A beautiful boat full of beautiful women. The matching hats on the ladies are a nice touch. Don’t know any details on this particular shot and it is the only image of a Chris-Craft boat I’ve noticed in the collection but it looks like it may have been shot on the Ortega River looking South toward Ortega with the old Roosevelt Blvd. Bridge in the background. Any Chris-Craft enthusiasts care to fill in details on this fine watercraft?
Tags: boat, Chris-Craft, historic photograph, Ortega, river, vintage boat, vintage photography, women
The boat is a Chris Craft 19′ Special Race Boat. Produced between 1936-1937. There were 51 produced. Source: Chris Craft, The Essential Guide by Jerry Conrad of the Mariners’ Museum.
Thanks Kerry! I appreciate the additional information.
The boat is a 1947 19′ Chris Craft Red & White Racer. Produced post war in Cedar due to the shortage of Phillipean Mohogany meant that the boat would be painted instead of being stained and varnished as the preware and later post war boats were.
The power was a flat head six cylinder Chris Craft “Hercules” MBL producing 158 Horsepower. Five of these Red & White boats were delivered to Knight’s Boats and Motors downtown and sold locally, my uncle owning one called “90 Proof”. Go figure; he stuffed it between two trees on a trip coming back from Silver Springs via Oklawaha River, patched the bottom and ran it back to the Florida Yacht Club where it sank and later repaired. I have records of those five hull numbers, from when I owned and opperated Cummer Boat Company, tracked one down in the early nineties out on Sawpit Road when I discovered I was six months too late. My college in Connecticut had found the boat and took it to his restoration shop where he rebuilt the boat. The hulls on those boats were built double planked on the bottoms at 5/8″ thick, single planked sides and decks. I had the pleasure of servicing and running a 1936 Chris Craft Special Race Boat that was 1/2″ thick and man did it go fast!
Great story and background Mark. Thank you for your insight. Bob Self/Vintage Jacksonville