The old gear lever for the Hall-Craft V-drive, a 10-inch chromed tube with a steel cue ball welded on top, isn't pretty. After a half-century, it's corroded and worn, and its simple pivot-hidden beneath the boat's distressed plywood floorboards-is equally sloppy. But then, the shifter needn't do much-simply take the V-drive in and out of gear. Need reverse? Grab a paddle.
I found it remarkable how much power this ancient shifter held over me. But why? For three years after acquiring the boat, I'd anticipated the day when I'd start the engine, survey the water, and push that lever. For 56 years I'd wanted a V-drive of my own, after first seeing a Howard Custom Boats ad in a 1960s magazine.
Finally, it was happening. On a remote lake in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, a fresh wind had brewed, sweeping across the launch ramp, latching onto the boat's low silhouette, and pirouetting it away from shore. The blower-a recent addition hummed deep inside the bilge. So, I set the choke, swatted the big gas pedal, switched on the ignition and fuel pump, then turned the key to light off the old Ford 289. Laboriously, the V-8 stumbled and then caught, settling into a noisy, cantankerous idle and spewing water and exhaust through the transom. I had to pinch myself.
HOT RODS OF THE SEA
V-drives gained popularity in the late 1950s, after boatbuilders learned that relocating the engine from amidships to astern would reduce the hull's wetted area while planing and, given adequate power from the new overhead-valve V-8s, increase performance. However, to retain a favorable prop angle, the engines were mounted backward, their driveshafts spearing forward between the seats before making an about-face via a set of oil-bathed bevel gears (the V-drive) and heading aft. The design's racy flat-bottom hulls were great for skiers (thanks to minimal wake) but provided scant freeboard and terrible ride quality, and offered potentially diabolical handling with their sharp chines.
Even so, by the 1960s, the same mindset that created the postwar hot-rod movement drove this new segment, and builders harnessed the miracle of molded fiberglass in their construction. Biesemeyer and Hallett, Howard and RaysonCraft, and Sanger, Stevens and other boat brands built their reputations racing and then sold the excitement to families.
The "SK" class name that adorned some of these early racing boats was short for "Ski Racing Runabout." Like I said, I always wanted one. But first, my SK needed some TLC.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/9981180599.jpg]
TOIL AND TROUBLE
In my side yard, I'd launched a full-court press to service and repair the boat after work and on the weekends. After springing $700 for new Brownell stands, I spent an afternoon carefully lifting the boat with a floor jack and settling it on the stands only to discover the trailer's cross braces allowed rolling it only 2 or 3 feet at once. No fun, but I got it done. Once safely in the air, an inspection showed a few places where the hull needed help, either with paint, two-part epoxy or 3M 5200 marine adhesive. The through-hull fittings, water intakes, and prop-shaft and rudder logs appeared good and merely required tightening in most cases.
Thankful that the hull was sound, I studied the details. The boat was well-built, with crisp woodcuts and workmanlike assembly, custom diamond-tufted bucket seats, and a bank of chromed Stewart-Warner gauges. But all the parts were vintage. More troubling, the driveshaft, Nicson exhaust logs and wiring were disconnected and the distributor and carburetor were missing altogether. So the spending continued as eBay produced a new electronic ignition system and Edelbrock four-barrel carb and flame arrester for another $650. Exhaust gaskets, spark plugs, a fuel pump, an oil filter and oil tallied $150 more.
Piecing the Humpty Dumpty engine back together proved straightforward. The oil change, renewing the electrical and fuel systems, adding a $200 battery, and flushing some surviving gas from the bow-mounted tank brought the beast ready to start for the first time since Billy Beer's heyday. And start it did, in its own clattery, smoky way. It wasn't tidy, smooth or convincing. But as Dr. Frankenstein shouted, "Look! It's moving. It's alive!" It worked for me.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/7110099905.jpg]
Soon more challenges including surfaced, the inoperative Neovane water whose impeller pump, resembled a broken Oreo cookie. Luckily, various boating speed shops carry them for $32 and up, and the impeller refresh took under an hour. Then came a mysteriously lazy charging system; a replacement voltage regulator ($35) didn't fix it, but a replacement alternator ($70) and a new ground wire did.
Generally, repair parts were easily available, but they revealed a disturbing reality of rehabbing boats (and cars and trucks) nowadays: quality. For every stout original part removed from service, including those mentioned above plus the ignition switch, bilge vent hoses and more, the modern replacements seemed like lightweight trash by comparison. And so, while resurrecting the boat proved satisfying, it was also painful to substitute built-down-toa-price-imports for tough-as nails American originals. If I ever find myself working on a Century Coronado, I'll need better resources. Until then, note to self: Find new old stock (NOS) parts.
Once I brought the boat back to life, there was only one thing left to do: Hit the lake. But first, we had to hit the highway.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/5187591797.jpg]
2022 RAM 1500 LIMITED CREW CAB 4X4
ENGINE: 3.0-liter EcoDiesel turbocharged V-6
POWER: 260 hp at 3,600 rpm
TORQUE: 480 ft.-lb. at 1,600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic
REAR AXLE: 3.92:1 with electronic locking differential
FUEL ECONOMY, OBSERVED (AVERAGE): 21.9 mpg
FUEL CAPACITY: 26 gal.
GVWR: 7,200 lb.
TOWING CAPACITY: 9,620 lb.
PAYLOAD: 1,780 lb.
WHEELBASE: 144.6 in.
OVERALL LENGTH: 232.9 in.
WIDTH: 82.1 in.
BED LENGTH: 67.4 in.
TURNING DIAMETER: 46.2 ft.
PASSENGER CAPACITY: 5
PRICE AS TESTED: $75,762
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/1169911981.jpg]
LOADED UP AND TRUCKIN'
With the help of my old friend JG, we planned to hit a beautiful stretch of water in California's High Sierras. The uncertainties of resurrecting a long-slumbering boat full of old and original components demanded the exact opposite in a tow vehicle for the 1,200-mile trip from Los Angeles to the Sierras and back. Enter the 2022 Ram 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4X4. Powered by a 3-liter turbodiesel V-6, this truck offered plenty of towing capacity (9,620 pounds as configured), had adequate storage inside the cab and 5-foot-7-inch bed, and promised good fuel mileage. I looked forward to worry-free transit. The price: $75,762 as tested.
The custom trailer's prop guard is lower than a snake's belly, so the first towing challenge was finding a drawbar with an adequate drop below the Ram's Class IV hitch receiver. Luckily, I grabbed a Reese adjustable hitch for $65 at an auto-parts store. With that installed in the lowest position (7.5 inches), the attitude got dialed in. Updating the wiring from the trailer's four-pin round harness to the truck's modern flat-four outlet was also easy; ditto for repacking the bearings, replacing the tires, and recarpeting the bunks and side steps. For posterity, I left the shag carpeting on the right-side steps. It looked so awesome-surviving from the avocado-colored kitchen appliances era-I just couldn't destroy it.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/9951186559.jpg]
The Ram Limited included a four-panel folding tonneau, which initially appeared like an obstacle to easy storage. But it proved a huge advantage because parts, tools and supplies as well as skis, paddles, PFDs, a floor jack and an E-Z Up-could be stashed inside the bed and securely covered, eliminating the chance of stuff blowing out or being purloined during our travels. Duffels, dive gear, wetsuits, electronics and personal items went inside the Crew Cab. We were good to go.
HIGHWAY HAULER
With a fresh tank of diesel, we headed north from Los Angeles to the high country of the Sierra Nevada. Rated at just 260 hp, the Ram's turbodiesel didn't seem that impressive on paper-that is, until we considered its 480 foot-pounds of torque. Then, in reality, as our route ascended from sea level to an 8,138-foot elevation-the highest moun...
I found it remarkable how much power this ancient shifter held over me. But why? For three years after acquiring the boat, I'd anticipated the day when I'd start the engine, survey the water, and push that lever. For 56 years I'd wanted a V-drive of my own, after first seeing a Howard Custom Boats ad in a 1960s magazine.
Finally, it was happening. On a remote lake in California's Sierra Nevada mountain range, a fresh wind had brewed, sweeping across the launch ramp, latching onto the boat's low silhouette, and pirouetting it away from shore. The blower-a recent addition hummed deep inside the bilge. So, I set the choke, swatted the big gas pedal, switched on the ignition and fuel pump, then turned the key to light off the old Ford 289. Laboriously, the V-8 stumbled and then caught, settling into a noisy, cantankerous idle and spewing water and exhaust through the transom. I had to pinch myself.
HOT RODS OF THE SEA
V-drives gained popularity in the late 1950s, after boatbuilders learned that relocating the engine from amidships to astern would reduce the hull's wetted area while planing and, given adequate power from the new overhead-valve V-8s, increase performance. However, to retain a favorable prop angle, the engines were mounted backward, their driveshafts spearing forward between the seats before making an about-face via a set of oil-bathed bevel gears (the V-drive) and heading aft. The design's racy flat-bottom hulls were great for skiers (thanks to minimal wake) but provided scant freeboard and terrible ride quality, and offered potentially diabolical handling with their sharp chines.
Even so, by the 1960s, the same mindset that created the postwar hot-rod movement drove this new segment, and builders harnessed the miracle of molded fiberglass in their construction. Biesemeyer and Hallett, Howard and RaysonCraft, and Sanger, Stevens and other boat brands built their reputations racing and then sold the excitement to families.
The "SK" class name that adorned some of these early racing boats was short for "Ski Racing Runabout." Like I said, I always wanted one. But first, my SK needed some TLC.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/9981180599.jpg]
TOIL AND TROUBLE
In my side yard, I'd launched a full-court press to service and repair the boat after work and on the weekends. After springing $700 for new Brownell stands, I spent an afternoon carefully lifting the boat with a floor jack and settling it on the stands only to discover the trailer's cross braces allowed rolling it only 2 or 3 feet at once. No fun, but I got it done. Once safely in the air, an inspection showed a few places where the hull needed help, either with paint, two-part epoxy or 3M 5200 marine adhesive. The through-hull fittings, water intakes, and prop-shaft and rudder logs appeared good and merely required tightening in most cases.
Thankful that the hull was sound, I studied the details. The boat was well-built, with crisp woodcuts and workmanlike assembly, custom diamond-tufted bucket seats, and a bank of chromed Stewart-Warner gauges. But all the parts were vintage. More troubling, the driveshaft, Nicson exhaust logs and wiring were disconnected and the distributor and carburetor were missing altogether. So the spending continued as eBay produced a new electronic ignition system and Edelbrock four-barrel carb and flame arrester for another $650. Exhaust gaskets, spark plugs, a fuel pump, an oil filter and oil tallied $150 more.
Piecing the Humpty Dumpty engine back together proved straightforward. The oil change, renewing the electrical and fuel systems, adding a $200 battery, and flushing some surviving gas from the bow-mounted tank brought the beast ready to start for the first time since Billy Beer's heyday. And start it did, in its own clattery, smoky way. It wasn't tidy, smooth or convincing. But as Dr. Frankenstein shouted, "Look! It's moving. It's alive!" It worked for me.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/7110099905.jpg]
Soon more challenges including surfaced, the inoperative Neovane water whose impeller pump, resembled a broken Oreo cookie. Luckily, various boating speed shops carry them for $32 and up, and the impeller refresh took under an hour. Then came a mysteriously lazy charging system; a replacement voltage regulator ($35) didn't fix it, but a replacement alternator ($70) and a new ground wire did.
Generally, repair parts were easily available, but they revealed a disturbing reality of rehabbing boats (and cars and trucks) nowadays: quality. For every stout original part removed from service, including those mentioned above plus the ignition switch, bilge vent hoses and more, the modern replacements seemed like lightweight trash by comparison. And so, while resurrecting the boat proved satisfying, it was also painful to substitute built-down-toa-price-imports for tough-as nails American originals. If I ever find myself working on a Century Coronado, I'll need better resources. Until then, note to self: Find new old stock (NOS) parts.
Once I brought the boat back to life, there was only one thing left to do: Hit the lake. But first, we had to hit the highway.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/5187591797.jpg]
2022 RAM 1500 LIMITED CREW CAB 4X4
ENGINE: 3.0-liter EcoDiesel turbocharged V-6
POWER: 260 hp at 3,600 rpm
TORQUE: 480 ft.-lb. at 1,600 rpm
TRANSMISSION: 8-speed automatic
REAR AXLE: 3.92:1 with electronic locking differential
FUEL ECONOMY, OBSERVED (AVERAGE): 21.9 mpg
FUEL CAPACITY: 26 gal.
GVWR: 7,200 lb.
TOWING CAPACITY: 9,620 lb.
PAYLOAD: 1,780 lb.
WHEELBASE: 144.6 in.
OVERALL LENGTH: 232.9 in.
WIDTH: 82.1 in.
BED LENGTH: 67.4 in.
TURNING DIAMETER: 46.2 ft.
PASSENGER CAPACITY: 5
PRICE AS TESTED: $75,762
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/1169911981.jpg]
LOADED UP AND TRUCKIN'
With the help of my old friend JG, we planned to hit a beautiful stretch of water in California's High Sierras. The uncertainties of resurrecting a long-slumbering boat full of old and original components demanded the exact opposite in a tow vehicle for the 1,200-mile trip from Los Angeles to the Sierras and back. Enter the 2022 Ram 1500 Limited Crew Cab 4X4. Powered by a 3-liter turbodiesel V-6, this truck offered plenty of towing capacity (9,620 pounds as configured), had adequate storage inside the cab and 5-foot-7-inch bed, and promised good fuel mileage. I looked forward to worry-free transit. The price: $75,762 as tested.
The custom trailer's prop guard is lower than a snake's belly, so the first towing challenge was finding a drawbar with an adequate drop below the Ram's Class IV hitch receiver. Luckily, I grabbed a Reese adjustable hitch for $65 at an auto-parts store. With that installed in the lowest position (7.5 inches), the attitude got dialed in. Updating the wiring from the trailer's four-pin round harness to the truck's modern flat-four outlet was also easy; ditto for repacking the bearings, replacing the tires, and recarpeting the bunks and side steps. For posterity, I left the shag carpeting on the right-side steps. It looked so awesome-surviving from the avocado-colored kitchen appliances era-I just couldn't destroy it.
[https://cdn.magzter.com/1498743624/1677480720/articles/q_0T9sk5g1679896312930/9951186559.jpg]
The Ram Limited included a four-panel folding tonneau, which initially appeared like an obstacle to easy storage. But it proved a huge advantage because parts, tools and supplies as well as skis, paddles, PFDs, a floor jack and an E-Z Up-could be stashed inside the bed and securely covered, eliminating the chance of stuff blowing out or being purloined during our travels. Duffels, dive gear, wetsuits, electronics and personal items went inside the Crew Cab. We were good to go.
HIGHWAY HAULER
With a fresh tank of diesel, we headed north from Los Angeles to the high country of the Sierra Nevada. Rated at just 260 hp, the Ram's turbodiesel didn't seem that impressive on paper-that is, until we considered its 480 foot-pounds of torque. Then, in reality, as our route ascended from sea level to an 8,138-foot elevation-the highest moun...
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Boating (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 2023