The restoration of
this 22' Chris Craft Utility is a complete one from bottom to top in
this extreme makeover. The 50+ year old bottom was rotting and most
of the frames were cracked and had to be replaced. The side planks
were still very usable with some added TLC. The seat backs were
reworked to be much stronger. A total staining and varnishing was in
order, too, as was some beautiful gold leaf work that left us
breathless. We hope you enjoy Elchalo III's story.
Original home-built aft seat. The
seat lifted up for storage underneath and the backrest removal
reveals the gas tank.
Back side of the forward seats. The
cup holders are an added feature which also reinforces a weak
factory design.
Close up of a seat corner. Part of it has splintered away. This will
be replaced later in the restoration.
Original dash, deck and steering
wheel.
Disassembly begins with the removal of all hardware, windshield,
hatch and steering wheel. At this point the boat is suspended from
the steel beams overhead by come-alongs attached to the
lifting rings.
Once the hardware is removed, the
spotlight hole was plugged and the screw holes bunged since the
spotlight was not going to be reinstalled.
The deck with all
holes filled and bunged.
To do
the bottom the boat must first be turned bottom side up. It is
clamped into 9' diameter rings and rolled over on a set of rollers.
These pictures show the rollover in different stages during the
process. Note the small boxes on the floor under the rings. These
have steel rollers that the frame rides on as it is turned. We no
longer use the rings since we moved into a building with higher
ceilings.
With a little help from a forklift the boat is flipped ad set on
sawhorses. The rings are removed and the boat is lowered to finally
sit on wide, low dollies on casters for easy moving of the boat.
The bottom paint is ground off
where the screws are located. Picking out the compound covering the
screw heads so the plank can be removed is one of the most tedious
and frustrating jobs of the whole restoration. The compound is
gouged out with an ice pick aided by a screwdriver. If enough of the
compound isn't removed, the screws won't come out easily and will
spin. Success is at last achieved as the plank is lifted off with
the remainder of the canvas and inner bottom. Victory is fleeting
however. On to the other side!
