Restoration of a 1961 Chris-Craft

 Over the last week or so I've been fitting bottom planks.  I started with the second plank from the keel because it fits to both the gripe and the side plank/chine.   Once I was happy with those I fit the garber planks next to the keel.  It was a laborious process to test fit, remove to adjust, test fit, remove to adjust, test fit, remove to adjust, test fit and on and on for 2 or 3 hours.  There must be a better way!  But I finally fit these 4 planks.  Then I moved outward from the keel to the next plank and found it more difficult than the others.     So much so that I called Bryan (an expert at this) who came over today to help.  I learned an incredible amount about how to go about this.  Unfortunately there is no quick fix or automated way to do this.  However with his help, we managed to fit the next two planks on either side.  Now I can cut, plane, and fit the aft planks that are basically flat and straight....

 The transom planks don't have a severe bend so I soaked them for about 5 or 6 days and then    clamped them to the transom.  Once they dry out in a week or two, I'll attach them permanently.  Before I clamped them I coated the battens for the transom with CEPS and installed the ones on the plank that was already installed.  Notice how dark the wood is after soaking.  They lighten up as they dry out.  There's a space between them for clamping but I'll fit them better once they dry out!   Coating battens with Clear epoxy sealer:  

 Over the last several weeks I have continued to work on attaching the plywood bottom and the intermediate frames.  In order to do it by myself I've had to get creative.  But as of today, I have just 9 intermediate frames to go and one last piece of the plywood bottom. Here is a frame where I drew a line to line up through the hole that's drilled in the correct position.  Once I prepare the frame, I line it up through the holes.  However the one near the keel is to far away to move the frame and see in the hole.  So I attached the frame near the chine and then used a mirror to see it near the keel.    For the starboard bow plywood piece, I attached the intermediate frames before I attached the plywood to the boat.  However, this made it more challenging to be sure the plywood was in contact with the keel near the frame farthest from the bow.  So I clamped it and them piled a couple of cinder blocks to insure contact.  After this I w...

 Now that the first transom plank was in position I could set the supports for the exhaust pipes.  Using the old supports I drilled holes in two supports for the exhaust pipes.  Then attached them in position with clamps and screws.  After the next plank is installed, I will drill the holes through the next plank.  The holes are at about a 10 degree angle like the original holes.  I used an old drill press to get the appropriate angle.