Yes, you’re cruising Barn Finds, but this ain’t no barn find, it isn’t even a car but if you appreciate old, rare cars, you’ll like this marine find. It’s a 1950 Chris-Craft “Riviera”, and according to the seller, it’s one of only 288 produced, has been restored once, and has since undergone upgrades. This magnificence in mahogany is located in Raleigh, North Carolina and is available, here on Facebook Marketplace for $27,500. Jamie gets the nautical award for discovering this tip!
I cruised through several research resources and found conflicting information regarding the Riviera, one source claims production ranged from ’48 through ’52 and another claimed ’50 to ’54. That same source stated that 1,200 copies were constructed in those five years so perhaps the seller’s 288 number references ’50 only. Whatever the case, these eighteen-footers are not common and probably are found few and far between today. Research indicates that Chris-Craft, a boat builder with roots extending back to 1874, moved, as many boat builders did, to fiberglass hulls in the sixties. By 1971, they were out of the mahogany boat-building business entirely.
The seller mentions, “Varnish needs to be touched up” and that’s the bane of wooden boat ownership – it’s an ongoing undertaking. But, the results of a properly maintained mahogany craft are stunning and this example is no exception. The combination of light and dark-toned wood, wrapping a very streamlined hull cuts a fine swath on any waterway.
Power is provided by a 158 HP, Chris-Craft flathead engine which is actually a Chrysler “M” series marine engine. A Borg Warner “Velvet-Drive” puts the spin to the prop. The seller laconically claims, “Engine runs well“. What’s not stated is how many hours this engine has experienced.
We’re told that the interior is in good shape and it looks it. As to its originality, it’s not stated but an open boat, on the water, is not upholstery material’s best friend. Interestingly, unlike more recent open runabouts, this Riviera has a specific front and back seat with no passageway between the two. I guess that I knew this but didn’t realize it until reviewing this specific boat. Anyway, it’s a very basic environment, cup holders? Fuggetaboutit!
The seller refers to this Chris-Craft as a “daily driver” as it’s used every weekend during the summer. And that’s a good thing as a boat that sits for extended periods of time never seems to work when you want it to. As stated earlier, the varnish upkeep on a mahogany boat can be a worker but boy-oh-boy, what a beautiful result, right?
Absolutely beautiful. There is nothing quite like one of these majestic wood boats from the past.
Accept when you have to spend hours keeping them up. I had a 30 ft. Chris-Craft which I put 2 new 327’s shipped direct from Detroit in the late 80’s and all I can say is ” it was a hole in the water to throw money at ” although we did have some good times in it around the Gulf Islands in B.C.
J.C., nobody said its easy.
These are not for weekend warrior types.
So yes, do “accept” when you have to spend hours keeping them up. Otherwise, just buy a jet ski.
This is for 370zpp because I couldn’t reply to him. I am not a weekend warrior as I was a crab fisherman with a 32 ft double ender which if you know anything about older boats,it was wood lapstrake the same as my Chris-Craft. I took care of both of them for a few years but as I said the Chris-Craft was a constant money funnel,the crab boat not so much. If you own 30 ft or over wood boat,be prepared to spend time and money especially if you’re in salt water as we are on the west coast.
My knowledge of boats is very limited, though you don’t have to know much to recognize premium craftsmanship. I’m guessing wood construction of this kind is a lost art.
Wooden boat building is definitely not a lost art. The Turcotte Bros in upstate New York have been building and restoring Gar Wood boats for years. When I was building custom boat trailers back in the late ’80s, I made them trailers for their 22′, 28′, and 33′ Gar Wood boats.
http://www.garwoodcustomboats.com/
It’s too bad the custom car show promotors haven’t caught on to the popularity of these old and new beauties. I guarantee they would generate a lot of interest.
If you really want to see the cream of the crop of antique boats, check out the 59th ANNUAL ANTIQUE BOAT SHOW & AUCTION in Clayton, NY on the first weekend in August.
https://www.abm.org/events/antique-boat-show-and-auction/
Or the: Concourse d’ Elegance Wooden Boat Show at Lake Tahoe the 2nd weekend in August.
https://visitlaketahoe.com/event/concours-delegance-wooden-boat-show/
This is a decent price for this beautiful Chris Craft. I’m getting my ’58 Chris Craft 17′ Special Sportsman ready for sale and the price will be comparable.
(I’m moving and my girlfriend gets seasick just riding in cars)
I would get a new girlfriend. Lol
This. Is. What. I. Want. Wish I was in Florida already. Seeeexxxxxyyyyy.
I’m not even a boat enthusiast and I like this!
There is nothing more iconic on the water than a 1950’s Chris-Craft in my humble opinion. And nothing more.beautiful when restored.
Chrysler has made impressive marine applications for years, this is not an exception. There, you guys going to flag this comment too? This site has gone downhill, gone down fast. Too bad, it used to be something special.
That’s not a Chrysler engine it’s a Hercules
So what you’re saying is that the seller doesn’t know what’s in the engine room, right? It’s not unheard of, but it’s unusual.
JO
Hi Gary, 1st, Dale is right, it IS a Hercules. I’ll be darned, I would have thought Chrysler too, and did for years. additional research shows, looks like a model ML, 226ci(?), about 90hp(?) Tip of the hat to Dale. Many wood boats I saw did have Chryslers 6, so an easy mistake.
Far as comments being removed, I know what I said about it doesn’t bother me, but it does, especially paying for it. I hope the staff appreciates its “regulars”, and I believe they do, it’s just the stuff we don’t see must be awful, and I found out, and the worst offender, if the comment smells of too much of “personal” views and not the item featured, it will be deleted. Still a cool site, like anything, I suppose,, stick around, eh?
Howard:
I can’t speak to every instance of removing or editing comments as they relate to topics that I didn’t compose, but the decision tree here is simple. As the comment warning states, “No profanity, politics, or personal attacks“. That’s it.
As for “personal” views? No problem, everyone has one. Sometimes comments have little to do with the subject matter but that’s no reason to remove it, it’s just the way people sometimes express themselves.
JO
On the CRX, I said that I owned the same engine in a 90 Civic and it got 45-50 MPG. I said that Honda upset the American car companies and rightly so, plus they were still making the same mistakes presently making only huge wasteful trucks and SUVs. Please tell me how that comment bent the rules.
Huh???
JO
All the old Craftsman the built this boat are all dead now. And the art and the skills were not taught and passed along for the last two to three generations. Then they pile on with all fiberglass now. Kids are learning to fiberglass high School shop classes now. I wonder if wood boat building skills class will come back to high school?
Not entirely. Head to Muskoka area in Ontario..(cottage area north of Toronto ) go to Gravenhurst or Port Carling Try Clark Wooden boats.
Cedarville, Michigan has an up and coming world class boat building school just down the road from me- (Great Lakes Boatbuilding School) started in 2005. 1 year program 44 semester credits..not large, maybe 15-20 kids..they specialize in wooden Chris-Craft’s of which the first Chris- Craft dealer (E.J.Murtaugh) was located in Cedarville..You can tour the school by appointment only in July..
My Grandfather was gifted a similar beautiful wooden boat from Governor G Mennen Williams, during construction of the Mackinac Bridge.
My Dad inherited it until we sold to a collector to restore it. It looks nearly identical. Was gorgeous!
I’ve lived on or near the Chesapeake Bay for quite a few years, crewing on a friend’s 59′ sailboat of his own design. Enclosed is a photo of his boat; The Dulcinea. [Sadly, she was destroyed in a Tsunami about 20 years ago.]
I can vouch there are still organizations and businesses building wooden boats in the area. There is a non-profit in Chestertown, MD, that constructed and in 2001, launched a large wooden schooner, an ocean-going boat known as the Sultana, and I’ve had the pleasure of sailing on it.
If I remember right, they work closely with Washington College. It’s known as the Sultana Education Foundation. For details; sultanaeducation.org/schooner-sultana
My 57 Chris Craft Sea Skiff had a Studebaker flathead engine. Which I discovered when I replaced the head gasket.
How did we ever lose our way from these beautiful creations? Living on a lake, like every weekend ages 1-14, we didn’t see, or more accurately, hear wood boats. Oh sure, every blue moon, the local marina owner, a hooligan in his own right, had some V8 powered wood boat, and turns out, the WIFE raced it. My kind of gal, fo sho’. Once in a while, a wood boat like this would go by, and had a distinctive sound, no Fond du lac, water screw here.( Mercury).
It goes without saying, boats, of all kinds, require a lot, and unless one lives on a lake full time, may the force be with you towing it to one. IT’S NUTS OUT THERE,,,sorry, um, cool boat. Thanks, Jim!
Do they still make Merc engines there?
Yes, they do. I’m pretty sure, all their motors, from 2hp to 400, are now 4 stroke. I read, they just invested$1.7 billion into the Fond du Lac plant, which already has over 4,000 employees. I guess there’s still interest in boating.
My first thought:
LS swap.
Think again
LOL. Electric conversion?
Why not a 16v92 Detroit Diesel ? It’d make about as much sense as an LS.
Or a Perkins hit’n’miss.
I’m sorry. While I respect the fact that that it’s tempting to swap in an LS for performance and the ease of finding parts, I find an LS to be a “belly button” engine – Everybody’s got one! (LOL!). Why not try to keep the engine that’s in this boat running or maybe swap in something else that’s a little more unique (Thought my never having owned a boat, I’m at a loss to give you my specific alternatives.) Maybe something from Ford or Chrysler or something from the good ol’ days when all of GM’s divisions designed and built their own engines.
I think with a little thought and effort, one could come up with a combination that would be powerful and reliable without resorting to an LS.
Stunning Boat, wish I lived in a place I could use it, would be mine.
I’ve always loved these Chris Craft boats from this era. Just a chin turner. I’m sure that flat head six moves her just fine. Great find
I love this old wooden boats, and they are really classy !!
I’ve done some sailing on wooden sail boats (no plastic, etc) and the same is true… but the upkeep can keep a person pretty busy making sure everything is “up to snuff”…. I love this one too….
The Antique and Classic Boat Society is a national group open to all where one will find a plethora of these lovely old boats and shows all over the country where they can be admired by all. Yes that is a Hercules block of which Chris Craft bought thousands of in the post war boom years. The engines were modified in house for higher performance and marine use. 158 hp would make that a Chris Craft model MBL higher hp version of the venerable Model M rated at 130 hp and 320 cubic inches I have been around these engines for years but presently have a Chrysler Ace M series 90hp in my 1931 Chris Craft runabout. There are tons of great books on these boats and their engines if you are interested
That is a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. I love to look at those old Chris Craft boats but the obvious maintenance requirements must be enormous. I never owned one but the woodwork on the front of my house was stained and varnished so I have a feel for what it must have taken to maintain a wooden boat. I have been in the house for 37 years and maintained it all myself until I aged out and couldn’t do it any more. I gave up and had it all painted four years ago. I never found varnish that held up over about two years.
I would love a picture of this boat on a trailer behind that woodgrain Mercury convert from the other day. That would be a site. Even though these were often referred to as “Speed Boats”, they weren’t made so much for speed as comfort.
Wonderful looking boat. My uncle had one that looked similar to this.I was told it had 318 Chrysler engine. All I know is that it seemed like it could fly when I was a kid. He had a house in Stone Harbor NJ on the bay. Kept the boat in the water all summer. He would do maintenance on it himself in the garage over the winter till he got too old and then stored it at the marina 2 blocks over.
ACZ, they were considered fast for their time compared to the smaller outboards available. but comfort and ride were their claim to fame as well as the status of owning a Chris Craft, Hacker, Garwood, Greavette, and Shepards among others.
I agree with you. But “fast” was not their only purpose. The average outboard that was it’s competition was only about 35 hp.
Now, come to think of it, there were some Chris Crafts in the middle 50s that were built with a dual quad 283 ‘Vette motor. I saw one back about 1968 that I could have bought for $3500 back then. That kind of money was a lot harder to come by back then than it is now.
I have been a boater since I was a child.
Dad had a 14 foot mahogany boat with an 18 horsepower Evinrude.
Every 2 to 3 years we would lightly sand it and apply 2 or 3 coats of marine varnish. The bottom was painted red, everything else clear varnish.
How exciting it was when dad upgraded the motor to a 33 horsepower Johnson.
We loved that boat.
Eventually we went for an inboard-outboard fiberglass.
I currently have a 19 1/2 foot Campion with a 6 cylinder 185 horsepower motor.
Just wish that I was 20 years younger so I could waterski like I used to!
This is certainly a lovely piece of craftsmanship. I have a question, though. I’m not a boat person, but I live in Pittsburgh, very close to the rivers, so I see a lot of them. Before a Pirates game or a Steelers game, they line up on the shore, partying and having a good time. What do you do with a boat like this? With two bench seats and no room to move around, it seems like the experience would be like riding in a Buick Riviera, but on water.
Mostly for cruising but it is a boat. You can do almost anything you want. Water skiing, poker runs, fishing, etc. It’s just some things can be a little more challenging than others because of cockpit layout.
I currently have a’50 Riviera for sale on Facebook marketplace here in the Austin, Tx. That engine is likely a 105hp version. Mine has the top of the line triple carbureted 131hp engine. Mine has a no soak hull so it can be stored on a trailer.
I really love the craftsmanship of these Chris Craft boats..but one thing I learned from my dad was never buy a boat. He had a Boston Whaler in the late 80s on the Gulf and storage fees and mechanical upkeep were outrageous. He tried selling it years later and couldn’t, so he ended up just donating it to his church. He was sick about it. That was my dad’s last boat experience.
It all depends on what you enjoy. I’ve had two. I’d like another one. The first was a 16 foot runabout with a 65 hp outboard. A lot of fun for all around use. The second was a 17 foot jet boat with a 455 W30 Olds for power. A really sweet go fast boat. Next I think I would something bigger that you spend a weekend on. I may never get it but they are fun. Never had a problem selling one when I got tired of it. All depends on what you buy.
Hmmm… different experience in my neck of the woods… a clean, used Whaler will sell almost immediately… usually by word of mouth…And prices went nutty starting in the pandemic years…
Boat=
Bust
Out
Another
Thousand.
Funny. I lived just outside Bullfrog lake powell and that’s exactly what I learned. Except x 10
Wooden boats are a niche, but not ‘orphans’ like with car manufacturers.
Wooden Boat Show, Mystic CT, June 23 – 25 highlights both restored and new sail and power boats.
Audrain Automobile Museum, Newport RI current exhibition ties together the art of wooden boat building with wooden framed autos. Wonders in Wood – on Land and By Sea.
Years back, (about 15 or so) I was a helper on a transom replace on a 25 foot Chris Craft with my buddy’s Dad. He had the boat a long time, and it needed major work. He bought new steam bent bowsprits and mahogany for the bow/foredeck, and a lot more. It was really nice when he finished. He spent about 10 months and tons of money on it.
But, this 1950 on the site is a beauty !! No two ways about it !!
Expect the write up to offer info on the boat’s bottom, still all wood or has it been treated etc.? What a beauty. We still have a few around Western NY on the Finger Lakes. Their sound is wonderful both at Idle and under throttle. Wish this were mine…..
Just a few thoughts-it’s a 20′ Riviera not an 18′ and yes, they made 288 of them in contrast to 1200 or so of the 18′ model. The engine is Chris Craft/Hercules MBL 336 cu in and 158 HP. Pics look good, and it appears to be complete, but you’d want to look at it in person with someone who knows antique and classic boats. They’re not that much to maintain if you’ve got spot to work on them and it’s easier to replace wood than metal.
I own a H-28 wooden modified ketch that docks in salt water and has a full boat cover. Amazing how that keeps the maintenance down and how little my out-of-pocket expenses are. Of course I do all the work and often it feels more like therapy. Nothing like watching the mahogany grain flash through each brushstroke of varnish. And she sails magically on the big blue.
Any boat = a hole in the water into which you pour money… A classic wooden boat = an extremely large hole in the water into which you pour money…
Then maybe you shouldn’t buy one.
Too late…
growin up on the Chessy (Chesapeake Bay) were several classes of these racin. I followed the 3.3L and 4.9 ford powered. Offie (Offenhouser) came from this world (cept Left Coast I think?) B 4 world renown intakes for autos. I saw several of the 200 ci w/6 Mukunis. (I’d cut off the ‘log’ have a plate intake or individually mount 6 Keihns now).
A wooden boat truly IS “a hole in the ocean U throw…” Get glass (or make it) as a whole lot easier maintenance (fresh or salt).
If you must comment, please do so in English, not Klingon !
A friend of mine has a 1950 20′ Riviera with the 158hp MBL it was the top option engine for that boat then and a great choice for that big Riviera. That is a fast boat for its type and era. Most of the 18-footers came with K series engines ranging from 90hp all the way up to the triple down draft carburated and heavily camed 131 hp previously mentioned. That was a hot engine and had a very impressive rumpty rump idle due to the high lift long duration cam. With the short length 3″ diameter copper exhaust pipe, they were a joy to listen to. You can still hear these at summer boat shows across the country.
You nailed it. I understood about 10% of this comment.
I am 73 years old and maybe a little less cogent.