1947 Chris Craft S 25 088 Sportsman Orca Flipped 4 13 2024 2

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Ne’ Baby Chick IV, this Chris-Craft Model 47-28, HIN 088, S-25 Sportsman left Algonac in 1947. She arrived in her family’s poultry operation in Virginia, where they enjoyed her for many years before banishing her to a pole barn some thirty years ago.

Thanks to Woody Boater, Matt Smith, she became mine last spring. We began her preservation this fall.

She is no longer Baby Chick IV. Henceforth she will be known as Orca, since she reminds me of a majestic killer whale frolicking in the water.

Flipping her was incredibly challenging, even with our two-winch-and-roller system. The reference to 8’ clearance refers to the distance from the floor up to the roller assembly. Hey, 1/16” is plenty of clearance! Phew.

After seemingly endless research, we have sourced sufficient skins that match her original green upholstery exactly.

We had to replace the aft deck planking and both aft covering board sections must be replaced, but the balance of the coamings and the covering boards from the seam at the coamings forward, as well as the foredeck will be preserved.

We want you to be able to follow our progress, so get prepared for numerous videos going forward.

Sources for all materials mentioned above are available at: https://snakemountainboatworks.com/ma....