1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Toughest part of doing this varnish is the patience between coats! UGGGHH:facepalm:

 

[Adam76]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

The boat looks awesome, I like the LEDs and how they look at night too. Where did you get the swim platform brackets if you don't mind me asking, I'm looking to add a swim platform this winter.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

The boat looks awesome, I like the LEDs and how they look at night too. Where did you get the swim platform brackets if you don't mind me asking, I'm looking to add a swim platform this winter.

Thanks , The lights are definately one of my favorite upgrades. The swim brackets I bought came from ebay. There is a guy that sells them from canada. They cost me less for two than most people sell one for and I needed four so that was important. Took forever to get them though. The guy supposedly had fallen ill, took a couple months and endless emails to get them.

 

[Pmccraney]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Awesome thread...awesome boat...awesome work... The back-lit cc logo is so cool... As a chris craft fan, and avid fisherman, I have found my dream boat!!!! Thanks for stopping by my thread, too.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Awesome thread...awesome boat...awesome work... The back-lit cc logo is so cool... As a chris craft fan, and avid fisherman, I have found my dream boat!!!! Thanks for stopping by my thread, too.

I will keep you in mind if I ever go to sell it,haha. Thanks man, I do appreciate being appreciated. In all seriousness, I have loved building this boat to be the way it should have been from the start. The littlest upgrades can make a huge difference. I will be building some back lit logos for my dads houseboat soon also. Thanks for the compliments.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Got some more coats done on the teak. bow pulpit after 3 coats of varnish, sanded ready for coat #4. You can see the grains/low spots are starting to disappear. Eventually it will be smooth as glass.

The gunnel pads have about 5 coats on them now and I widened the center cut to customize them a little. There getting there.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

More sanding,more coating,more sanding,more coating,more sanding,more coating, Ugghh

The gunnel pads are done. Will sand and coat one more time after about a week of dry time. The pulpit still needs a lot more work. Then swim platform and louvered doors. This is a slow but hopefully worth while process. Will be time to move onto the louvered doors soon, swim bracket and then the interior peices. The interior is going to be my winter project. All the monkey fur stuff thats on the ceiling and walls will be coming out. I will be opening up the front raised portion and installing storage compartments and probably rebuilding the side windows.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Update, this pulpiit has been a major pita! I have alot of coats on it and still have low spots. So what I am doing is just filling the low spots at this point until it is even with the rest of the surface. Want this to be completely smooth when done.

Using a foam pointed brush I am injecting the varnish down on the low areas. These are mainly where the wood pieces joined together. Because of the woods age, the edges were rounded off. Once filled to be even you will never see the joints.

In this pic, the shiny areas are the low spots after sanding. You can see some of the seams are already filled and even with the rest of the surface.

This is filling just the low spots/cracks. Will probably take a few more runs to be perfect.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Bow pulpit I think is about as good as I can get it. Also started on the rear seat supports, there teak also. One coat on them so far. Will be pulling the swim platform off tomarrow to get started on it.

Not very good lighting, but you get the idea. Will take more pics when installed on the boat.

That exterior table is a teak table I salvaged. Will be refinishing it this winter. God knows i have enough practice

 

[drem312]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Yo Budd looking good,,,Yep Im the guy you inspired and I built my own bolsters as you can see in the pic.. your boat looks awesome and I hope to have a hardtop on my 254 Seahawk like yours,, winter is approaching so Im sure we will be chatting and showing pics till the srping,,keep up the great work and my boat ran perfect at the end of the season...

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Yo Budd looking good,,,Yep Im the guy you inspired and I built my own bolsters as you can see in the pic.. your boat looks awesome and I hope to have a hardtop on my 254 Seahawk like yours,, winter is approaching so Im sure we will be chatting and showing pics till the srping,,keep up the great work and my boat ran perfect at the end of the season...

Long time no see man! You did a great job on those bolsters to. I see you got the kiddo out, how does she like it? Well, I guess the smile says it all. My hardtop has the original sticker on it, want me to get the name of the manufactuer for you,lol Glad to hear the motors running good. We both had our hands full for a while there. Ttys

 

[vincechig1975]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

This is some of the best restoration I have come across yet, very nice workmanship. I hope that my restoration project goes as well. Great photos as well. They give great detail, and lots of possibilities to be explored for me as I am in the tear down phase of my restoration.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

This is some of the best restoration I have come across yet, very nice workmanship. I hope that my restoration project goes as well. Great photos as well. They give great detail, and lots of possibilities to be explored for me as I am in the tear down phase of my restoration.

Hey man, thanks very much for the compliments. I am sure my refurb doesn't compare to alot of the other total rebuilds here. Just wanted to share what I was doing so others could see some upgrade stuff that can really make a good boat better. Its been alot of fun and I will keep updating as I go and as the funds permit more work,lol

Good luck with your project. I'm sure if you take your times to do things right and check in with the vast amount of experienced guys here, you will have a great boat once you are done. Thanks again. Budd

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Thought I would post a couple thing I failed to post earlier and didn't show pics.

First is, I cut an access hole in the cuddy cabin basically to just be able to see what was down there, wet foam etc. Everything looked good and I installed a clear inspection plate so I could constantly check for water intrusion etc. I got really lucky, because on my boat, the front drains that lead to the aft bilge are right below this spot. Its great to every once in a while run pressurized water down those drains to clean them out of any debris. I cut the hole with a down cut blade on a jig saw with depth control as to not cut into anything but the deck surface.

And this is the new rebuilt motor. Rated at 325hp. She has purred like a kitten ever since the install. Will be pulling some of the brackets and accesories off this winter to pant them up and clean them up a little. You can see the two macerators I installed for the bait wells are plumbed to both sides of the motor. easy to get to if there is a clog at some time.

This is a pic of the forward thru hull drains I added for the anchor locker. It already had one but it was plastic and dry rotted. It broke off with one hit of a screw driver and hammer. I added the second one to evacuate the water faster and also just to be more symetrical on the outside. Like all the other drains on the boat that were replaced, these are a larger diameter thru hull for faster draining.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Sorry to just be joining the party, but nice work, really nice work! I too have been accused of having acute/terminal ADHD.......Hey look a squirrel........

Anyway, at least you choose symmetry 'after' function right???

There is a YouTube video by Boatworks:

http://youtu.be/rNLQRRDaitE

This is video #2 of 2. #1 is available also, just found this first & I'm a lazy YouTube surfer...

It describes using epoxy as a build/seal coat to speed application of multiple coats of varnish. This then allows you to apply 3 or 4 topcoats of UV protectant varnish, and avoid LONG wait times between 8-10 coats of just varnish, plus the days & days it takes to apply that many multiple coats. The pieces he does in the video have a really deep, rich finish look, so it seems successful. If I remember correctly, it also is a harder overall finish w/ epoxy base, so hopefully more impact & crack resistant......

I know, where was this info BEFORE you finished.....

Thanks for the great thread & project details. You've done great work. we thinks that oops & friscoboater have some competition....

 

[25thmustang]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

That teak work looks fantastic! Great job on updating this boat.

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Sorry to just be joining the party, but nice work, really nice work! I too have been accused of having acute/terminal ADHD.......Hey look a squirrel........

Anyway, at least you choose symmetry 'after' function right???

There is a YouTube video by Boatworks:

http://youtu.be/rNLQRRDaitE

This is video #2 of 2. #1 is available also, just found this first & I'm a lazy YouTube surfer...

It describes using epoxy as a build/seal coat to speed application of multiple coats of varnish. This then allows you to apply 3 or 4 topcoats of UV protectant varnish, and avoid LONG wait times between 8-10 coats of just varnish, plus the days & days it takes to apply that many multiple coats. The pieces he does in the video have a really deep, rich finish look, so it seems successful. If I remember correctly, it also is a harder overall finish w/ epoxy base, so hopefully more impact & crack resistant......

I know, where was this info BEFORE you finished.....

Thanks for the great thread & project details. You've done great work. we thinks that oops & friscoboater have some competition....

Thanks for the info man, I had actually looked at that guys video before I started. I like all his videos, but I chose to work with the straight varnish and not start with epoxy because I think the wood needs to be able to flex some. The bow pulpit especially needs to be able to expand/contract with out cracking or chaffing the surface. Varnish will stretch with the seasons, where I would be a little concerned about the epoxy not giving it enough flex. That was my thought process anyway,lol

But the guy definately does great work and I have watched probably all his videos. Thanks for the complements, Not sure I will even give the guys you mentioned competition. I really enjoy working on these projects, especially when I get to enjoy them later. Next will be the interior monkey fur is coming out! Budd

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

That teak work looks fantastic! Great job on updating this boat.

Thankyou Sir!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

Good luck! I look forward to seeing interior progress.

I may need to go back & watch those videos, I seem to remember that the epoxy was to improve the ability of the final finish to withstand seasonal swelling & lateral/torsional flexing, and decrease the likelihood of the finish checking. But I've watched about 30 boat rebuild videos, & read countless pages of rebuild threads, so I may very well have it bass-ackwards....

It is almost intimidating to post photos & ask questions, but the workhorses on iboats are absolutely fantastic. And across a wide range of ages, talents & backgrounds. The FiberGlassics site is good, but this one is great. I've been adding subscriptions to follow threads at a rate of 4 or 5 a week. And reading the big threads for an hour or 2 every day since I joined.

Note to pending thread highjacking: On a side note, I grew up in Louisville, was out west 10+yrs: Just North of San Francisco, Salt Lake City & Las Vegas (nice place to visit ONCE, but wouldn't want to live there...But I did for 3 1/2yrs). In WV now, going on our 3rd Xmas, but we're coming to Louisville in early Dec for early Xmas & to celebrate my dad's b-day. I'd really like to drag home a Whitehouse hull posted on Craigslist: http://louisville.craigslist.org/boa/2675569570.html, but that won't car top on a Malibu....Too far to drag it in my 5ft truck bed w/out a trailer. Too far to grab it & leave it in Hurstbourne at the folks place. Their HOA would revolt anyway. I may get creative & find a cheap trailer to throw it on while I'm there, and borrow a truck from my dad. And I swung a framing hammer for 10+yrs, a trim gun for 8, ended my construction career in the Black Hole of the Las Vegas housing crater from hell....:facepalm: I work with a community based rehab organization that facilitates placing the disable in full-time jobs in the public & private sector. And with my 3rd abdominal hernia repair looming, it has all come full circle. I'm looking to start a winter project & get the demo & repair done before surgery, then convalesce sitting on a milk crate, holding an invisible steering wheel & making 'motor-boating' sounds as I 'sip' an adult beverage & only as absolutely necessary take 1/2 a pain pill....... If I spend too long in the garage, I know I can depend on the 'warden' (wife ) to come out & throw a cup of water over the bow to break my daydream before I freeze into a blue-lipped popsicle. And post recovery, doing lite sand & prep for paint until spring.....


We'll be that way @ 12/9-12, PM me if you need a hand stripping the monkey fur......

 

[chriscraft254]

Re: 1990 Chris Craft 254 Seahawk ( Refurb and upgrades)

jbcurt, thanks for the offer man, I think one person in the cabin working will be enough,lol Got the rear helm seat supports/ledgers installed and helm wheel center cap. Moving on to the interior and the swim platform next. Been raining non stop here for a week, so have not been real motivated. Boat really needs to be cleaned up to before it is covered for the winter.