About the Chris-Crafts

The 1946-1949 20f Customby Neil SatterlySchenectady, New York

It was another case of mistakenidentity common among theuninitiated and it happened tome during one of my visits to

Boyd's Boatyard in Canton, Con-necticut in 1988. Classic mahoganyboats were quickly becoming myfavorite hobby and the post-warChris-Crafts were of special interest.Having seen several pictures of Riv-iera and Capri models I quickly iden-tified this fully restored eye-catcherwith a flat nose as a Riviera. Aftergazing over it for several seconds Icommented to Boyd that it was abeautiful Riviera. He politely ex-plained that it was not a Riviera. Itwas a Custom. He patiently went onto point out a few of the many dif-ferences. While he talked I feastedmy untrained eyes.

The boat looked so well en-dowed. It had all the glitzy featuresone could ever imagine in a classicrunabout but wasn't awkward oroverdone. The chrome, armor-likenose plate which capped the stain-less cutwater looked wide enough touse as a shaving mirror and heavyenough to take those unyieldingdocks head on. From this substantialplate, the blonde king planking be-gan its way back as it widened toencircle a bright red upholsteredcockpit. On the aft deck it continuedover the engine hatch, rear deck, andfinally rolled over the sheer onto thefirst plank of a rounded transom. Afolding windshield crowned a daz-zling array of chrome which laid out,stem to stern. The heftiness of eachpiece added to the impression of awell fortified and beautiful boat.

Looking into the interior I no-ticed the red sweep of padded and

Red sweep of padded and pleated coaming lining three quarters ofcockpit and four-unit, five-instrument cluster on the 20' Chris-CraftCustom. Storage compartments add utility to the back of the front seat.Photo by Lindsey Hopkins HI.

pleated coaming which lined itsway three quarters the way aroundthe cockpit and hosted a four-unit,five-gauge instrument cluster. Theseat bases, backs and cushionswere luxuriously thick. They werefirst class accommodations evenby today's standards. The Cadil-lac-style appointments made methink that Chris-Craft spared noexpense in putting this model to-gether. The overall look was flashwith class. It was then I decidedthis to be my favorite boat. Some-day it would be nice to own one.

In July of 1994 Scott Dorrer,Rock City Restorations,(completely unaware of my desirefor this dreamboat model) told meof one for sale just north of Syra-cuse, New York. By his estimateit was in fair shape, needing bot-tom refastening, new upholstery,refinishing and some engine workon the incorrect Graymarine. I leftbehind two strips of rubber in mydriveway as I made off for Syra-

cuse. Aside from being fairly com-plete, it was a cosmetic wreck,

Chrome armor-like nose plate wideenough to use as a shaving mirror—with blonde king plank following backto the 20' Custom's "V " windshield.Brass Bell Photo.

from badly water stained decks andblackened upholstery to a seized en-gine and multiple owner"improvements." I loved it but thefirst thing to go would have to bethe swim ladder.

According to the hull card thiswas a 1948 model hull #R-20-336.She was shipped December 9, 1948to Motor Craft Inc., Elmira, NY. Anold registration card with the boatled me to the second owner whowas shocked to learn that it still ex-isted. He and his son helped me re-trace the boat's history.

Without going into great detail,she was used in the Finger Lakesregion of New York state by twosuccessive owners before beingtraded in for the second time in1967. From then she sat outside forprobably about seven years, first ata boat dealer in Sayre, PA followedby another dealer in Utica, NY whotook it on consignment from thefirst. In 1974 she was purchased byher well-intentioned third ownerwho planned on a full restoration.Instead the boat sat protected in abarn for almost 20 years until theowner's passing. The third owner'swife accepted my offer to purchasethe boat in August of 1994 and Itowed it to my shop in Albany, NewYork in October. There she wouldbegin to get her complete restora-tion in the 17 months that followed.

The decision to do an originalrestoration meant that before the

Boat as she was found—swim ladderhad to go. Photos by Scott Dorrer.

first screw was backed out, re-search for correctness of the 20'Custom Runabout would be thefirst step. Further, since my boat'soriginal MBL had been replacedwith a Graymarine with velvetdrive transmission, it would benecessary to find an MBL engineand pistol grip shifting linkage. Inmy search for these and otheritems I would begin to learn manyinteresting things about 20' Cus-toms. My learning continues.

Production on the 20' Custombegan in 1946 and ended in 1949after 369 were built. It is believedthat no factory sales catalog for the'46 lineup of Chris-Crafts was ever

distributed. Instead Chris-Craft in-troduced the new model with aposter (see next page) showing theboat from five different angles. Alsodisplayed was a long list of specifi-cations and standard features includ-ing red genuine leather upholstery.Absent from the 1946 list was thetype of mahogany used for construc-tion and engine choices (both ofwhich I will discuss later.) From thephotos it was obvious that this run-about offered some new lines andcolors not seen in boats built prior toWWII.

The lines and curves suggestedspeed. From the bow to the transomthe lines followed two paths;rounded and raked. The transomwas the best single example of thisnew style. It was raked forward androunded from top to bottom, port tostarboard. (Three times at boatshows this summer spectators askedme if my 20' Custom was actually amodern boat made of wood for aclassic look. A backhanded compli-ment perhaps, but this similar designcan be found on many 1996 transomdesigns on boats of "alternative con-struction materials") Bleachedblonde, cedar bow and stern poles

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Hercules MBL engine goes in 20' Chris-Craft Custom. Photo by Neil Satterly.

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MORE ON THE20' CUSTOMwere raked back. To a boating pop-ulation unfamiliar with this designthis might have seemed like thespeed of the boat had caused therake.

Something else totally new forChris-Craft was blonde king plank-ing. To replace the wal-nut/traditional color stain combina-tion, this model would be the firstChris ever to offer the bleachblonde king planking with contrast-ing traditional stain. It turned out tobe the hot combo and Chris-Craftwould continue the scheme formany years. Nearly a decade later itstill appeared on Chris-Craft'shottest new boat, the 1955 Cobraand continued at least three yearsafter that. Altogether the sum of theraked and rounded lines plus brightcolors equaled speed—even beforeturning the key.

Mahogany was hard to get fol-lowing the war and Chris-Craftused the best it could find. One ofthe most perplexing questionsabout the Custom is the type of ma-hogany used. Most often the woodis believed to be Honduras ma-hogany, especially taking into ac-count the color At first inspectionmy '48 appeared to be made ofHonduras. After a close inspectionof the grain structure Scott Dorrerquestioned whether it actually wasHonduras. The grain structureseemed odd.

Boyd Mefferd and others referto Spanish Cedar as a wood usedon this model -- especially sinceHonduras was in short supply.Charlie Cross, long-time Chris-Craft dealer, recalls AW. "Bill"MacKerer, Chief Engineer at Chris-Craft, telling him that wood for the20' Custom was Cedro Macco.Webster's dictionary lists the word

Chris-Craft 20-ft. Custom

Runabout for 1946

SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDAIIO EQUIPMENT

CHRIS-CRAFT CORPORATION

1946 sales poster showing five views of the new 20-foot Chris-Craft Custom.

Cedrela which appears to supportboth of these claims.

Cedrela n. [Mod. L, from Sp.cedrela, dim. of cedro, a cedar]1. A genus of large tropicaltrees of both hemispheres;Cedrela toona, an East Indianspecies, Cedrela odorata, ofHonduras and the West Indies,are examples.

From these references the Ce-dro Macco or Spanish Cedar couldbe the same wood but, how manywere made with this wood andwhen? Was it used on bottoms aswell? Charlie Cross says he re-members that it was. However hull#336, near the end of the produc-tion run, had Philippine on the bot-tom. Reports from other Customowners support some claims anddispute others. Another difficultycould be an inability to distinguishHonduras (as we know it today)from the Cedro Macco or Spanish

Cedar. Charlie Cross recalls theCedro Macco to be a hard woodwhich heated up the sandpaper whenhand sanding. This could be oneindicator. Someday we may get thefull story.

On the other hand, we knowhow engine options varied from yearto year. The 20' Custom was notmentioned in the October '45 salesbulletin of boats available for thecoming year but the 1946 the priceschedule named four Custom mod-els: the 46-9, 10, 11 and 12. Themodel distinction was in the engineoptions. They included a 95 h.p. K,a 130 h.p. M, a 145 h.p. ML and a115 h.p. Chrysler. Prices rangedfrom $2890 for the K to $3390 forthe ML. The April '46 sales bulletinreduced the choices to three 20'Custom models not including the115 h.p. Chrysler. It is doubtful thatmany 20' Customs were ever pro-duced with this engine.

The February '46 bulletin of ap-proved accessories available for fac-

W O R L D I. A R I. E S I M O T t> R

1947 Chris-Craft factory sales literature showing 20' Custom on cover with46' Double Cabin Enclosed Bridge Cruiser.

tory installation listed a compass,covers, name and spotlight as avail-able for the Custom. Many 20' Cus-toms today are seen with spotlightswhich are assumed by many to be anaftermarket/dealer add on. This bul-letin suggests some could have beeninstalled at the factory. Individualhull cards should be able to prove ordisprove this information.

What may be the most interest-ing information from the priceschedules and sales bulletins was thelisting of a 23' Custom Runabout for1946. Never having seen or heard ofthis model before again raises thequestion of how many, if any weresold. The '46 price schedule listedfour of these models with enginesranging from 130 to 160 h.p. andcorresponding prices from $3890 to$4290 which would have put thesemodels it in the price range of the 25'Express Cruiser for that year. Theonly other times the 23-footer ap-

peared was in the factory optionslisting and in the April salesbulletin (both mentioned earlier).In the latter, no prices were givenfor the four 23' models and thiswas the last place a 23' Customwas ever mentioned.

The front cover of the 1947sales catalog (above) proudlydisplayed two boats. One was a46' double cabin enclosed cruiserand the other was the 20' Custom.Inside, a full page display adindicated the boat would beavailable in three models. This wasnot, however, supported by theprice schedule put out inNovember of '46 for the comingyear. It listed only one 20' Customwith the M engine which may pos-sibly have been remaining inven-tory. The March '47 price schedulefor the 1947 Fleet lists the 20'Custom as being "temporarily dis-continued." Charlie Cross says the

'46 Custom was built in the Algonacplant but production of the '47sresumed in the Cadillac plant. Thetransition may be the reason for thetemporary discontinuance. The 25'Sportsman was also temporarilydiscontinued.

The updated price schedule forthe '47 fleet released in Septemberof that year (about 10 months afterthe last advertised price) once againlisted three models. They were the47-9, 10 and 11 with K, M and MLengine options respectively. The 47-10 would now cost $3770 up from$3390 the year before. This was apricy boat for its time. For examplethe 1947 Racing Runabout, sopopular among collectors today,then cost $2660 with an ML engine,or $1110 less than the Custom withthe ML. Another possibleexplanation for the temporarydiscontinuance may have been highinventories versus a limited marketfor the high-end boat. Judging fromother accounts of Chris-Craft tool-ing up from scratch for new produc-tion boats, the need to suspend pro-duction for several months seemsunnecessary. There may have beensome orders but not enough to re-sume full production.

Charlie Cross explained that theplant would not begin productionuntil it had orders for at least 20boats. In the Cadillac plant therewould be four production lines withone hull type moving at the sametime. Hulls were assembled on thesecond floor and lowered to the firstfor engine and upholstery installa-tion.

Orders may have picked up con-siderably because the August '47sales bulletin already listed pricesfor three 20' Custom models for1948: the 48-14, 15 and 16 with K,M and ML engines. By November'47 the Custom model 48-17 wasadded offering a 158 h.p. MBL. TheMBL was made available in both theCustom and the Racing Runabout.The April '48 bulletin showed that

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the ML had been dropped from theofferings. This would be the onlyfull-year of production for the 20'Custom.

By November of'48 a sales bul-letin released the models and priceschedule for the 1949 fleet. The1949 Custom line would expand tofive models: the K, KL (not offeredbefore), M, ML (offered onceagain) and MBL. The top-of-the-line price would level off at $4260which was now $1470 more thanthe Racing Runabout and $70 morethan the 26' Semi-Enclosed Cruiser!The era of big flash for big cashwould soon end.

The June '49 sales bulletin con-tinued to list the five Custom mod-els but also listed one 16' 60 h.p.Riviera model and four 18' Rivieramodels ranging from 60 to 131 h.p.The Riviera would be the boat toreplace the high priced 20' Custom.Another copy of that same bulletin(from another source) had the 20'Custom models crossed out andhand-written over (by a dealer) was"Riviera". Prices were also crossedout and lowered as follows: the Kengine model went from $3810 to$2990; the KL from $3980 to$3160; the M from $4090 to $3270;the ML from $4240 to $3420; andthe MBL from $4260 to $3440.

While 1949 was a changeoveryear from the 20' Custom to the 20'Riviera, it's doubtful there was anoverlap in production. From theseprice reductions we may concludethat the 20' Custom didn't allowChris-Craft to stay price competi-tive yet there remained a strongmarket for a boat with similar fea-tures. One thing is clear; althoughthey're often confused, the Rivieraand the Custom are not the samemodel with a different name.

Boyd Mefferd, who's had atleast twelve 20' Customs passthough his boat yard over the years,pointed out several differences.Alan Frederick who is currentlyrestoring his own 20' Custom and

who also owned a 20' Riviera alsonoted some differences.

Beginning with the chrome,the Custom differs from theRiviera in several pieces. Mostnotable among the differences isthe Custom's folding "V"windshield which also featuredretractable hold down brackets.When retracted they were nearlyflush with the deck (see photo nextpage). Also on the fore deck wasa combination air scoop/polesocket/navigation light assemblyand large rope chocks. On bothfore and aft decks were oversizedcombination lifting ring/cleats.(The same hardware is found onthe 25' Sportsman). Extending thelength of the rear deck on the Cus-tom was 2-inch wide chrome trimcovering the seam of the hatchdoors and continuing under thelarge air scoop/light socket, underthe gas filler pipe trim and underthe lifting ring trim. The pistol gripshifting handle and rod (also usedon the 25' Sportsman—see photoBrass BeII, Summer 1994, page 3)was located under the dash alongthe padded ceiling panel. Thisfeature frees up floor space butrequires more muscle to operate.

Other notable topside differ-ences included double hatch doorson the Custom. Rivieras had alarger single door. In both cases,the hinges were hidden. TheCustom used red leather in allmodels except hull #s R-20-001and R-20-002 which had blue andblue-gray leather respectively.The only other Chris-Crafts inwhich the red leather was usedwas the 25' Sportman. TheCustom also featured a fullwraparound coaming panel andstorage box built into the back ofthe front seat. Under the Customdeck was a dual-note trumpethorn. Most Customs were shippedwith ribbed, black rubber flooringand step pads but some of the latermodels are believed to have beenshipped with white diamond style

mats and white step pads as on theRivieras.

There is some disagreementover what steering wheels werecorrect for the 20' Custom. Someclaim that only hull # R-20-001 hada banjo-style wheel and that allothers were the common 2-spokecreme wheel. Several (suspectedlater models) have been spottedwith the Chrysler Newport banjo-spoked wheel with large horn ringand oversized throttle lever. Boydsays these wheels appear to becorrect. Larry McDonough, ChiefEngineer for Chris-Craft, supportsthis. He began in 1951, two yearsafter the Custom was discontinued.However, Larry pointed out thatsteering wheel types were changedfrequently without much attention.Various automotive wheels wereused depending on what lookedgood and was available. Larry saidthat different styles of wheels couldeasily have been used on theCustom and the Rivieras.

Alan Frederick, owns 1948 20'Custom, hull #R-20-236 and alsoowned a 20' Riviera at one time. Hereports that the ride of the Customwas superior to the Riviera. Specif-ically, The Custom handled thechoppy water much smoother. Healso noted that when he loaded theRiviera on his custom-made trailerfor the 20' Custom, the keel sat al-most three inches off the center sup-port, held up by the side bunks — anobvious hull difference.

While the Custom was some-what heavier, most of the otherspecifications weren't much differ-ent. Wood thicknesses of stringers,bottoms, hull sides, etc. of Rivierasand Customs were very similar. Theonly specification which showed adifference is the draft. Draft on theRiviera was listed at 1' IVi" and forthe Custom it was 1' 9". All otherthings being similar, this seems sig-nificant. The fore and aft freeboardbetween the two showed the samedifference with the Riviera floating

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higher out of the water. This hulldesign is the main reason why thetwo ride differently. On the bottom,from the transom forward six feet,both were typically flat with almostno deadrise. The difference wasmainly up front. The Custom "V"had a sharper (deeper) entry to thewater where the Riviera was some-what flatter. As the "V" movedback on the Custom it becameslightly more concave also. The dif-ference caused the Custom to movethrough, rather than over the waterand gave it better tracking (turning)characteristics.

Armed with new knowledge ofthis highly acclaimed Chris-Craft, Ibecame even more anxious to com-plete the restoration. A correctrestoration was completed mostlyby Scott Dorrer and myself over a17 month period. Replacement of arotted chine and a few inner planksnecessitated entire bottom removal.The decision was made to not usean epoxy bottom. An original typereconstruction was done with theexception of Sikaflex instead ofcanvas. Ninety percent of the origi-nal bottom wood (Philippine ma-hogany) was put back on. Onceturned back over, the entire bilgewas scraped, scrubbed and re-painted. No detail was overlooked.Severe water staining necessitateddeck replacement. Here we opted toskin the decks first since the originalshort pieces of blonde plankingunder the windshield tend to"work" and eventually crack. This iscommon among Customs, Rivierasand Capris. A replacement MBLwas totally rebuilt and installedalong with all new wiring. Theoriginal gauges were in such goodcondition that they didn't needrefacing but only rechroming. Newupholstery and flooring wereinstalled and a custom trailer wasbuilt.

The final touch was applying thename in 24k gold leaf. She waswater tested in the icy HudsonRiver on March 18, 1996-two

Neil Satterly's 20' Chris-Craft Custom on the St. John's River in Florida showsoff her forward deep "V" bottom. Note the "V" windshield is folded down foran extra level of enjoyment. Satterly is at the wheel with Scott Dorrer on theright front and Ann Satterly in the rear. Photo by Lindsey Hopkins III.

weeks before the Northeast got itslast major snowstorm of the seasonand just four days before traileringher 1200 miles to Jacksonville,Florida. Her maiden voyagewould be the 150 mile St. JohnsRiver Cruise (above) and the Mt.Dora show that followed. Thewater test went well and themaiden voyage was void of eventhe slightest problem. Over thesummer she won five awardsincluding a Best of Show at theFinger Lakes Rendezvous andPeoples' Choice at Clayton, NY.

Hull # R-20-336 is one morepiece of Chris-Craft historypreserved for generations to come.My hope is that more will be addedto the list. To date I have learnedof roughly 70 surviving 20'Customs from derelict to pristine.This is from ACBS and CCABCmemberships and from a coupleother casual conversations.

I would like to create a betterlist of "what's out there." If youown, or know of someone whoowns, a 20' Custom in anycondition, please contact me at3161 Lone Pine Road,

Schenectady, NY 12303, or by e-mail at woodbote@aol.com. Sharingthis information will help others intheir restorations and possibly leadto a 20' Custom Owners Group.Please share information on theCustom's hull number and the nameof her owner. (A copy of the hullcard and photo or any otherinformation provided would be greatbut not necessary at this time).Updated information will be on fileboth at the CCABC office in Talla-hassee, Florida, and at my address.It will be shared with other Customowners unless otherwise directed.

As more is learned about thisspecial Chris-Craft, updates will beprovided to your Brass Bell editor.

The author expresses his appre-ciation for information and materi-als contributed by the following in-dividuals and organizations: JackBarron, Charlie Cross, the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club archives,Scott Dorrer, Alan Frederick, JimHastings, Larry McDonough, theMariners' Museum, and Boyd Mef-ferd.