Remove engine
Whenever you take on these projects its always a good idea to check with the Mariner Museum especially if it's a Chris Craft and that is what I did and I found out that my new boat is a 1948 17' Deluxe Runabout. It checks off the equipment on the boat when it left the Chris-Craft Plant, notes the original engine with serial number (KBL #51235) I have #66567, upholstery type and color (tolex, red), when and to where it was first shipped (5/14/48, Tahoe Boat Company, Reno, Nevada), and any special notes (it had a returnable shipping cover) and had a bronze bottom not red. A bit of Simple Green and Dawn Dishwashing Soap went a long way cleaning up the Chris Craft. I ended up scrubbing the seats with Simple Green and washing the entire seats with Dawn and then finishing off the project with leather conditioner and as you can see they came out exceptionally well. There was so much dirt on the boat I finally decided to just wash it with Dawn and it worked really well. The engine is disconnected and ready to pull out.
