Chris Craft Constellation 500s

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My full paint job cost me about $50k. It was 3 coat of white Gel including the bottom paint replacement. They did a great, the boat looks great and I'm hoping this will last for 15+ years.
 
Francois said:
My full paint job cost me about $50k. It was 3 coat of white Gel including the bottom paint replacement. They did a great, the boat looks great and I'm hoping this will last for 15+ years.
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So less say $3-$4000 for the bottom job, say $46,000 for gelcoat.

Why gelcoat over something like Awlgrip?

What year is your boat?
 
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That's about right - $4k for the bottom and the rest for the hull and top.
All the tops are Awlgrip (where we walk), the rest is Gelcoat. I could have spent $18k for just painting, but Gelcoat will last 3x longer (but is more expensive).


My boat is 1985 and looks like new now. We added a 5' swim platform at the stern and also replaced all the electronics.
 
I just picked up a 50' 1990 CC that we are going to spruce up.

A good friend does spray Awlgrip jobs so that's the way we will go. Plus the price is right. :D

We might go with this color scheme. Except with a thinner yellow stripe between the bottom paint and boot stripe.
 

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Very nice boat you bought. You will love her I guarantee it. Either at anchor, cruising or in a Marina, she will serve you well. What you need now is a nice wooden dinghy to complement he...


Good luck in your painting and keep us posted
 
Francois said:
Very nice boat you bought. You will love her I guarantee it. Either at anchor, cruising or in a Marina, she will serve you well. What you need now is a nice wooden dinghy to complement he...


Good luck in your painting and keep us posted
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Just be clear, that is not a picture of the boat we bought. That is a completely different boat that just happens to have the paint colors we are considering.

As for a tender, we are considering a Livingston.

I have been considering adding a bigger swim platform as you did.
 
3 day trip in Texas !

I'm so excited. Casting off soon on a 3 day cruise from Corpus Christi Texas and heading to Kemah near Houston.


Boat is ready (well, almost...), and the crew will be myself and two other cruising friends.
We plan to do this 230nm trip in 3 legs of about 8 hours each. ICW for the first and last leg, and if the weather is good, we'll be in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday (hoping to catch some fish maybe).

Plan to drop anchor first night near Port O'Connor and stay at a marina the next night.

We'll keep posting updates
 

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Capt.Bill11 said:
Just be clear, that is not a picture of the boat we bought. That is a completely different boat that just happens to have the paint colors we are considering.

As for a tender, we are considering a Livingston.

I have been considering adding a bigger swim platform as you did.
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Is that a Rybovich modeling those paint colors?
 
Silver Lining said:
Can anyone tell them what the expected gph would be on a 6v92 or a 8v92?? At what RPMs?

Thanks!
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Recently brought our boat from Eastport, Maine to port Saint Joe, Fl. At 1200 rpm we ran 9.2 knots and burned about 10 gallons per hour with our 20 kW Onan generator running. We have 6 v92. 550 hp with a little over 3,000 hrs.
 
Francois said:
I'm so excited. Casting off soon on a 3 day cruise from Corpus Christi Texas and heading to Kemah near Houston.


Boat is ready (well, almost...), and the crew will be myself and two other cruising friends.
We plan to do this 230nm trip in 3 legs of about 8 hours each. ICW for the first and last leg, and if the weather is good, we'll be in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday (hoping to catch some fish maybe).

Plan to drop anchor first night near Port O'Connor and stay at a marina the next night.

We'll keep posting updates
Click to expand...

Have a great trip...sent you a pm
 
Silver Lining said:
This is my first post. I'm thinking about looking for a Connie to buy but I'm concerned about the 6v92TA engines. Isn't 550hp way too much for a 6 cylinder engine?? Even if they have a blower? I've been on a fact finding mission before I make a decision. I read some comments that at this hp and 6 cylinder the engines expected lifespan is only about 1200-1500 hrs??
For a diesel engine????? Can anyone add some opinions and your experiences with the reliability and lifespan of these engines? I would appreciate any words of wisdom any owners would like to offer. I've boated all my life so not new to the game. I have a turnkey 93' 3888 Bayliner and thinking about going to the Connie.
Thanks for your comments!! Capt V
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I have Chris 501 since 2003...(Google Doc's Holiday Coming Home) 6v92 550 hp. Generally run at 1200 rpm which carries her at 9.2 knots. Recent compression check shows all within spec. and with just over 3,000 hrs. on them. We have taken her from Beaumont, Texas to Corpus Christie and to the Canadian border in Maine and back. Routine maintenance was oil and filter change every 150 hrs even though she has oil spinners on motor and generator. It's all in how you care for and treat your motors! My advice is do not buy a
"Dock Queen!" Low hours on an older boat usually means she hasn't been run...these boats go down hill fast if not used.
 
Capt Bill 11, Sorry I didn't respond sooner. Was in Fla and very busy! Paint job by Diversified involved 2 years and lots of other stuff. Boat looks absolutely NEW! I would guess paint(waterline up and deck fittings removed) was probably $60,000+. Also replaced old wood bow rail with new SS bow rail. Installed custom "Marquip" style crane and 12ft Tender. VERY expensive extras but I met the son of the old CC Dealer on West coast. He looked boat over, asked if for sale and said he saw several 501 new from factory and none looked as good as the job Diversified did! I do need help with the on board water system. There are two 120 gal tanks, one in the generator rm and the other hidden aft,connected by hose.Which one does DECK water fitting feed? I think the aft tank leaks and want to abandon same, plug off the front and use the forward tank or replace the forward tank. It looks like an "easier" job than messing with aft tank. What do you think and I would be very happy to pay for a copy of the water lines AND a fuel line schematic, if you have them. Call me 716 628 9003 Gary Thanks PS reason so busy is we were hit by Tornado at Ft Myers Beach, 6 boats hit, no one hurt, one boat picked up and thrown into dock. It was only a 40ft 15 ton boat! We had about $9K in damage...lucky!
 
Chris Craft 500 Information Needed

Pete37 said:
Hi CPSeudonyn,

I have an address list of about 200 Connie owners. This forum running under the Boat US Manfacturing Forums ran for seven years, had 2000 posts and nearly a half million reads. We also have a 2.5 gigabyte Connie Owners Library on DVD which documents what we have learned about Connie in the past seven years. When I have notified the Connie owners about this new forum by mail this site should get a lot thicker.

Pete37
Click to expand...

I recently purchased a 1986 Chris Craft 500 and would like to obtain technical information about the boat. I noticed that there hasn't been a posting about 500's on this forum in quite some time, but there is mention of a DVD that contains archived information. I'm hoping to obtain the DVD, as I'm in need of any wiring diagrams, blueprints, construction documents, etc. that might be available. The 500's are wonderful boats, but they are somewhat obscure in the documentation of Chris Craft boats. Thanks for any help you can provide.
 
Hi Bob,
I tried to get a copy of this DVD from Pete37 and was successful.
I bought my Connie 500 5 years ago and enjoyed her ever since. We just completed a short cruise from Kemah Texas to Corpus (had a great time and boat did great at 1200 rpm).

Enjoy your boat!
 
Chris Craft 500 Information

Francois said:
Hi Bob,
I tried to get a copy of this DVD from Pete37 and was successful.
I bought my Connie 500 5 years ago and enjoyed her ever since. We just completed a short cruise from Kemah Texas to Corpus (had a great time and boat did great at 1200 rpm).

Enjoy your boat!
Click to expand...

Many thanks for your response. Glad you are enjoying your 500 on the coast. Ours is located on lake Texoma. My family has owned several Chris Crafts on North Texas lakes over the years. The 500's are an interesting mix of legacy boat builders. Hopefully, we can rekindle the sharing of information here and help extend the life of these boats.
 
Pete37 said:
Hi CPSeudonyn,

I have an address list of about 200 Connie owners. This forum running under the Boat US Manfacturing Forums ran for seven years, had 2000 posts and nearly a half million reads. We also have a 2.5 gigabyte Connie Owners Library on DVD which documents what we have learned about Connie in the past seven years. When I have notified the Connie owners about this new forum by mail this site should get a lot thicker.

Pete37
Click to expand...
Pete37,

Can I get a copy of the CC Constellation DVD as I recently purchased 1985 CC Connie.

Mike Wilkins
Mikeflyme@comcast.net
239-394-0808
 
Francois said:
Hi Bob,
I tried to get a copy of this DVD from Pete37 and was successful.
I bought my Connie 500 5 years ago and enjoyed her ever since. We just completed a short cruise from Kemah Texas to Corpus (had a great time and boat did great at 1200 rpm).

Enjoy your boat!
Click to expand...
I have a 1985 Chris Craft 500 and have been trying to contact Pete for a copy of the DVD he has but with no luck. Is there any possibly that you could reproduce a copy from yours and share it. I will pay for all costs to do so.
 
Hi Bob, reading back on my previous answer and I was wrong... I was not successful getting the DVD (sorry about that!)
 
Hi folks,
Do any connie owner know where the Generator draws fuel from?
Is it suppose to be based on the fuel "levers" located by the stairs?
or maybe it is directly connected to the aft 200 Gal port side tank
Thanks
 
Francis

My 1985 Constellation 500 draws generator draws from aft port tank
 
New Owner

Can someone tell me how to switch the freshwater system from dock water to the storage tank on a 500 Constellation 1987? Thanks for your help!
 
I have a 120V water pump on the main panel in the main salon that pumps the fresh water tank...turn off the shore water and turn that one on, there may be another 12V pump, check under the 3 steps next to the Captain's Quarters and Day Head.
 
Looking for that CD!

Hi, Newbie here. Did anyone find that CD? Just bought a 86 CCC 50 and would love the resources alleged to be on it.
 
Pete37 said:
A forum to discuss the maintenance and repair of Chris Craft Constellation 500 and related motoryachts:)
Click to expand...
Hallo , i have also a CONNY of 1988 . I have no plans . I like to make a smalle Verizon of this boat on a sale of 1/14 for radio guidance . Can you help me . Of you have plans can you scan them and
to my e-mail : mauritsmaes@live.be .
Kindly regards
 
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