Classic Boat
A Maryland Sea Skiff Returns Home
T
his past June, a nine-year itch was successfully scratched when this 24-foot Chris-Craft Sea Skiff found a home on Middle River on the Chesapeake Bay. Her current owner recently transported her “back home” from her prior slip on the St. Lawrence River (up in Gananoque, Ontario, Canada), where she’d previously enjoyed seven years with her second owner. This Sea Skiff is named Judy IV, in honor of four women who were an important part of her early history. Her current owner respects this legacy and has no interest in re-naming the boat. At 24 by nine feet and weighing about two-and-a-quarter tons, Judy IV was the 60th Ranger produced by ChrisCraft that model year, out of 70 that were built from a three-year run of 170 hulls. Here’s the interesting twist: Her bill of sale lists the Chris-Craft headquarters in Algonac, MI, as the manufacturer who originally sold this boat to a Canadian dealership. But the boat that was soon to become Judy IV was actually manufactured in the Chesapeake Bay Area. Here’s why... The Sea Skiff lineup of boats with clinker-built, lapstrake, round-chine planking was Chris-Craft’s attempt to capture its share of the Lyman Boat Works’ sales success. Lyman became well-known for this process after building about 5000 boats in 1955. Lyman’s continuous success produced nearly 60,000 boats during the company’s 100-year history. Wikipedia describes the differences in these two types of boat construction: 54 May 2020 PropTalk.com
By Chris “Seabuddy” Brown
“Clinker-built (also known as lapstrake) is a method of boat building where the edges of hull planks overlap each other... A contrasting method, where plank edges are butted smoothly seam to seam, is known as carvel construction.” Chris-Craft’s version of the clinkerbuilt process led to the introduction of a new adhesive, Thiokol, which was later renamed “Chris-Craft Sealer.” The
brand new boat was soon owned by a resident of Big Rideau Lake, where this first owner enjoyed fishing and waterskiing activities. Judy IV also did a lot of cruising through the Rideau Canal System’s 45 locks and across the 1610 surface acres of that lake in her early days. Her cuddy cabin provided convenient overnight accommodations during trips. Judy IV was shipped to the Lake Simcoe town of Keswick in Ontario, Canada, in April of 1964. Fast forward to today, where Judy IV is now back home on the Chesapeake. Middle River is about four miles long and has 448 acres of water. Folks waterski, fish, and cruise their boats along this fun-loving waterway that leads to the Bay. Judy IV is very seaworthy for Middle River, with 45 inches ##Photo by Brian Donovan of freeboard forward and 32 inches aft. And she’s still a sealer was said to add about four times very original boat! She has her original the strength to a clinker-built hull. It 327 Chris-Craft marinized Chevy V-8. was discovered during World War II It was upgraded with an over-bore when Chris-Craft was building boats to when it was rebuilt. It now produces an support the war. The sealer was so sucestimated 290 horsepower. cessful in strengthening those hulls that Judy IV also has her original canvas Chris-Craft received several governup at the windshield, coupled with new ment awards for their war boat efforts. canvas that provides slant-back cockpit But the clinker-built Sea Skiffs coverage. In fact, she even has her required more to build than just a original paddle as well as shaft, prop, strong adhesive. Since the clinker-built and rudder. In the near future expect a construction was a significant departure re-covering of the cockpit floor in new, from building carvel boats, Chris-Craft old-stock nautilus vinyl flooring. opened a 339,963-square-foot plant in This is the type of classic boat (preSalisbury, MD, in 1954, dedicated exserved), as well as up to 100 restored clusively to the lapstrake boat-building boats that you can expect to see at the process. 33rd Annual Antique and Classic Boat So, back to Judy IV... The Canadian Festival, held on the grounds of the dealership that Chris-Craft sold her to Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, in 1964 was S. F. Crate and Sons. This June 19–21 in St. Michaels, MD. #