KIWI REBUILD OF A CLASSIC CHRIS CRAFT RIVIERA – Whimsical Mistress
Last month while discussing the gradual demise of a once nice wooden classic launch with Glen Archer he casually mentioned that he had imported a Chris Craft Riviera from the USA and totally restored / rebuilt her back in NZ. I’ll hand over to Glen to tell the story –
“Today I share some images and back story of our 1950 Chris Craft Riviera 20 that we imported from the USA in late 2018 from a deceased estate, the boat was pretty much stuffed, was in parts and had not been in the water since 1991, what followed was a full 3000 hour / 4 year restoration. The boat has 40% new oak frames, a full no soak bottom and a new deck, with it being very hard to see where the new and old timber meet.
The boat was relaunched in February 2023 The boat has been completely refixed fully with new silicone bronze screws and bolts and reassembled using 130 tubes of 3M 5200, stains and paints were imported to ensure period correct and the original MBL158 engine has been brought back to life with lots of new bits. 28 coats of varnish finish the boat off, along with a complete new interior, finished exactly as the boat left the factory. Quite possible the worlds most impractical thing to boat in, yet very high on the smile factor!”
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waitematawoodys.com #1 for classic wooden boat stories, info, advice & news - updated daily - 14+ million views 
Thank you for the kind words about our Boat.
The engine is the original Chriscraft MBL158hp engine that the boat launched with- the Boat is located away from home and I will endevour to get a engine plate photo when we see her next….as for the revs about 3600!
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The early Chriscraft engines were either Hercules or Continental, Chriscraft made modified heads and manifolds to give better performance, it is hard to tell the difference between the two from the picture as the cylinder heads look similar. Both painted blue. Maybe the owner could let us know which engine this one has from engine plate numbers etc. Lovely boat.
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Great effort BZ those men.
The late William Garden -famed designer- used to describe the engine noise as “booggledy booggledy……” Changed dramatically with the revs (which weren’t really high anyway.
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Absolutely stunning — a huge credit for the patience & skill of the re-creation of her restoration team. — KEN R
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Beautiful boat we have been lucky enough to have at our parades!
Lake Rotoiti (North Island)
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