1978 Chris Craft Cutlass Dory
- Jeff Carroll
- Oct 25, 2024
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 26, 2024
This 1978 Chris Craft Cutlass Dory is a boat that is in my private collection, and is not for sale at this time. I have always liked these boats, and when this one became available, I jumped on it. The previous owner had hit something and bent the prop, strut, and shaft, so those will have to be replaced. Other than that, this boat seems to be in pretty good condition. We'll find out more as we start the restoration.
This boat has been sitting around our facility, waiting for us to have time to work on it. Today it got its first bath in about five years, and still looks pretty nice! We'll get to work on it next week and see where we stand.
Very nice evening cruise in this boat tonight. She’s running great, and is very fun to drive.
After the spark plug change and the fuel filter replacement, she is running great! This is a really fun boat!
Oh, and if you happen to notice the pegged temperature gauge in the video, don't worry. It is not reading correctly, and we were CAREFULLY monitoring engine temperature manually at all times.
We found that the old fuel filter was FULL of water. The boat had been sitting for a long time since it was last used. We changed this one out and replaced some severely-fouled spark plugs.
Dropped her in the water, and she started right up! The engine idled nicely, and revved up fine. Under load though, it seemed to be starving for fuel and not running on all cylinders.
She sure looks good though!
OK, time to get this Chris Craft cleaned up and in the water! It has been way too long since I bought this boat, and I haven't even had it on the water yet! Let's get it wet! Here it is getting cleaned up again and ready to drop in.