, but they're in another file, so I'll add them later. For now, here are some photos of my two Chris Craft 17' Sportsmen, this first one is the 1956 model.
This one came with a 120-hp Hercules, and yes, we know the upholstery is wrong in this photo, but that has been taken care of and we now have the proper red. These two boats are the identical hull, but the king plank on the 1957 model is quite fancy compared to the nose rail detail on the 1966. The only other detail change is the fact that the 1957 has a walk through and the 56 is a closed cockpit. This is the boat that now has 300-hp
When we built our ridgetop home we had this old Chris pattern boat sitting out, and I always thought it would make a great wall mounting. We retained all the pattern dimensions by doing this.
Here I am about to winch the old hull through the window opening. Yes, the contractor, my wife, my wife's dad, all thought I was nuts. Guess what? They're right.
Here is the boat with new transom, new dash, new front deck, but with original starboard side. It is sitting on a carriage we built to move it around so it could be kept out of the way, and it would be there for us to work on from time to time in between working on the houses.
Here it is the day we mounted it on the wall. Yes, that wall is strong enough. It's a wind wall, built out of 2x6 studs, with plywood each side, and drywall on the inside finish. I have some better photos of this (which I'll post later), with kids inside, and yes I've also been inside too!
It looks better with all the hardware and the ensign flying
Our fabulous 1968 35' Sea Skiff ( no longer have this one ).
December 31 2007, 1:26 PM
This is the boat we sold when we got our 38' Commander. We loved this boat, it was fast, only weighed 12,000 pounds, and it had the same layout as the Commander. By contrast, the Commander feels like a barge, sad but true. It's not that the 38 is a barge, it's due to the fact that the 35' Skiff was so light and agile.
This photo is the one that appeared in a 5-page article on the boat, in Classic Boating Magazine. Great shot, eh?
We had a lot of fun with this boat. We found our 38 Commander on the Ohio River, and bought it before we sold this one. For a while we had two cruisers in the water, and we eventually found a buyer who was willing to pay a fair price for a Skiff in such excellent cosmetic and mechanical condition.
When I casually toss out the fact that the Hercules model K weighs 680 pounds, it's not because I read it in a book somewhere, it's because I've moved this darn thing on several occassions. This is when it came back with all new pistons
Those things are heavy, and built to last forever.
Paul,
All I can say is wow. I love all of them. The one on the wall is probably the best art I have ever seen hanging on a wall. The sportsman with the 300hp must be a blast.
My 1963 21' Lyman is going to be at the Mid America Boat Show in Cleveland this month. I was asked to display it just last week so the next two weeks I will be knee deep in varnish and paint. It should be ready but no guarantees that the paint and varnish will be dry.
We love the boat on the wall. It's been finished up nicely, with ensign, mahogany flagstaff, chromed hardware, windshield, etc.,
The 17' Sportsman model weighs in at right around 2000 pounds, so it's more like requesting permission to take off from an airport when you give that SBC a prodding with the throttle. It has a mild V entry with a generally flat aft section, runs great on the flat river system but doesn't like the chop anywhere near as well as your Lyman with the round bilge/keel setup. We've been at boat show rendezvous in the past, where the group all blasted off for a lunchen at a marina down the lake a ways. Some of the fastest boats got there last due to the fact that they couldn't run well in the chop. The Sportsman is NOT a good boat for the chop, it's strictly a smooth-water river or lake boat. That 20' Sea Skiff project of mine is different, that one will run full tilt on the chop from what I've seen so far, semi-deep V lapstrake hull bottom.
MAJOR CONGRATULATIONS for getting the Lyman into the Mid America Boat Show. That's awesome, and it's a testament to the quality of boat, finish, and condition. You know, that Lightning Spar will dry overnight! I've been to many an antique boat show in the past where I could smell uncured varnish when walking by some of the boats. It just puts a smile on my face because I know exactly what's going on. I need to do some staining and varnishing myself, but since I don't want to do it in my basement shop because it stinks up the house in winter months when we're trying to contain the heat, I'm going to wait until early spring when I can open the garage doors and use some fans. That 1956 Sportsman is getting a major cosmetic make-over now, and a steeper pitch prop too
Between the two of you guys, you could have your own boat show. Nice looking boats, love that Lyman!
Here's a dumb question for anyone, "how did the Lyman and the Sea Skiff end up looking almost identical?" One looks like a knockoff of the other, so I'm wondering which one came first, what are the issues between one or the other, etc. I know the Chris Craft boats used plywood planking, did Lyman do this too?
Lyman was buildng lapstrake boats as far back as 1875. Check out my buddys Lyman web site. It will give you more info than you probably ever wanted to know. Peronaly I think that the Lymans were better looking than the sea skiff. (running for cover now)LOL
I'd hate to see 'em as foes. It would be like watching your kids fight, and you can't favor one over the other.
But seriously, Lyman is definitly the big brother to Chris Craft lapstrake hulls known as the Sea Skiff. Paul you'll have to confirm the info. following as it is from my feeble & sometimes pickled memory,LOL. C.C. started building Sea Skiffs in the mid Fifties. Ranging from 18' to 36'. This is where Chris Craft first used a variation of what we now know as 3M 5200. They actually glued up a lapstrake plywood hull with zero fastners and it worked!! The new smaller Sea Skiffs were very competitive with the famous Lymans (built in Sandusky, Ohio). The larger cruisers were built to compete with Owens and Trojan who were also dabbling in lapstrke hulls. Part of the stradegy involved in Chris Crafts' purchase of the Thompson Boat Co. was to learn from and utilize their experience in this type of hull construction.
I attended an ACBS show this past summer. I was looking at a couple of boats moored side by side. My eager and curious land lubber son-in-law noticed that the two 18'ers were all but identical, save the badging. They were both late fifties, both white hull with out the common sheer stripe, and both had yards of beautifully varnished brightwork. I sure wish I could find the camera I used that day. These late fifties open utility style boats are beauties in their own right. They are refered to in the Lyman hobby as barrel back runabout style (maybe just a little overstated description campared with a 1939 CC 19' Custom, huh).
I love 'em all let the judges sort out the rest!
Can't wait for '08 and GOOOOOOO BUCKEYESSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Best regards to all my forum buddies
Matt, I'll look for you at the show!
I hate to sound too ignorant, but we don't see many of these on the Gulf. I think you fellows up on the Great Lakes keep them all up there. From your photo, which I copied below, it appears these are all lapstrake boats so I guess they're all Lymans? If so, what models, power, etc., are they.
Navigator is a 1954 18' Lyman Islander w/ 1954 60hp grey marine motor
Prime Ribs (my first boat when I was 9 years old) is a 1958 13' Lyman runabout with a 1956 30hp Evinrude Lark
Hakuna Matata Is my brother in laws 1957 16 1/2 Lyman runabout it is powered by a 1957 35hp Johnson (This boat will also be at the Mid American Boat Show.)
Old Woody is a 1963 21' Lyman Runabout powered with a 1964 327 Chevy with dual-quad carburetor setup putting out well over 350hp. ( This boat has been in the family for over 25 years.)
I've always admired the Lyman. What a great design. The fact that you own a vintage fiberglass Commander is quite a testament to your good taste in boats.
