1929 Chris-Craft

This 1929 Chris-Craft is a wood-hulled 26′ triple-cockpit Runabout that is equipped with a replacement Chrysler 440ci V8, which has reportedly been stroked to 498ci, and which drives a three-blade bronze propellor via a forward/reverse transmission. The boat features green leather upholstery, green bottom paint, a white boot stripe, and varnished topsides. The boat was discovered in a state of disrepair inside a Michigan barn in the early 2000s. It was subsequently transported to Colorado where it underwent a refurbishment in the early 2010s, that included building a 5200 bottom and installing the replacement engine. The boat was acquired in 2021 by its current owner, a board member of the Rocky Mountain Wooden Boat school, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing education in traditional wooden boat building skills. The total sale amount will be donated to the school. The included green-finished double-axle trailer was custom-built in 2009 and is owned by another board member of the school. Just Lovely and the accompanying trailer are now offered at no reserve by the seller on behalf of their current owners with Colorado registration in the owner’s name for the boat and a clean Colorado title in the owner’s name for the trailer. The boat features the upswept raised-deck design introduced by Chris-Craft in the late 1920s as well as a foredeck that gradually inclines to meet the base of the windscreen. The hull and deck feature seam-and-batten wood construction, and polished brightwork includes the cutwater, rub rails, cleats, and louvered engine compartment vents. A 5200 bottom was installed and finished with green bottom paint during the refurbishment. The triple-cockpit layout features three seating areas with bench seats that are upholstered in green leather, and color-coordinated material covers the floors. Features include a folding center backrest up front, a single-pane adjustable windscreen, gunwale-mounted step pads, and under-seat storage. The port-side helm features a four-spoke steering wheel with a hub-mounted throttle lever along with a three-position floor shifter. Center-mounted instrumentation includes a tachometer as well as gauges for coolant temperature, fuel level, oil pressure, and amperage. No hour meter is present, therefore total operating hours are unknown. The boat has been equipped with a Chrysler 440ci V8 that has reportedly been stroked to 498ci. The engine turns a single three-blade bronze propeller through a forward-reverse transmission. The double-axle trailer was custom-built in 2009, and features include nonskid step plates, a manual winch, a rolling tongue jack, whitewall tires, street lighting, and bunk rollers. The boat’s Colorado registration expired in December 2020.