Restoring a 1960s Chris Craft: A Complete Cost Breakdown

In the spring of 2024 I paid $14,200 for a 1963 Chris Craft Continental 17 sitting on a rusted trailer behind a storage unit in upstate New York. The hull was sound — confirmed by the surveyor I hired for $650 — but the varnish was gone, two planks needed replacing, and the 283 cubic inch Chevrolet engine turned over reluctantly and smoked on cold start. What followed was 14 months of weekend work, hard lessons, and a final bill that landed within about 8 percent of my original estimate. This is what I spent.

The hull work consumed the largest single budget item. Stripping the old varnish across the entire hull and deck took a professional wooden boat yard two days at a shop rate of $95 per hour, totalling $1,520 for labour and chemical stripper. Two replacement mahogany planks cost $340 in material from a specialty supplier in New Hampshire, and the fitting and fastening labour came to $680. I had the topsides faired and filled at the same time, which added another $480. Before first varnish coat the total hull prep cost was $3,020. I chose Epifanes traditional varnish applied in eight coats — four by the yard and four by me — for a material cost of $620 and labour cost of $1,200. The total hull and finish work reached $4,840.

The engine was rebuilt by a specialist in classic marine powerplants based in Connecticut. He disassembled the 283, found a cracked block journal which required sourcing a replacement block, rebuilt the carburetor, replaced all gaskets and seals, machined the heads, and reinstalled with new marine headers. Parts cost $2,100. Labour at $110 per hour over 22 hours came to $2,420. A reconditioned marine conversion kit to update the raw water cooling circuit added $380. Total engine cost: $4,900. The transmission was inspected and deemed serviceable with new fluid and seals at $180.

Interior restoration was where I found the most scope to reduce costs by doing work myself. The original mohair upholstery was in tatters, and a professional marine upholstery shop quoted $3,800 for full re trimming in period correct material. I sourced a Haartz Stayfast look alike mohair from an upholstery supplier at $18 per yard and followed a detailed restoration forum tutorial, investing about 40 hours of my own time. My material cost was $420. The dashboard instruments — a speedometer, tachometer, and temperature gauge — were sent to a specialist restorer who rebuilt the internals and re chromed the bezels for $680. New chrome cleats, bow light, and running light set came to $540.

Hardware and systems accounted for more than I initially budgeted. The original Borg Warner transmission needed a new shift cable and control head at $210. Rewiring the entire boat with tinned marine wire to ABYC standard, including a new fuse block and bilge blower circuit, took a local marine electrician 12 hours at $85 per hour for $1,020 in labour and $340 in materials. New fuel lines, a rebuilt fuel pump, and a fresh 12 gallon aluminium fuel tank came to $620. The trailer was fully reconditioned with new bearings, brake drums, and a coat of POR 15 for $860 including parts and a weekend of my own labour.

Total restoration expenditure across 14 months: $14,200 purchase, $650 survey, $4,840 hull and finish, $5,080 engine and drivetrain, $1,640 interior, $3,050 hardware and systems, and approximately $900 in miscellaneous consumables, sandpaper, brushes, and hardware store runs. Grand total: $30,360. At the 2025 ACBS Lake George show the boat was appraised informally at $38,000 to $42,000 in its current condition. The lesson I would pass on to any first time restorer is this: budget 20 percent above your worst case estimate and you will almost break even. Budget to your best case and you will run out of money with the boat still in pieces.