Vintage Race Boat Shop

  We maintain vintage wooden boats.

MisStress

1930 Chris Craft, 24 foot triple cockpit

Owner - Bob Mueller

On May 4, 2003 "MisStress" was driven from her boat house on Roberts Cove to the ramp at Roberts Boat Basin, retrieved and transported to the Vintage Race Boat Shop for some minor wood repairs and complete refinishing.

After many weeks of hard work, "MisStress" was launched, sea trialed and polished - ready for a summer of fun on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee.

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Then on May 12, 2004 "MissStress" was again driven from her boat house on Roberts Cove to the ramp at Roberts Boat Basin, retrieved and transported to the Vintage Race Boat Shop. This time for some performance motor work - installing a set of beautifully polished IMCO exhaust manifolds. But first we had to replace the water pump impeller - it was toast ???!!!

After we installed the rebuilt water pump - we fired the motor and made lots of beautiful noise - until the new water pump kicked in and started pumping lots of fresh water - quieting the throaty sound of the Chevrolet small block motor. The sounds and sights were magical, and then the best part - my first boat ride of the year!!!

MisStress waiting her turn outside the Vintage Race Boat Shop.

On May 22nd, MisStress was moved inside the shop and we unpacked the beautiful IMCO polished exhaust manifolds and stainless steel "S" pipes. We also must some very nice polished aluminum valve covers to install. This is gonna be a fun project !!!

Because of the MerCruiser closed cooling system, the installation process took some time, rerouting all the hoses and fabricating new brackets. But the clean results were worth the effort, and the weight saving was substantial. And notice how the new stainless steel "S" pipes connected very nicely to the existing 3 inch copper exhaust pipes, providing more room to work on the motor.

After installing a new set of spark plugs, we launched "MisStress" at the Wolfeboro public docks and finally got to hear the magical sound produced by the new IMCO exhaust headers/manifolds. After running and checking all the new fitting and hoses, ace mechanic Donnie McLean retorqued all the header bolts.

And then the best part of the project - a beautiful sunset cruise to deliver the boat to Bob Mueller's boathouse on Roberts Cove. The beauty and sound of a mahogany speedboat, the glistening of the water spray, and the June sunset, all provided for a very rewarding and therapeutic experience.

And finally, the new polished stainless steel flame arrestor was installed. Then we fired the motor and let it idle for awhile, checking all the fittings and hoses, and just listening to that magical sound. Yup - the boat and motor were now ready for a summer of fun on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee ???!!!

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