1965/66 Chris Craft Dispatcher Restoration

Hi all!! This forum is a great resource for Chris Craft Roamers. Appreciate the time everybody takes to post on the forum.

I am extremely fortunate to have gotten my hands on this boat. The boat is probably very close to being lost but I'm gonna give it go on restoring the boat. I'll try to DIY most aspects of the restoration. Attached are numerous photos of boat when I got my hands on her.

There is substantial rust damage on the bottom of the boat...mostly within a foot of the keel. There are also holes peppered on the bottom of the hull. My plan is to cut out the rusted steel and weld new steel in.

All the interior in the cabin and wheel house will be removed, striped/sanded, and refinished. Interior steel will have to be sand blasted and painted. Railings and toe rail are rotted and will have to be replaced. I have not decided what brand of finish to use. I have been relying on Forums, blogs, and you tube to see what people are using.

All exterior fiberglass and steel will be repainted. Below water line exterior will also have to be sand blasted. Above the water line, exterior steel looks pretty good. Only a handful of spots have blistered. I think I can sand down to the fairing compound and build back up(I hope). I have not decided what brand of finish to use. I have been relying on Forums, blogs, and you tube to see what people are using.

The twin 327 engines last ran in mid 2000's. I hate to admit it but I have not looked at the engines yet. I have not even checked to see if they are seized. I figure worst case scenario, they need to be rebuilt or replaced. Either way, I kind of assume this expense will have to happen at some point. I'm more worried about the rust damage.

I come from a family that has roamer's since the late 1950's. I'm hoping to be a 3rd generation Capitan of a roamer.

Thanks NYCAP123. She will keep me out of trouble for a few years!!

She's a beautiful boat. I've attached some pictures to show progress. Unfortunately, I have not touched her in 2 months due to career and 4 kids. I'm in the home construction industry and houses cannot be built fast enough. Even with lumber prices the way they are.

I have most of the rotten steel cut out of the hull. There is rust bubbling through the paint on the inside of the cabin. Next step is to sand blast and epoxy the interior cabin. I found a used schmit 3.5 sand blaster with hoses and PPE equipment. Unfortunately, a used 375 cfm air compressor has a hefty price. Either I'll rent one or wait until fall to see if prices come down.

I have all the trim, cabinets and walls in my shop waiting to be stripped and refinished. New age stripper sucks BTW. I want the "dangerous" wood stripper back. I'm starting to wonder if I should try sanding the old finish off.

Thanks Eric for asking for an update. Composing this post gets me excited to get back at it. Have a great summer fellas. I'll post an update as soon as I get back at it.