THE BENCHMARK renovation

A VINTAGE 1967 CHRIS CRAFT CONSTELLATION AFT-CABIN CRUISER

Copyright By
Henri Aube
Penetanguishene, Ontario
May, 2016
705-549-1350

Table of Contents
Background How did you ever get it to look so nice! ............................................................................................................................... 1
Through the Shop ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Interim Repairs and Betterments ............................................................................................................................................................. 10
The Interior Challenge ............................................................................................................................................................................. 18
Mechanical Equipment ............................................................................................................................................................................. 23
Second refinishing of the hull ................................................................................................................................................................... 29
Step 1

Remove the existing finish ..................................................................................................................................................... 31

Step 2

Remove the old seam compound........................................................................................................................................... 32

Step 3

Find, mark and remove all deteriorated wood ........................................................................................................................ 34

Step 4

Prepare the repair areas to receive new wood ....................................................................................................................... 37

Step 5

Install the new wood ............................................................................................................................................................... 38

Step 6

Fair the hull ............................................................................................................................................................................ 39

Step 7

Preserve the hull seams ......................................................................................................................................................... 41

Step 8

Seal the hull ........................................................................................................................................................................... 42

Step 9

Prime time 1 ........................................................................................................................................................................... 43

Step 10 Machine and shape the seams ............................................................................................................................................. 44

Step 11 Seal the seams again............................................................................................................................................................ 46
Step 12 Caulk and radius the seams .................................................................................................................................................. 49
Step 13 Apply primer coat 2 ............................................................................................................................................................... 51
Step 14 Apply top coats...................................................................................................................................................................... 52
Step 15 Repair and paint superstructure ............................................................................................................................................ 54
Step 16 Mask and prep for stripes ...................................................................................................................................................... 55
Step 17 Mount hardware and moldings .............................................................................................................................................. 56
Launch, Admire and Celebrate ................................................................................................................................................................ 57

NOTE: Although some photographs portrait a radar dome, the boat no longer has radar or chartplotter installed. New
owners can install up to date equipment to suit their boating areas.

Background How did you ever get it to look so nice!

This story begins in 1967 when a 1967 Chris Craft Constellation was delivered to a buyer in Toronto and christened Jacks Joy. Not
much is known of the next 10 years, but the boat was sold in the very late 70s and re-named the Crown Royal. It was berthed in a
covered slip on Lake Simcoe by its new owner at Crates Marina in Keswick Ontario.
In 1983, the current owners purchased the boat through Crate Marine Brokerage and assumed the slip rental in Keswick We began
using the boat on Lake Simcoe, gradually widening our cruising radius to include the Trent- Severn waterways, Lake Couchiching and
eventually to Georgian Bay for summer holidays as we gained boating skill and experience.
In the early 90s, the boat was now over 25 years old, and beginning to show signs of deterioration. These included some soft spots on
the decks, transom corner discoloration, paint peeling in a few locations, worn and damaged vinyl deck coverings and other subtle
signs indicating that repairs were needed. Following consultations with other boat owner friends and a very knowledgeable Mr. Crate
himself, the decision was made to put it through the Shop over the winter of 92.
This was the occasion of its first major repair/re-finish, and it certainly brought the boat right back up to snuff, as the photos and work
descriptions of the next section illustrate.

Rebuilding the BENCHMARK

Page 1

The BENCHMARK in the early 90s

Through the Shop

Instead of hauling out and winterizing in the slip, the Benchmark was lifted by the Travel-Lift, deposited on a trailer and backed into the
shop bay to be blocked and supported by jack-stands.
Over the winter months, the boat was stripped, railings and hardware removed, and toe rails and moldings had to go in order that the
Nautalex vinyl deck cladding could be removed for access to the decks. The boat was repaired in various sections by adding marine
plywood decking and new planks and moldings to replace any and all wood showing any deterioration. While repairs, sanding, fairing
and re-assembly prep were going on over the coldest winter months, the heat was kept on in the building to dry out the boat in order to
achieve the ideal moisture balance in the boat prior to painting. Here are some photos of the process:
This is the boat before the first time through
the shop at Crates Marin Sales in Keswick.
Its great to start with a boat with such great
lines.
One part of our decision to renew the boat
is that we saw nothing on the water that we
would trade this boat in for rather than fix
it.Good decision, judging by the 30 +
years weve enjoyed it so far.

First step was to strip the old finishes off the

boat to see what needs to be repaired.
Turns out we needed to replace about 8
planks, some decking, the door well on the
Starboard side of the cabin, and the vinyl on
the main exterior deck. We also decided to
add a new bow pulpit to help in anchoring
maneuvers and to help lengthen the profile
of the boat.

Some of the planking and rub rail being

replaced. Soft decks were also found.
Of course the complete railing assembly
and stanchions, as well as the toe rails and
vinyl had to be removed to gain access to
all the repair locations.

The finished planking and decking repairs are

evident here. Over 150 hours have been spent
getting it to this point. Plus I was doing some of the
work as well.big job.
Boat has been masked for painting.
The hull and decks are being filled and smoothed.
Primer has been applied to the superstructure.
Everything has been epoxy sealed. Modern Sikaflex
sealants were used throughout the re-assembly
process to really turn this boat into a more modern
creation than what had entered the shop.
In short, the boat was now upgraded to being able to
function in the outside environment.no need for a
covered slip and protection, because of the
thoroughly modern methods and materials used to
re-bed and seal all the parts as the boat went back
together.

Hull has been primed, final sanding and seam shaping is

being done at this stage.

First coat of Awlgrip applied..looking pretty awesome!

Second coat of Awlgrip applied.The blue accent stripes and

bootstripe are then applied to the topsides and cabin.
In total, there were 2 primer coats, 2 top coats white, one
topcoat blue and a final coat of Awlgrip ClearCoat over all
Looking pretty gleaming awesome!

Launch day..(and of course Billing Day.Ouch!)

And this is the exterior of the great looking machine we enjoyed

until the late oughts.(2007), a very respectable relatively troublefree period of 15 years.
See how the new bow pulpit enhances the appearance?

Interim Repairs and Betterments

Once the boat was refinished, we decided that we were ready for new horizons, and moved the boat permanently to outdoor open slips
on Georgian Bay, where we proceeded to enjoy it with few repairs needed until the early 2000s.
The weak points on a wooden boat are very similar to those on a car. They tend to go at the seams and in the corners. A slow leak
started in the starboard transom corner, so when we pulled the boat, sure enough we found deteriorated wood..turns out that some
sawdust from the early 90s repair had not been cleaned out, and thats where the trouble started.so the bottom transom and rearmost chine planks were removed, the lower corner posts replaced, new planking installed, and the swim platform re-installed to
complete the repair.

Ever notice the big square cleats on the back deck? They are in the shape of a post with a pin running through them. They are made
out of a hollow brass casting that is polished and chromed. They are held on to the boat by large and long bolts passing through the
whole deck and secured with large washers and nuts in the lazarette compartment.

Solar Pumps.thats what they are!!!!! Turns out that 40 and 41 Connies have a slight lift at the aft deck, which results in there being a
pool of water around these 2 cleats, at least most of the time. No matter how well they are sealed to the deck, the sun warms the hollow
castings up really hot during the day (pressurizing the casting, expelling some air.hot air expands).and then creating a vacuum as
they cool down overnight. Slowly by slowly, water is drawn in by the vacuum, then partially expressed out through the bolt holes during
the day in minute amounts until it cumulatively is enough to cause problems like this:
The problem. I repaired it twice and it kept coming backSo it
was obviously time for a new approach! When we removed them,
sure enough they were full of water.This time I was there to see
it personally, and able to plan a solution.
The first thing I did was to flip the cleats over and cut a vent hole in
the base with a hacksaw. The saw kerf is only just as wide as the
hacksaw blade but prevents vacuum or pressure from forming
inside the hollow casting. A small hole drilled into the casting
would work just as well.
Next I had a scupper installed to drain the deck overboard so no
water could accumulate.
Lastly, the cleats were mounted on a teak block to ensure the
problem would never recur.

New deck and framing installed.

Teak Blocks under cleats.
Scuppers through toe rails drain deck.
Problem solved!

New top planks installed in transom..

bleached, stained and varnished.

Meanwhile, while expert Merv at Nautical Masters was completing the deck, I was busy taking the other corners apart so I could clean
them out, repair as necessary, treat them with preservative and renew the joints with modern materials and improved fasteners.
The outer chine corners were released, and the chine planking
removed on both sides enabling a very close inspection and
framing repairs. Some deteriorated and cracked gussets and
frames were found and replaced. The whole area was thoroughly
cleaned out, treated with multiple doses of preservative and then
painted up in preparation for re-assembly using our old friend
Sikaflex.
The original caulks and bedding compounds were oil-based, and
although they last a good long time, its not forever. Almost all
leaks and deterioration can be traced back to these failing oilbased materials..Thats why I dont use them in
repairs/renovation work like this.

New frames built and installedand the chines re-fastened to the frames.but not with screws but with stainless carriage bolts, and
sealed with modern Sikaflex sealant.

Oak-Reinforced frame at lifting location to strengthen the hull.

Carriage bolt
fasteners result in an immensely stronger joint/corner along both
chines.

Travel-Lift straps now force against oak blocks at reinforced

locations rather than softer mahogany willy-nilly locations. Much
less likely to damage the boat during handling.

Cover it up and put it to bed for the winter.

And launch it in the spring..Nice work, Nautical Masters!

Nice looking symetrical modernized classic yacht

The Interior Challenge

The boat was looking marvelous on the outside, and felt even more solid because of the stiffening of the hull with improved fasteners
and stiffer chines. We began to think about the bridge and the interior at that point.
Basically, over the course of 4 spring seasons, the bridge area was stripped, sanded re-stained and re-finished, followed by the forward
cabin, main cabin and finally the aft cabin. One area per year was completed and then the boat enjoyed for the summer. All wallpaper
and carpets/flooring were also renewed.

New curtains and

bedspreads with pillows were created by sewing machine and Mr.
Wallet.

Essentially, the old Avocado Green-inspired finish was stripped and scraped away throughout the boat to bare wood. Everything was
sanded, stained, sealed, coated with 3 coats of Pettit Captains varnish then finished with Pettit interior semi-gloss varnish.
ALL the hardware was taken off, cleaned and polished. Everything was taken apart and cleaned of old neglect and grime. The boat
looks feels and smells fresh from the factory. Cushions were all replaced. Carpet is very recent.

New industrial/commercial-grade (.54 wide----no seams) wallpaper, new carpet, new upholstery and cushions throughout.

Mechanical Equipment

We replaced the original 327 CID 210 HP engines with a pair of rebuilt 350 CID 260HP engines back around 1990. Since then, those 2
have also been replaced; therefore we are on our 3rd set of engines. We like to use the boat!
The engine on the left in the picture above was hand- built from all new parts on a reconditioned short block by a friend and
professional diesel mechanic. It runs like a charm and has around 1,400 hours on it. The motor it replaced had blown a head gasket,
ingested some uncompressible water, and, well, you know the rest.
The other one developed a blow-by problem and although running OK, was simply replaced with a brand new GM Goodwrench factory
crate long block engine around 2008, and currently has around 700 hours on it. As you can see the exhaust manifolds were replaced
with new ones, and while we had the whole shebang out of the boat, that transmission was also rebuilt with all new clutches and plates.
Carburetors have had rebuild kits installed. The ignition system has been upgraded to electronic ignition using the existing distributors
in order to preserve the use of mechanical Tachs. Ignition cables, caps and rotors are all fresh or new. The engines run perfectly. One
ammeter and one temperature gauge do not work, but the rest of the instrument panel is functional.

A rebuilt Onan 6.5 KW genset replaced the old Kohler in the late 90s and runs like a charm.

The Genset is installed forward in the engine room, very accessible for service. House bank consists of 4 golf cart batteries for 440 AH
capacity. The heavy marine grade Heart Interface inverter/charger functions are controlled from the electrical panel. The inverter is
rated at 2,000 watts, with an integrated 90 AMP (approx.) charger for very fast charging.
The inverter/charger is a very smart machine. It incorporated an automatic transfer switch. Provided it is properly set up, this means
that as soon as the boat is plugged in to shore power, the transfer switch makes shore power the source for the boat, automatically.
Conversely, as soon as shore power is removed by unplugging or switching the power to OFF on the electrical panel, the unit switches
the boat power source to the inverter. If the charger is in automatic ON setting, as soon as either the genset or shorepower energizes
the boat, the unit immediately starts charging the batteries. The whole setup is matched for situations where we can anchor out for
about a week at a time, and run the genset an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening and fully replace the 200 AH per day we
usually consume with the LED anchor light, refrigerator, freezer, coffee maker, computers, internet hub, toasters, lights, water pump
and other accessories.
A week out is the limit for provisioning.because of the need for fresh fruit, vegetables, wine, fresh water (50 gallon fresh water tank),
and waste (28 gallon waste tank capacity). Weve spent 2 full summers on the boat, and the system and capacities work just fine for our
purposes.

The Benchmark at anchor for a week in

the Benjamin Islands in Georgian Bays
North Channel, but it has cruised
extensively too.
This boat is very comfy for extended
travel. The 2011 summer trip:

Another couple of good photos showing the Benchmark at anchor for a week in the Benjamin Islandsone of the top cruising grounds
in the world.
The boat is equipped with the best modern sanitation system available, composed of VacuFlush heads powered by a (2010) Sealand
HTS-VG-28 vacuum/tank system. Works great..no funky smells.pleasant boat..happy crew.

Second refinishing of the hull

As every long-term boat owner knows, if you want to keep the boat in tip-top condition for a long time, there really is no such thing as a
maintenance-free yacht.
Father Time and Mother Nature are constantly working at your pride and joy, but yacht owners are not defenseless. Timely
maintenance, paying immediate attention to small problems before they become big problems, and a focus on quality work can be very
effective in holding the elements at bay.
In 2007, after taking a long hard look at the boat, an assessment was made that it was time to strip and re-paint the boat. The key
reason for this decision was not so much that the paint had failed, but rather that much of the original, oil-based caulking compounds
used on the hull seams 40 years ago was losing its elasticity. It was drying out and cracking, exposing the hull to unseen dangers.
Here is a picture illustrating the problem:
Notice the cracked compound between the top two planks.
The caulk is no longer effective, but most importantly, any
water landing or laying on that hairline crack is going to be
sucked into the joint through capillary action, all the way back
to the batten, and start the process of deteriorating the wood.
Chris Craft, to their immense credit, built these boats by
fitting the planks to the hull frames, but then removed each
and every one to seal, prime and paint all 6 sides before final
installation.
So the paint seal on the plank surfaces will slow things down,
but eventually, in the presence of water, deterioration will
begin.
This and dirt trapping moisture in corners and in seams are
the biggest threats to wooden boats bar none. Keep them
clean and sealed and the boats can last for centuries.

Instead of taking it to a shop for the job, I decided I would put my by now many years of experience to work and tackle the job myself.
After all, most of the process is not particularly skilled although labor intensive, I had the time, the knowledge and was able to rent a
shop space on reasonable terms for the time required to do the job.
This will document the steps taken in the hull restoration in the interest of recording and explaining the process, pitfalls and techniques
used to achieve some pretty spectacular end results.
Hopefully this document will prove helpful to others planning or doing their own boat restorations.
I hasten to add that this is not the only way the work can be done, but simply my chosen path to achieve my goals for the preservation
of this fine motor yacht weve taken so much pleasure in over the last 30 + years.

Step 1

Remove the existing finish

The first step is to remove all the hardware, moldings, emblems and lights possible to preserve them from damage. The use of small
zip-lock bags labelled and taped to any removed object at this stage will make re-installation a breeze at the end. Take the time to do
this step rightit will be repaid in spades.
In order to strip the hull of 6 coats of an extremely tough epoxy paint system, I tried any and all stripping chemicals I could lay my hands
on, including professional automotive and aircraft paint strippers. Nothing worked satisfactorily, so as a last attempt before grinding it
off, I tried a heat gun.
Eureka, it worked, and although slow because of the quantity and quality of the paint, I was able to scrape the paint off over the course
of 14 days. The remaining patch of paint you see on the next picture represents most of a days workbut it all got done.

Step 2

Remove the old seam compound

Next, we needed to rid the hull of the root cause of its problems, that is the job of removing all the old seam compound originally meant
to seal the hull between individual mahogany planks. This material had by now lost all its elasticity, had dried out, was cracking
everywhere and was as hard as cement. Several approaches were tried, and in the end my friend, mentor and inventor Merv at
Nautical Masters Inc. devised and made a special tool to carry a saws-all blade wedged in a housing with adjustable depth capability. I
went through a dozen of these blades, but with the help of the heat gun to soften the compound, it became malleable enough to remove
without herculean effort and without having to resort to a router for the job (and all the guides and gouging dangers that that approach
entails.hand tools are best for amateurs!).

Notice the before and after shots of the blue seam above. The new rake does an excellent job of cleaning out the failed seam
compound.

Every seam on the hull was cleaned out using the newly invented rake tool. The depth adjustment meant I only reached the bottom of
the seam and no further, preventing damage to the batten behind the planks. You can tell by the residue spread by the tools shoe,
(because it all comes out as a powdery dusty mess.wear a good dust and vapor mask with new cartridges if you are going to do this),
which seams have been done in the picture to the right.
During this process, you become intimately familiar with every single plank of the hull, and its the right time to mark any bad wood that
will need to be removed and replaced to complete the above-water hull overhaul. And that of course will become Step 3.

Step 3

Find, mark and remove all deteriorated wood

By feel, by color, by smell, deteriorated wood needs to be identified for removal, and a clear plan for replacement is needed before
going further..one does not want to remove a 9 foot plank to discover that only 6 footers are available at a reasonable price. Miss this
step at your own risk, as they say!

Use whatever method appeals, but mark the areas that require repairs clearly and take them apart for renewal.

You might find surprises such as this one:

See that sawdust in the photos above???? Well thats been laying there since the boat was built in 67.
How do we know this?
Look againthe sawdust which held the moisture which led to the eventual plank deterioration after an amazing 40 years, mind you, is
directly below a window frame installed at the original construction time. The dust had to be there before, as it is impossible to fall there
later because the path is blocked by a window frame spanning from the inside to the outside of the boat.
Somebody forgot to clean up after themselves!
It is what it is, the warranty and the company are both expired, so we deal with it.

Carefully review the whole hull, make decisions on whether or not action is required, and then execute the master plan. The plank
identified on the right was a bit dark but not bad enough to require replacement. A good preservative treatment will be applied and
special attention paid to sealing the area to extend its life.

Step 4

Prepare the repair areas to receive new wood

Even though the deteriorated wood is gone, there are inevitably spores of bad things left behind. So it is a great practice to clean up the
areas through scraping, sanding and vacuuming, and then to apply a wood preservative to any exposed wood before sealing and
painting everything before new wood is installed. Clear wood preservative can be found and used to great advantage. It is invisible but
very effective. The material I used was called Zinc Napthanate. The green stuff we usually see is a close cousin, Copper Napthanate,
and works very well if you cant find the other product.
Prepare as good a foundation as you can
for the new wood. You dont want to do
this again for a long, long time.
Notice the long, flexible plastic clear tubing
that you can buy at Home Depot. Its the
perfect size to extend a ShopVac hose and
to snake down the inside of the hull for a
thorough cleaning, anywhere you have
access like this.
The planks you see have already been
fitted, drilled, and fastened to the boat for a
trial fitting and final adjustment. Then they
are removed and take a few days off while
they are treated with preservative, sealed,
and painted twice on 6 sides prior to final
installation. The same has been done to
the frames and battens.

Step 5

Install the new wood

Im just not handy enough, nor do I have the tools for this, so I enlisted a master craftsman ( Check out
http://www.nauticalmasters.com/index.htm for more examples of restoration genius).

Step 6

Fair the hull

I thought I was now ready to start priming and painting and boating!
But.NotSo.. Fast..On Mervs absolute insistence, the hull needed to be completely faired in his opinion, so that the boat
could look its very best. He could either lend me the tools for the job, at my peril, or take a couple of days out of his busy schedule to
help me out yet again.Wisely, I chose option 2.

This step is especially messy. Check out the top right hand photo.
About 20 lbs. of dust were created and had to be cleaned up from everywhere.
Notice how the boat superstructure has been bagged.
Even the shop area containing the ship had to be sectioned off with large tarps hung from ceiling to floor, such was the quantity of
sanding dust created by the high speed disks and large wheels used to remove almost all the usual lumps and imperfections inherent in
a big old wooden hull built in a different era.
The rough float sanding was then finished off using a pro 6 inch autobody air powered sander to further refine the surface.
This is the basis of how the Benchmark looks to-day. Its hull shape is both exquisite and exceptional because we took the few extra
days and dollars to do the project justice in terms of preparing the surfaces to be finished.
As usual, absolutely spot-on advice from Nautical Masters.
http://www.nauticalmasters.com

Step 7

Preserve the hull seams

To protect the renovation for as long as possible, the hull seams were treated with Zinc Napthanate. Anyone doing this must remember
they are working with poison, and must wear protective clothing, rubber or nitrile gloves and a full face respirator with
appropriate cartridges. In this case, the preservative was applied by hand spray and took about a gallon of material. Remember..its
a poison.protect yourself fully before working with this material.
Apply preservative to
all seams, including
the vertical butt joints.
Concentrate on getting
the material to the
back of the seams, all
the way to the battens
behind the planks.
Saturate the wood.
Two applications were
used on this hull.

Step 8

Seal the hull

Remembering that all the seams had been gouged out by a saw blade, destroying any previous seal, special attention is paid to
ensuring this area is re-sealed when applying the excellent Pettit 2018 Old Salem clear sealer to the hull.
First, take a fully loaded brush and
carefully gob the sealer into each
seam.
Then apply the sealer with a small
roller, as you would normally do.
Finally, brush the sealer in vigorously
to ensure it gets into the bottom of all
the grain.

Step 9

Prime time 1

The first coat of primer is applied to the hull plank faces. No need to work it into seams yet, because more machining work will be
needed later to make the seams straight and even. The main purpose of this primer coat is to enable you to see and deal with
remaining defects and imperfections in the hull.

You can now see all the little divots and imperfections, as well as how good a job was done in sealing to the bottom of the plank seams.
Shiny reflections from there are good.
This is the stage where you can use a fine fairing putty such as Pettits Z-Spar glazing putty to fill and sand smooth any imperfections.
The putty is hard to find, however.
You can make your own by going to the drugstore and purchasing some med-grade talcum powder. It has no scents or fillers in it. You
dont want baby powder. Then you simply mix some into a small quantity of primer and Voila!, you have DIY putty that is guaranteed
compatible with the primer..because it IS the primer.

Step 10 Machine and shape the seams

Even if seams were perfectly even before, they wont be now. This is because the fairing process has altered the thickness of the
seams somewhat by removing wood is that was especially proud from the boat. Therefore it is advisable to re-machine the seams to
even everything out so the boat will look its best when the project is complete.

The first thing to do is to make up a V-block to help shape the seam and chamfer the edges. Make it from hardwood so it will keep its
shape through the project. A deeper V shape gives you better control of the width dimension. Ensure the sanding will not reach the
batten and destroy the seal. Make it as long as the sheets of sandpaper you will be using. In this example, a stout sanding belt was
purchased and cut to fit. It really is very tough because of the fabric backing and the strong resins used to adhere the grit to the belt.
Lasts forever compared to ordinary sandpaper.
Length will also help control depth of cut, the longer the less aggressive the cut, the more control. This block is about 9 inches long.
Make up a gauge for your width target. I used a Vernier caliper, but any gauge will do the trick in helping achieve consistent seams.

Dont forget to clean things out again, removing all the sanding dust to prepare for the next step.

Step 11 Seal the seams again

Machining each and every seam destroyed a small portion of the sealing step taken earlier.
Re-sealing the plank edges will restore the sealing integrity to the planks.
A second reason to do a great job here is that the seams will next be filled with Sikaflex caulking. A little-known property of this material
is that although it will stick to raw wood, it will stick 10 times better than that if is applied to a sealed non-porous surface. A second goal
of this step is therefore to provide that non-porous surface as a caulking base.

Time to make up another tool, a small 1 inch brush is cut back to a V shape, but left thick to carry lots of product. Working in sections,
sealer is applied liberally to the seams and plank tops to make certain that a full seal is achieved.

While the sealer is still wet, blow it in so it gets into every nook and cranny possible.
Then, using a solvent-dampened cloth, wipe away the excess. The other photo shows a nice reflection from the seam
bottoms..exactly the result needed for best caulk adhesion.

The hull is starting to look very, very good by this point:

Step 12 Caulk and radius the seams

Warm up the tubes of white Sikaflex by leaving them in the sun awhile, otherwise a very sore forearm will result because there are a lot
of feet of seams to fill squeezing the trigger of a high quality gun.

After paying in the caulk in a seam, establish a consistent depth and radius by making up and using yet another tool, created by using
the crushed dollar-store teaspoon-in-a-vise trick.

There will be overflow onto the plank faces which can be cleaned up with a putty knife and a solvent-dampened rag. It is important not
to leave any caulking lumps because they will show as uneven areas in the finished painted hull.

By now the hull is looking fantastic.

Step 13 Apply primer coat 2

From here on, the project becomes a straightforward painting project. The quality of the results are, as usual, in direct proportion to the
time and effort paid in preparation.

Step 14 Apply top coats

The topcoats were applied using my standard method.Roll on the paint using a small foam roller to ensure as even a coating as
possible, followed by a vigorous brushing using a good wide high quality 4 inch or wider brush. The final finish of each coat is achieved
by a very light tip-off with a 4 inch foam brush. This eliminates almost all brush marks. Pettit White Semi-Gloss is the perfect match.

Step 15 Repair and paint superstructure

At this point in the job, the cabin was stripped, and a few more problems found and repaired. The same preparation and finishing
processes were applied before the accent and boot stripes were painted on the boat.

Step 16 Mask and prep for stripes

At the very beginning of the project, I had taken a Dremel tool with a small wheel and cut a very thin saw kerf into the hull at one or two
foot intervals all along the length of all the stripes. Using those marks as a guide enabled a fairly straightforward masking process to reestablish the lines in their original positions.

Step 17 Mount hardware and moldings

This is where the screws in the baggies trick pays off by providing every piece with exactly the right type, quantity and length of fastener
required for replacement.

Launch, Admire and Celebrate

The Benchmark was in the Thousand Islands area over the summers of 2010 and 2011, and was entered in the Antique Boat
Museums Annual Boat Show competition. Benchmark won her category both years. The following pictures show the boat on the Mary
Street dock adjacent to the Antique Boat Museum during the show in 2011.

The following are scans of the original 1967 Chris Craft catalogue pages
that were devoted to the 40 foot Constellation model:

The Benchmark
The best of both worlds:
A thoroughly modern and capable Yacht.
A true Classic Wooden vessel rebuilt to provide all the comforts and charm of yesteryear in a long lasting modern structure that will
remain easy to maintain. The heavy lifting has been done!

Comments and suggestions welcomed. The author can be reached:

henriaube@outlook.com
705-549-1350