1975 25' Chris Craft Catalina Restore

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

Hello Fellow Boaters

Long story short...2 years ago I bought my first boat (as the title says) 1975 25' Chris Craft Catalina and I'm the 2nd owner. The boat is in.... I would say OK shape with some fiberglass repairs from when the railing got ripped off and your typical fiberglass stress cracks from the sun and under maintenance. Any tips tricks with fiberglass repairs, boat parts for this particular boat would be greatly appreciated. This restoration project will take a good while to do myself.

The previous owner was a old lady....I thought having women on a boat was bad luck?

The name of the boat is "Stormy Seas" The name dosent fit well with me. I'm wanting to change it to "Salty Seas"

Thanks

 

[mickyryan]

love the boat I'm a big fan of the classic look over the sunfish style Cabin cruisers good luck and I will be watching this threat

 

[redneck joe]

Nice boat and tow vehicle. Start at the boattom with the transom and stringers and work your way up. I have had mine for four years now and last week was the first time i worried about the looks.

welcome to the forum.

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

I've already started making some repairs. When I went to pick the boat up...it wouldn't start..pulled the starter and wow was it ate up with rust from salt water. So I replaced it and the battery...funniest part of picking the boat up was how I got it to the other side of the old run down marina it was at. The boat still wouldn't start after I changed the battery and starter. The boat ramp was...I would say from where it was parked to where I had to go...hmmm about a 1/4 mile.
I said well this is my only other option... The drop anchor method. That is: throw the anchor out as far as I can the pulled the line to get the boat to move. I did this at the stern of the boat cause I didn't want to stand at the bow with the hand rails. I'd have something to put pressure against and that was the inside of the transom. I recommend it in a emergency situation but not an everyday thing. Lol. I got tired fast...so I started to use the paddle on the bow. That got me tired as well. Here's where you're gonna start scratching your head and saying "He's determined to get that boat home...I tied a rope to the bow bit and made the line long enough to where I could umm swim to the other side..yes, I said swim. The only bad part was when I got out of the marina part you now have to navigate the bayou, it has current lol. I put the rope around my shoulder and around my chest and jumped in...here we go no turning back now.. I got about half way to my next turn to head to the boat ramp, I pooped out. I drifted and the current pushed me to the other side on the bank. I got back on the boat and rested for about 45 mins and I told myself...Give the boat a try to see if it will crank up..so I did. I turned the key and dam it cranked up. So I put it in gear and started heading towards the slip where the boat ramp was and I could smell the engine getting a little hot..I gave it more gas to hurry up.. I made it in the slip and not knowing how deep the slip was because it hasn't been used in years.. When I got to the slip I could see mud churning up behind me so I slowed down and I made it to the ramp and the boat shut down.. it overheated..Talk about luck getting it to the ramp in time... When I got it home I found the problem..The raw water pump impeller was bad. I replaced it and bought a spare. And that's my first story to tell about the boat "Stormy Seas".

 

[Ned L]

Nice boat! I really can relate to stories like yours,.. That's what makes it all fun. What engine in her?...the original Chris Craft engine?

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

No Title

This bracket was broken at the swivel and had bailing wire

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

Yes, it has the 350 crusader, the PO had it rebuilt a few years prior. I was in the process of changing the exhaust tubes and run no mufflers. I bought the rubber tubing from the exhaust manifolds to the exit ports. I like the loudness of a 350 just brings music to my ears.

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

No Title

Re: 1977 Chris Craft Catalina 25' restore I been trying to determine if this boat had a fuel level sensor. I found one thread that says they did not come with a sensor and that you can't stick the tank. That seems odd that this size boat doesn't have a way of knowing how much fuel is on board. I've looked as much as I can at the tank but I don't see any way to monitor fuel levels.

Not sure what you've come to about monitoring the fuel. I'm in the same situation with my boat, I'm going to put a sight glass on mine or go with a universal sending unit from Moeller. They run around $25-$28 on eBay. http://m.ebay.com/itm/291472912533 The thing about these are that they are for flat tanks. My tank is cylinder shaped at the stern of the boat, getting to the top of it would be a task. I looked at how mine is mounted and I have no room for it and the bottom of the deck to pull it out. I'm thinking if I unbolt the fill tube and unbolr the tank itself and rotate the top of the tank towards the engine bay, I could preform the task of putting it in the fuel tank. Just my guess of how the do it on my part. Sounds better than trying to remove the tank.

 

[GA_Boater]

Moved the above post from an old, inactive thread - http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...-restore/page2

It's best to keep your things in one place and we prefer not posting in threads with no activity over 90 days to keep threads clean for the OP in case they decide to re-open their thread. Thanks.

 

[redneck joe]

Ive swam a few boats to the ramp before

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

Moved the above post from an old, inactive thread - http://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat-...-restore/page2

It's best to keep your things in one place and we prefer not posting in threads with no activity over 90 days to keep threads clean for the OP in case they decide to re-open their thread. Thanks.

I don't know how it got on my thread when I posted on his. Why would you suggest someone not to post in someone else's threads with no activity. I myself had the same situation so I posted on it. A post with helpful information might help the next person activity or no activity.

 

[GA_Boater]

I don't know how it got on my thread when I posted on his. Why would you suggest someone not to post in someone else's threads with no activity. I myself had the same situation so I posted on it. A post with helpful information might help the next person activity or no activity.

You should read our rules. They may not make sense to you, but as I said, that's how we prefer to treat inactive threads as explained in the rules.

Also It's hard to help someone who hasn't been here in 2 years.

 

[Catalina75_StormySeas]

No thanks I'll be leaving this forum. Guess information for others isn't as important to others than it would be to someone else. Have fun

 

[sphelps]

No reason to be upset .... Rules are useless unless you abide by them ... Your not the only one who has posted on old threads ... No big deal ....

 

[GA_Boater]

Sorry to see you go. Your fix is still in the forum and can be found by anyone searching for that type of information.

If you leave, then we have another dead end with no way of asking questions of you by those looking. That's one of the reasons for not posting in the inactive threads.