MissLorrieAnne

Vintage Race Boat Shop

We maintain vintage wooden boats.

Miss Lori Anne

A Modified Chris Craft Speedster

Owner/Driver - Ken Sandhage

This photo was taken on Alton Bay, on beautiful Lake Winnipesaukee, and shows Ken Sandhage driving his Chris Craft Speedster. Ken did all the restoration work himself, and did a very nice job converting the original Continental utility design to a single aft cockpit speedster. And last summer, Ken worked with the Vintage Race Boat Shop to improve the performance of the boat - by upgrading to a new technology 4-blade stainless steel prop. We first tried a 13x14 prop, but the 318 Chrysler motor was not quite strong enough to handle the load, so we downsized to a 13x13 prop. That was it, the motor was very happy, and with the additional transom lift of the 4-blade technology, the boat ran very flat and very nicely.

And then on 2/19/2005 the boat was transported to the Vintage Race Boat Shop for some additional performance work (bottom blueprinting) and some fresh paint and varnish. The first step was to move the boat inside the shop, hoist it off the trailer, and setup for work. Then we took some "before" photos and shook hands on the project. Note the expression on Ken's face - was he concerned ???!!!

Then the work began, removing the remaining hardware and a thorough sanding of the deck. The previous coats of varnish were not very smooth, so we spent two days sanding, starting with 120 grit, then 220, followed by 320 and finished up by hand sanding with Scotchbrite pads.

After sanding, the deck was vacuumed and then the areas where we "sanded-through" the stain were touched-up with a special mixture of stain. Note the owner "helping" to make sure Donnie matched the stain properly ???!!!

Finally, after many hours of sanding, stain touch-up and prep work, we applied the first coat of Epifanes varnish. We used our "rolling & wicking" technique and put down a very nice, thick coat of varnish. This was the first of 4 coats, and of course Ken Sandhage was there to observe and critique - and he approved of our progress ???!!!

While we let the first coat of varnish on the deck cure for a week, we attacked the bottom, perhaps the most important part of a wooden boat. A thorough survey verified that the bottom was in very good shape, and was actually replaced several years ago with a plywood inner liner and planks on the outer layer, with 3M-5200 adhesive in the middle. This construction method produces a very strong, flexible and leak free bottom. But the bottom surface was not smooth, so we spent 2 days aggressively sanding the bottom. The first day we sanded with 60 grit paper and the second day was spent with 120 grit sandpaper.

Remember - if you wanna be fast, you gotta be smooth ???!!

After sanding, the bottom was thoroughly vacuumed, tacked and taped.

And then is was show-time - time to "roll & wick" the Interlux Brightside paint. This method applies a very thick and very even coat of paint, and the resulting finish looks sprayed on. The first coat was allowed to dry for one week, then we scuffed the glossy finish with Scotch-Brite Pads and applied the second and final coat.

The hull sides were a little rough, so we had to spend two days sanding and fairing to get them real smooth. After Ken removed the lettering decals with his trusty hair dryer, the first day was spent with 120 grit paper, and the second day was spent with 220 grit, followed by hand sanding with Scotch-Brite Pads. Then the covering board edge seams were cleaned and filled with 3M-5200 Adhesive. This is a very important step that takes a little time but is worth the effort, as any open seam is an entry point for water to enter and cause wood damage.

The hull sides were then thoroughly vacuumed, tacked and taped, followed by the first coat of paint - Epifanes #1 Off-White Enamel. This was applied using our usual "roll & wick" method, and as the photos show, we put down a very thick and very even coat of paint.