All I can say is, you’re a lucky man! I had 1965 Chris Connie! Boy do they bring back fond memories! It was upgraded to twin Chevy350’s 4 bolt mains! When I ended up in a wheelchair bye bye Connie!
Real Americana. I grew up Summers on Green Lake WI there’s always been quite a few old wooden boats on that lake. Many in flawless condition with an annual wooden boat show in the harbor. Christ Crafts have always been my favorite.
I think a 27 commander is kind of rare and I would consider it a “score”. Commanders from that era are not wood cored. It’s a classic boat that will last forever. The Seaskiff is a Lyman knock off. Chris bought Seaskiff to compete with Lyman which owned that market segment. It’s almost identical and I’m sure has an awesome ride, although a little wet:). It looks to be a great boat. Store it inside if you can. FYI, the plywood was higher quality back then - with care it will last you a long time. ( Marine Plywood quality began to drop off in the 60’s and then plummeted around 1967-68.). Get rid of 1957. You’ll never keep up with it. Use the extra time and money to enjoy the other boats - take it from a lifelong wooden boat guy. I think you need a Wolverine or a SeaSwirl to complete that collection.
Phenomenal Chris Craft projects you have going. They are one of my favorite Yatch along with the Hatteras and Trumpy Saloon Yatchs. Thanks for sharing these wonderful classics.
Had 4 wooden CC's, restored everyone. Retired worn out carpenter. I'm drooling on my phone just looking at these beautiful CC's!!! Wish I could do it again! 🤤
Hopefully you won't have to recalk the wood boat after it being out of the water for that long, the wood shrinks and the calking separates and dries out etc etc
Boats look big until you put them in a great lake ! I think the 57 being used, in the water, is my favorite. Imagine the parties back in 53 or even late 60's on the other one !! Living large ! Thanks for sharing...
Believe it or not? As a kid in the 60's my stepfather had a summer home in N. Barrington Illinois in the Shady Hill Subdivision about 400' - 500' east of East Bank of the Fox River, 1/2 up River from the Fox River Grove ski jump! In the summer you would see a flotilla 27' Chris Craft and sometimes those 35' footers would be in the mix going down river to the Fox River Grove Marina to kick it! That was the place to be! They probably came in from Lake Michigan going through the Chain of Lakes through the locks heading down River! To us swimming in the Fox those large Chris Crafts going slow would still push a wake the turned into waves that we paddle our little butts off to get in front of so they push us back onto the bank or into the beach we would swimming at! On the Fox those boats were like Battleships to us! All gleaming white with the brown wood tops with people sitting in lawn chairs on the back, while having boat drinks! They were a beautiful sight on the river! All of us kids wishing we get a ride! One day my stepfathers friend had us meet him at the Grove and loaded us on a older All wooden 25' Chris Craft is very cool boat, it's name was " One Step Beyond " but instead of the word step? It had a shoe print the heel & sole All paint in Gold Leaf it was badass! Went all the up to Chain of Lakes! Only thing is Charlie drove the boat under a bridge to close to a couple fisherman sitting in a little Lund with small motor and I guess the twin inboards sucked in their fishing lines and were cut! Needless to say it got interesting some words were exchanged and it was on! Beer bottles being thrown at one another, Charlie would slow the boat down so they could catch up some more stuff was thrown back and forth! Until Charlie opened up the Chris Craft made a circle and came up from behind and along side of the Lund got off plane pushed a big wave up and over their gunwale and jump back on plane up the river looking back the two guys were trying to bale themselves out! On the River those Chris Craft Cabin Curesers were the Kings of the River! TMI! CMTFU !! Beautiful Boats be cool
God ! I love old Chris' Excellent lake boats, though I wouldn't necessarily take one out in the salt. You, my Friend are sitting on a goldmine, but may need to pull the motors out of each and give them a "50 year" inspection, (highly overdue), and see what happens. Best of luck and IF I returned to the "God-Forsaken" North...I'd be interested at looking at these a little more closely. Out!
What a great video I grew up on old Chris crafts from the fifties and sixties so appreciate everything that you have sitting there. Living in Michigan you have a good treasure cove of older wooden boats that have been kept under roof storage.
Excellent collection, i've had several Chris Crafts, buy it one day, spend a season putting it together.. put it on the water for one day and it sells later that day. Ask me how i got two Chris Craft Commanders 83, 84 a week ago at auction. Better question what am I going to do with them . One's in Massachusetts waiting to be rescued before the Marina closes at the end of the month,the other was in Chicago. But it's on 55 with me right now headed home. I could use a hand here...lol great collection captain stay up
We had a couple of Chris Crafts. My dad loved them. Our first was a 25' with a corvette engine. #2 was a 30'sedan cruiser late 40's-50' s, had a Hercules engine. many happy memories.
Some of them I’ve hired a company to move with a hydraulic trailer. Yes I store them all on my property. I recently sold all of my Chris-Craft and my classic cars to pursue manufacturing. I am currently designing and making my own injection molds for a series of products I have designed
Great job I live in Algonac my father-in-law had a shop where he bent all the exhaust pipes for Chris Craft and also made all the wooden steering wheels. I still have all the jigs that the wheels were made on.
I have a 1986 VW Golf GTI Convertible in very good condition that I will swap for one of your Chris Crafts. It's a collectors item. Right Hand Drive 31.000 Km.
I grew up in Algonac across the street from the Chris Craft factory. As a kid I played army in the magonahy sawdust piles in the woods behind our house.
he appears to live on a lake in michigan, as i did. word gets around as far as so and so is selling a boat or just wants it out so they can buy another, build a shop, whatever. that is my guess. i bought a 16" chris craft with a johnson 40 outboard for $100. the owner was a shop teacher and his class built it from plans. free boats rarely are advertised. j
Back in the early 90s my mom and her boyfriend had the idea to buy a ~50 foot CC that was sitting derelict and bare at some guy's dock, being pumped out 24/7. I was 12 or 13 at the time and did all I could to talk them out of it, despite how badly I would have loved such a thing. It was so obvious the guy was desperately trying to get rid of it before it finally sank for good. The two inline eight "Continental?" engines were set slightly rear of mid hull as I recall. He claimed one of them ran. I found the primary leak all the way forward with what looked like a bowling ball bag shoved right into the very bottom front of the hull, with water rushing in around it. He had batteries on the dock and hoses running out of the hull. Close call, thankfully they changed their mind as there was no way we had the resources/location to handle something like that.
Very nice boats you've got a small fortune in boats there, I'd have the wooden ones caulking checked before putting it back in the water after 12 years of dry storage, it might be a museum piece now
I had an old CC 30' "bullnose." It came with twin slant 6 Chrysler engines, and I ended up blowing it up in the ocean just because I couldn't afford the slip rent.
@@rederickrederick1513 If you go to biggest boat graveyard on the Chesapeake Sailing Sv Bohemian on RUclips. My video will show the best example of a Trojan I’ve seen and the worst at the end. I thinks she still there.
Great collection
All I can say is, you’re a lucky man! I had 1965 Chris Connie! Boy do they bring back fond memories! It was upgraded to twin Chevy350’s 4 bolt mains! When I ended up in a wheelchair bye bye Connie!
@@merrittdegraw4313 thanks! I sold everything to start my chicken coop business. I miss the boats
The first boat reminds of staying at Lake George NY when I was a kid.
Nice, be sure to find a awsome 57 chevy to photograph the 57 skiff hooked up to.
Real Americana. I grew up Summers on Green Lake WI there’s always been quite a few old wooden boats on that lake. Many in flawless condition with an annual wooden boat show in the harbor. Christ Crafts have always been my favorite.
I really enjoyed the short story about cleaning up the 27. Thanks for sharing and I look forward to future updates
Fresh water and indoor storage. Us coastal boat lovers are very limited.
Love all those vanagons in the background.
I restore them as a hobby. I have a few videos on here!!
Wow! I'm in Heaven! Subscribed! Such beautiful wood too. Love the flags! You are awesome Sir! We will be following. Thank you!!!!!
Amazing CC’s. Big fan of the brand. Love the styling.
I think a 27 commander is kind of rare and I would consider it a “score”. Commanders from that era are not wood cored. It’s a classic boat that will last forever. The Seaskiff is a Lyman knock off. Chris bought Seaskiff to compete with Lyman which owned that market segment. It’s almost identical and I’m sure has an awesome ride, although a little wet:). It looks to be a great boat. Store it inside if you can. FYI, the plywood was higher quality back then - with care it will last you a long time. ( Marine Plywood quality began to drop off in the 60’s and then plummeted around 1967-68.). Get rid of 1957. You’ll never keep up with it. Use the extra time and money to enjoy the other boats - take it from a lifelong wooden boat guy.
I think you need a Wolverine or a SeaSwirl to complete that collection.
Phenomenal Chris Craft projects you have going. They are one of my favorite Yatch along with the Hatteras and Trumpy Saloon Yatchs. Thanks for sharing these wonderful classics.
Had 4 wooden CC's, restored everyone. Retired worn out carpenter. I'm drooling on my phone just looking at these beautiful CC's!!!
Wish I could do it again!
🤤
My pick of the litter would be the 57 sea-skiff..
My Dad and I bought one of these boats from Ben summer of 2022. He was outstanding to work with. Highly recommend his restorations.
I approve..thank you.
Nice boats get em covered quick
So awesome!! Love those boats. Thanks for keeping them afloat for future. Subscribed, keep the vids coming! 🤘🤘
Just curious where did you find free boats in such good conditions?
Facebook
@@BenJoLo Lucky!
Hopefully you won't have to recalk the wood boat after it being out of the water for that long, the wood shrinks and the calking separates and dries out etc etc
Would love the wooden one. What’s the price?
Boats look big until you put them in a great lake ! I think the 57 being used, in the water, is my favorite. Imagine the parties back in 53 or even late 60's on the other one !! Living large ! Thanks for sharing...
How much are you likely to ask for the wood Commander (last boat)?
I love the sound of those old flat heads.
Believe it or not? As a kid in the 60's my stepfather had a summer home in N. Barrington Illinois in the Shady Hill Subdivision about 400' - 500' east of East Bank of the Fox River, 1/2 up River from the Fox River Grove ski jump! In the summer you would see a flotilla 27' Chris Craft and sometimes those 35' footers would be in the mix going down river to the Fox River Grove Marina to kick it! That was the place to be! They probably came in from Lake Michigan going through the Chain of Lakes through the locks heading down River! To us swimming in the Fox those large Chris Crafts going slow would still push a wake the turned into waves that we paddle our little butts off to get in front of so they push us back onto the bank or into the beach we would swimming at! On the Fox those boats were like Battleships to us! All gleaming white with the brown wood tops with people sitting in lawn chairs on the back, while having boat drinks! They were a beautiful sight on the river! All of us kids wishing we get a ride! One day my stepfathers friend had us meet him at the Grove and loaded us on a older All wooden 25' Chris Craft is very cool boat, it's name was " One Step Beyond " but instead of the word step? It had a shoe print the heel & sole All paint in Gold Leaf it was badass! Went all the up to Chain of Lakes! Only thing is Charlie drove the boat under a bridge to close to a couple fisherman sitting in a little Lund with small motor and I guess the twin inboards sucked in their fishing lines and were cut! Needless to say it got interesting some words were exchanged and it was on! Beer bottles being thrown at one another, Charlie would slow the boat down so they could catch up some more stuff was thrown back and forth! Until Charlie opened up the Chris Craft made a circle and came up from behind and along side of the Lund got off plane pushed a big wave up and over their gunwale and jump back on plane up the river looking back the two guys were trying to bale themselves out! On the River those Chris Craft Cabin Curesers were the Kings of the River! TMI! CMTFU !! Beautiful Boats be cool
God ! I love old Chris' Excellent lake boats, though I wouldn't necessarily take one out in the salt. You, my Friend are sitting on a goldmine, but may need to pull the motors out of each and give them a "50 year" inspection, (highly overdue), and see what happens. Best of luck and IF I returned to the "God-Forsaken" North...I'd be interested at looking at these a little more closely. Out!
What a great video I grew up on old Chris crafts from the fifties and sixties so appreciate everything that you have sitting there.
Living in Michigan you have a good treasure cove of older wooden boats that have been kept under roof storage.
Excellent collection, i've had several Chris Crafts, buy it one day, spend a season putting it together.. put it on the water for one day and it sells later that day. Ask me how i got two Chris Craft Commanders 83, 84 a week ago at auction. Better question what am I going to do with them . One's in Massachusetts waiting to be rescued before the Marina closes at the end of the month,the other was in Chicago. But it's on 55 with me right now headed home. I could use a hand here...lol great collection captain stay up
We had a couple of Chris Crafts. My dad loved them. Our first was a 25' with a corvette engine. #2 was a 30'sedan cruiser late 40's-50'
s, had a Hercules engine. many happy memories.
Many years ago, my family had a 1953 Chris Craft El Capitan registered as MC 7432 BF. Is there a way to locate this old boat?
Question do you know what's the LBS, ofboat
Saw a Chris craft documentary about the fiberglass boat. The hull is three inches thick. Ya it’s a tank
😂 their Commander is still in really sweet condition Jim Kansas City Missouri Lake of the Ozarks
I had a '53ChrisCraft Commander,she's a Beauty! I sold it wen I moved from TN back to IN. Enjoyed yr video
Ben do you trailer all of them yourself? I take it you store them on your property?
Some of them I’ve hired a company to move with a hydraulic trailer. Yes I store them all on my property. I recently sold all of my Chris-Craft and my classic cars to pursue manufacturing. I am currently designing and making my own injection molds for a series of products I have designed
@@BenJoLo Remembering correctly, so you never had to hire a crane?
@@BenneWill no crane
Great job I live in Algonac my father-in-law had a shop where he bent all the exhaust pipes for Chris Craft and also made all the wooden steering wheels. I still have all the jigs that the wheels were made on.
Is it ready for Tuts Anami?
Don’t know why you would sell the big one you know how rare it is that it hasn’t been butchered
We used to have a cris craft boat company in Caruthersville mo years ago
I am looking for a 55 footer or longer "Cancellation or Roamer", one that will need some work on it
I demolished a Chris craft ROAMER steel hull
I can't believe the condition, they are beautiful. My Dad would have been in his glory.
Really nice…especially the 53 commander 👍
Abandoned boats up the wahzoo here in the United States.
Your boats are beyond cool. They have a lot of room on them. Good video!
My grandpa had a 68 commander 31
Amazing what people will give away
That '53 Commander is a true classic. Beautiful boat.
Thanks I sold it to focus on my chicken coop business. Definitely a beautiful boat. I’m glad it went to a good home.
nice...throwing a huge wake 20' away from other boats at dock :(
It’s a small inland lake and that’s how people use that lake
I have a 1986 VW Golf GTI Convertible in very good condition that I will swap for one of your Chris Crafts. It's a collectors item. Right Hand Drive 31.000 Km.
I grew up in Algonac across the street from the Chris Craft factory. As a kid I played army in the magonahy sawdust piles in the woods behind our house.
I live in Algonac Michigan. My father worked at Chris-Craft. Keep the memories alive. God bless.
Nice video, love the boats!
he appears to live on a lake in michigan, as i did. word gets around as far as so and so is selling a boat or just wants it out so they can buy another, build a shop, whatever. that is my guess. i bought a 16" chris craft with a johnson 40 outboard for $100. the owner was a shop teacher and his class built it from plans. free boats rarely are advertised. j
We will call you Commodore!
Back on the early 80’s a friend would take us out in 62.. 283 inboard.. it was a great sound and old feel ride.. I loved it..
Back in the early 90s my mom and her boyfriend had the idea to buy a ~50 foot CC that was sitting derelict and bare at some guy's dock, being pumped out 24/7. I was 12 or 13 at the time and did all I could to talk them out of it, despite how badly I would have loved such a thing. It was so obvious the guy was desperately trying to get rid of it before it finally sank for good. The two inline eight "Continental?" engines were set slightly rear of mid hull as I recall. He claimed one of them ran. I found the primary leak all the way forward with what looked like a bowling ball bag shoved right into the very bottom front of the hull, with water rushing in around it. He had batteries on the dock and hoses running out of the hull. Close call, thankfully they changed their mind as there was no way we had the resources/location to handle something like that.
Nice Nicer and Nicest🎦 👍
I love your boats! But as many boats they are time, labor, and money intensive, even if you don't use em much.
I have a 72 Chris Craft 28' Catlena. Looking forward to getting her back on the water. Thanks for the video.
Very nice boats you've got a small fortune in boats there, I'd have the wooden ones caulking checked before putting it back in the water after 12 years of dry storage, it might be a museum piece now
Cant believe you got that commander for free, beautiful boat. All your boats are really cool. Thx for the video.
This made me miss my 1953 32 connie...... nothin beats the smell and ride of a classic wood chris!!!!!!
Beautiful, thank you for sharing. Works of the boatbuilder’s art.
Beautiful. What great projects. Chris Craft is a wonderful Boat. Thanks for sharing.
Pretty hard to get a better deal on a free boat unless the owner pays you to take it away. You're a lucky man.
Nice boats!
Very nice 👍
superb!!!
EXCELLENT
Classy
Just curious do you still have these classic Beauties?
Sold them all so I can focus on my chicken coop business
Nice
Please let me know when your ready to sell the 1953 boat,
Thank you for saving and preserving these boats.
You do a great job cleaning boats. Beautiful job.
Beautiful examples of craftsmanship!
Great boats Ill buy one . Long steam to south Australia
Sorry of the 1957 Sea skiff
Honestly not sure
Thanks for the information and share
I love Chris craft boats
I had a bigger commander , what a beast
These are FANTASTIC boats!!!!
nice and the best 1957 one
Are you in Algonac?
Lapeer Michigan
Like the Vanagons too!
Would you consider selling any.
I restore and sell as a hobby. My plan was to get these looking new, use them for a bit and sell to do the next one.
Sure like the 27'!
I'd get the 35' covered, or it'll be wasted soon enough.
I have it covered
Your boats are beautiful! But tell us about all of your VW campers.
I restore them I have some videos n here. I should post some more
wow nice boaties. Say how do you get a boat for free? Care to enlighten me, I won't tell a soul. lol
I just search for free boats on Facebook a few will come up in the spring
Whata guy ty
WOW!!!!!❤
I had an old CC 30' "bullnose." It came with twin slant 6 Chrysler engines, and I ended up blowing it up in the ocean just because I couldn't afford the slip rent.
Wow that 53 is nice . I want to see a old Trojan as clean as that
1964 Trojan 33' yacht series with a bridge and 12' mast.... just sayin..... dad had one, drove it more than he did !!!
@@rederickrederick1513 If you go to biggest boat graveyard on the Chesapeake Sailing Sv Bohemian on RUclips. My video will show the best example of a Trojan I’ve seen and the worst at the end. I thinks she still there.
Mostly mice and vermin infested na good rotten boats eh fella
Love the 1957 same yr as me
And my wife thought I had a boat problem????! Fantastic fleet.
What is your email. I like the commander 35ft.
Knawisgreat@yahoo.com
NICE