WIP (work in progress)

The Shiny Bits - The Fun Part!

There isn't much that we have not covered at this point. What was old is new again. Original if possible, improved if necessary. All the old seals under fittings have been renewed, leaks sealed and good to go out in the rain.

No More Leaks!

The track for the forward bench had not been off in a very long time, the original gum sealant was all but gone.

Once the bottom was painted we removed the rub rail along the waterline, where the molds are joined and found some sling damage or a "whiskey rub" that had been allowing water to enter behind the master head vanity cabinet.

Every inch of 47' of rail times two (both sides) + X (the transom) was cleaned. Old screw holes were filled, the repair to the split was made and Dr Doug was ready to install the new wider 1" rail.

The wider 1" rail will afford more sealant along this join. When we first lifted Paramount we found water in many outside stringer compartments, where the lumbar holes were either clogged or non-existent. Doug drilled and opened all of the areas found to be holding water. We found close to 200 gallons of water trapped in pockets that were virtually inaccessible. At 8 pounds a gallon that is like ten uninvited guests off the boat.

Rotten wood!

After the boarding ladder was stripped and sanded small areas of dampness became obvious in the freshly exposed grain. Areas that looked fine under the varnish were in fact rotten and it is lucky that we discovered it before someone was injured. If you have ever contemplated a wooden boat, take this as a lesson! Mahogany is known for this - looks good but...

This picture was taken to show the beautiful grain of the first piece sanded, it wasn't until all the boards were sanded that the damage became evident. To lose original beautiful grain like this is sad.

The Engine Room

Gone is the CO2 system, replaced with a new Fire-Boy, all of the pressed paper/board has been replaced with new foil .

More Chrome! More Shine!

The chrome fittings are being replaced with new wire runs.

The original sea-strainers have been cleaned and re-bedded.

The bronze rudders have been cleaned, epoxied and ready for a coat of hard bottom paint, once we are close to launch date.

The teak swim-grid has been sanded and oiled with the Interlux Teak Oil. The grid had to be moved to put the new rail on. While it was off it had to be done.

The Maternity Ward - the engines are tested (video)

After a few delays and searching for the right parts the engines are ready to be tested.

After everything was given the once over at low RPMs the engine was readied for it's first full throtle to 4500 RPM.

The sign on the test room door at Precision Racing Engines read "The Maternity Ward" As Doug comes in - you can see why they have the sign.

Here are the "pea-shooter" exhausts that restricted the flow in our tests.



The dyno screen at Precision Racing.






Engine #1 was rebuilt using the stock intake manifold. The maximum HP attained was 285 at 4500 RPM. Engine #2 was tested with a high performance Edlebrock intake manifold and the HP was increased to 325. This was with a restricted exhaust set-up. We should expect a further increase to as much as 375 with the correct Chris Craft exhausts when the engines are reinstalled in Paramount. Engine #1 will be upgraded to the Edelbrock.







Below is engine #2 waiting to be tested. You can see the difference in the height of the Edelbrock intake manifold.

Better Than New "BTN"

Sink or swim, laugh or cry.

With any old boat there are bound to be problems, even the best new boats have their share. Paramount is 41 years old and almost completely original. As we started to bare her bones we found a few not-so-nice surprises along the way. Had Miss P been a wooden Chris Craft from the same era we might have been sunk.

The biggest surprise we found was the shafts and the engine were never truly aligned. When Dr Doug uncoupled the shaft from the transmission he could feel that the alignment had been forced, as the shaft sprung downwards when released. It took three men to pull the shaft through the struts, as it had been bent, from the force needed to get it up to the coupler at the engine end.

The engine beds were 1/2" too high and the motor mounts were adjusted to their lowest placement - there was no room to correctly align the faces of the coupler - and true straight shafts are required for optimum performance and to eliminate deck and prop vibrations.

Doug has removed all 6 struts from the bottom and will re-bed these when the engines are back in the boat, he also lowered the engine beds in preparation and will align the running gear once the shaft is on the engine and he can see where the struts need to be to keep it all true.

Once all the bottom paint was sanded off we could see gaps around the shaft tube - where it exits the hull. The factory only used rove cloth for the inside of the hull. With the shafts pushing up on the top of the tubes, the hull and tube separated, allowing some water penetration.

At the end of the day, when Miss P is cruising on her first long run, the work completed will be in many cases, "better than new". Forty one years ago is a very long time in terms of sealants, epoxy and other materials available today. We are not changing the appearance of Paramount, it is about all integral, structural and systems operating as they were originally designed, without fail.

Winter Hits The Lower Mainland

You can't control the weather!

Record low temperatures and massive dumps of snow have wreaked havoc in Vancouver these last few days, but it hasn't stopped work on Paramount. If we were not in the barn, it would be impossible to continue working. We had expected lots of rain, but the snow arrived early this year.

In just a couple of days we went from balmy autumn temperatures to -14 C with 40cm of snow falling. Lucky it was the Christmas break and only one day was lost. We hope to launch Paramount this week, after the engines come back from the shop. We might be waiting for a few days for the snow to melt, the lift at Granville Island can't be used in a foot of snow. Rains are forecast, so we might be able to stick to plan.

Even False Creek almost froze over - the fresh water did freeze on top of the salt water around the docks and the geese were having to ice-break their way up the creek.

Here is Paramount snug in the back of the barn.

Meet Michelle, she delivers! Rain, snow, sleet or hail - this gal gets through. Here she is delivering a box from the chrome shop, when the courier companies couldn't! Lucky for the all wheel drive - she needed it!

The chrome is for the cabin top, so we can bed everything down, including the mast, and have Paramount ready to brave the weather when she returns to the yard for the engines to be installed and then she will be ready to go back on the dock.

This week we will be dyno-testing the two engines, getting them back in the boat and reinstalling the helm woodwork. The new headliner should be ready to go back up and Miss P will be looking like a lady again.

"Doctor Doug" Blue Ocean Yacht Services (BOYS)

Meet Doug. Doctor Doug.

The guy in the smurf hat. Don't let the hat or "Phil's" coveralls fool you his expertise is second to none. He's been running Blue Ocean Yacht Services for over 25 years at Granville Island, he has every tool for the trade and knows every trick. He can diagnose a problem and have a remedy prepared without wasting a minute. Hence the nick-name.



Here he is doing one of those "don't try this at home" things, pumping the gas from P's tanks to prepare for removal and replacement. When he got down to the bottom he didn't find the expected sludge and old varnish, the tanks were found to be clean and there was no need to replace at this time. His approach isn't a make-work attitude, it is an "if this were my boat" view.



He's so good you have to practically bribe him to work on your boat and the nicest boats are lined up all year round and all of the owners know Doug works best when the bribe is a premium beer. If you are lucky enough he will open a beer on board your boat at "Beer-O'clock" that's 5pm BOYS time, and ponder the task(s) at hand and review the work in progress.



As an owner you know you are getting the best work available and without compromise. Safety is always his first concern. Paying attention to every detail is his reputation. With his depth of knowledge jobs are handled with care and precision.




Doug has a sign on the shop door "No tools loaned" yet everyone borrows something from him at sometime and if he charged $25 a question, he could sit behind his desk all day working out everyone in the boatyard's solutions. He's the guy you turn to when you need to know.

Paramount's Mast

Attention to detail is what made Chris Craft - Chris Craft


Just visible in this picture - flying the R.V.Y.C. burgee, the mast serves three purposes, the anchor light is atop, the steaming light is mid mast and the horns are held near the base. Flying the flags and being a beautiful feature are the Chris Craft difference.

Originally painted cream in the workshop, the mast is constructed from two solid planks of mahogany, on an earlier Chris Craft it would have been varnished. It was the sixties and the all cream exterior, it must have been decided, that a mahogany varnished wood mast would look too old school. The temptation to sand and varnish it was pretty strong and some were horrified that we were repainting it.





The anchor light also known as the Jetson's Globe - streamline or "curved-linear" design at it's best. A replacement lens and bulb fitting are being sourced for the steaming light above.

This solid bronze mast base weights about twenty pounds, designed in the tear-drop shape that was uniquely Chris Craft, is at the chrome shop being plated, along with the other mast hardware pictured below. The chrome plate protects the bronze fittings as well as making all the hardware look like jewels.

The old wiring was in pretty sad shape, the glue had let go in the join of the two planks. The pencil markings were done in the workshop, to align the two halves whilst they were being shaped.

The cabin top handrail fittings were removed and are being plated for their return.

The two sides were bolted together with the bronze fastener, the wires run down the middle and water had been seeping into the headliner below in the main salon.

Below is the running light fixture, the aluminum plate is to stop the light from shining in the captain's eyes.

The base is hinged to allow the mast to fold forward on the cabin top for low bridge clearances and boat houses A large thumb screw holds it in place when it is raised upright, two arms hold it off the deck when it is lowered.

The mast has been epoxied together, with a wider channel cut for today's heavier wiring. This week it will be reassembled and returned to the cabin top as we prepare to move Paramount to the yard for the engines to go back in and be relaunched.