Unlike some barn find sedans covered here, this one not only looks like its never been underwater, but it floats! The 1958 Chris Craft Sedan Cruiser emerges after 35 years of indoor storage. Partially refurbished at that time, some parts of the classy wooden boat look shiny and ready to serve a new owner. The Mound, Minnesota classic comes to market here on eBay, where at least three bidders have swelled the bidding above $19,000 in the auction’s final 24 hours. Normally we cringe when we see a vehicle on a trailer, but it’s a decided advantage in this case, showing a solid and apparently well-kept wooden hull.
Nothing says Chris-Craft like gorgeous varnished wood and real-wood veneers. Inside and out the classic wood looks great on this one. Safety Yellow on the countertops appears to be plastic on top of a more neutral colored Formica, the super-durable material popular in the space-age ’50s.
Twin 175 HP MCL inline six-cylinder engines look original and well-maintained. After the long hiatus, an overhaul would be well-advised. Disconnected wires leave some questions unanswered. What’s a classic vehicle purchase without a mystery or two? I’ve considered owning a classic boat in this category for a possible run at the Intracoastal Waterway or even the Great Loop. Other than multiple painful fill-ups I can’t imagine a more epic retirement endeavor. Bourbon and cigars on the fantail anyone?
Handsome from every angle, the 32-footer provides room for a family and friends to enjoy a day on the water without bumping into each other in close quarters. The hardtop promises protection from inclement weather and a forward cabin offers privacy for two. There’s an old saying that you can be given a wooden boat and still pay too much, but I wouldn’t mind inheriting this one! What waterway would you visit in this classic wooden cruiser?
This is certainly the Minnow. But for the life of me I can’t understand where they stored all of Lovey Howell’s clothes. Somebody help me out here.
Maybe they used those vacuum bag thingies.
Oh, good, a boat, and all the boat jokes. 1st, the SS Minnow was a 37ft Wheeler Express Cruiser, and we never knew Gilligans full name. I’ll start by saying the oldest saying, there are 2 times you enjoy a boat, when you buy it and when, and if you can, sell it. The latter ALWAYS harder than the former. Boats are cool, smaller boats, I’m a landlubber, and once the shore goes away, I get a bit nervous. And after every hurricane, many are reasonably priced, pending removal from local park that flooded, that is.
And I got news for ya’, at the time, when Gilligans Island was shown, we were knee deep in modern society, and living on a deserted S.Sea Island, was the most unthinkable, why it was such a hit,,” No lights, no phone, no motorcar, not a single luxury””, can you imagine? I don’t know about you, but the way the world is going, doesn’t sound so bad to me. AND, I always thought the boat was repairable,,,
The boat WAS repairable! The Professor (Roy Hinkley) and Skipper (Jonas Grumby) had the boat ready to go but ultimately the “glue” failed. One of the few (only?) times Gilligan saved their bacon.
Right? I never understood how the professor could make a CAR and a RADIO out of coconuts, but he couldn’t fix a hole in the boat?
Willie Gilligan
Gillian’s first name is Willy. The boat was named for the FCC chairman Newton Minnow. Skippers name is Jonas Gumby. Have a wonderful day 😎
I had virtually the identical boat given to me. How bad could that be? But it didn’t take long before I knew what the former owner knew. Careful inspection of the stringers showed they were decomposing! I also gave the boat away, the new owner took it for the big trailer it was on and was going to demolish the boat.
Speaking of which, there is noway I would tow this boat with anything less than 1 ton dually. Anything less and you are going to have a load of fun … Ginger, then Maryann, then the old lady with her money. Times have changed.
Nah, MaryAnn( Dawn Wells) was the hottie. She just died recently at 82 and still looked nice. Ginger( Tina Louise) is the last remaining cast member. Have you seen her lately? Set you eyes on stun, it’s not how I remember her, she’s 84, poor thing,,good thing I haven’t changed a bit,,
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/521995413049434255/
Nice looking boat, however, having owned a few wooden boats, I can attest to the truthfulness of the saying” a wooden boat is a big hole in the water that you throw money into.” This boat could be a beautiful cruiser but after 35 years it will need a considerable amount of work and lots of money!
There were only 32 made and 1958 was the only year so this is a rare boat. My family had 28 ft and 42 ft. 1958 Chris Crafts and they were great boats.
I used to make custom boat trailers and regularly attended the In the Water Wooden Boat show in Clayton, NY. I fantasized about having a cruiser like this to travel from Ashtabula, OH to Clayton until I realized at 15-20mph it would take two weeks to get there and another two weeks to return home. Not to mention 100’s of gallons of fuel it would take.
I did buy a 1958 17′ Chris Craft Sportsman in 1987 for $3000, made a nice trailer for it and now it’s worth around $13k.
Check out the Antique Boat Museum if you want to see some really nice wooden boats. https://www.abm.org
Take it to California or Seattle and sneak it into somebody’s pool they are constantly complaining about the RV’s on the street and the city does nothing I’m sure they would love this for a homeless family to stay in.
Then when it sinks its only 8 feet
All boats are “partially refurbished”.
B.O.A.T. (Bust Out Another Thousand)
In 1958 this was about as good as you could buy in a mid-sized boat. Chris Craft was and is still one of the premier wooden boats you can buy. My uncle had one and I was amazed at how much room there was and how fast it was in the water for what I considered to be a big boat. But alas Dan Baker is exactly right. A boat of any kind is a hole in the water you throw money into.
Wooden boats are collectables. The holes are only in the Tupperware (fiberglass) boats. lol
Spoiler Alert: I am an abashed fan of wooden boats. Have owned many, from 14 ft hydroplanes to a 42 foot Mathews, with several 16 to 18 foot mahogany
runabouts included. If you don’t enjoy working on them and enjoying them on the water, then don’t buy one. If properly maintained, they bring lots of pleasure to families, sportsman, etc. And, IMO, fiberglass boats will never be as beautiful.
I was thinking about getting out of cars,
& into something cheap,like a boat.
Beautiful boat and flathead gray marine engine badged as Chris Craft but 18K, sorry, that is just nuts, you’re going to have to recaulk all the seams in the hull and no doubt there is hidden rot everywhere that’s dried out.
I don’t really understand all this talk about how boats are bad investments, mine’s worth around $30K and I only have $110K in it. I figure every dollar I put in, I get about a nickel back when I sell it. That’s a pretty good investment, isn’t it?
Ended:Dec 06, 2021 , 5:55PM
Winning bid:
US $20,000.00
[ 8 bids ]
Recognizing Alan Robbins’ sarcasm, IMO looking for ROI with hobbies and relaxing activities doesn’t make a lot of sense. For example, what is the ROI in a game of golf? A day fishing? Shooting skeet? Downhill skiing? Piloting your own airplane? My point is that some things we do ’cause they are fun and bring us pleasure even if the equipment is more than a little expensive. Otherwise, why do it if there is no, or little, ROI?