'74 21ft Chieftain

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Jb, if youre talking about the dark gray stuff where the two pieces of metal join together in that pic, that would be the previous owner's silicone leak repair. The whole bottom does appear th have been painted with a couple thick layers of "bottom" paint which is surprisingly well adhered.

 

[dozerII]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

That crud on the hull looks real similar to what was on mine, only painted over it 3 times. Real fun to get off.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Doub - Was she the Walton's Walmart corporate yacht? :grumpy: I would grab a yellow spray bomb just to cover the stern. uke:

 

[jasoutside]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Big Chief = Happy Happy Joy Joy!

 

[Watermann]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Oh yeah a new Chief in the brotherhood, welcome to the dry dock doub!

I thought I posted yesterday on your thread after reading up but I see it's not here. I have a good pic for you of my Chiefs windshield. The bottom would be the tough ones, they're curved pieces but the top is straight.




The outdrive would have to have been replaced if it's an Alpha one, your 74 would have had an MC. I saw your PB pics of the lower unit, looks like it for sure needs a new trim tab/anode.



You have a ton of rewarding work ahead of you that will start making that tin boat look like a mountain but just keep moving forward!

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Thanks Watermann for the additional pic. Fortunately, I have the bottom windshield trim. It looks like I am just missing the four piecse that make up the top and sides of the windshield frame. From what I can tell it is just an aluminum chanel with the cross section shape of a lower case "h". Dont know what exactly I am going to do about those trim pieces yet. Been thinking of making up some flat trim pieces to replace what I am missing so I can glue the new windshield in like modern automotive glass is installed.

As for the outdrive, it is definately an alpha 1 and not original to the boat. It shows significantly more corrosion than anything on the boat. And it is sealed to the transom with clear silicone. I am already on the hunt for a donor boat. Wanna try to find one with a nice swim platform and a mercruiser 165 engine so I'll have a complete parts engine. Unfortunately I just missed a shot at the perfect donor about 20 miles from the house earlier today. Guy said it sold about an hour before I called him.

 

[Watermann]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

You have a couple more good months of boat shopping before the prices jump, hopefully another nice donor will come along.

I saw the A1 squared off AC plate in the LU pic with the eroded tab, I wonder what caused that much corrosion damage?

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

^ my guess on the outdrive is that it was taken off a saltwater boat then sold to the previous owner of my boat (hopefully very cheap). Did you see the pic where lower unit has corroded away to the point the threads of the rear nut are exposed?



^In my opinion, that takes more than the average amount of neglect. It doesnt fit in with the boat at all. From the looks of it, the previous owners cared for it. They just didnt have money to make the repairs it needs.

 

[barato2]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

takes more than the average amount of neglect.

agree 100%. my guess would be that the outdrive was slipped in salt water somewhere......that looks like salt + galvanic

 

[cj8mule]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Could you take some pictures of the bimini top frame for me doubleud? I've got a frame just like yours, but the PO had it mounted on the gunnel for some reason. (which makes it very short... as in couldn't even walk under it)

I'm pretty sure our boats are twins and am curious which one is older. We'll have to compare HIN's :watermelon:

 

[InMotion]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

takes more than the average amount of neglect.

agree 100%. my guess would be that the outdrive was slipped in salt water somewhere......that looks like salt + galvanic

+1 on that... man, someone decided they had it "out" for that outdrive! Just goes to show you that at some point, most people just stop caring. In this case, at least it is a replaceable item.

J.

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Cj, what pics are you looking for on the Bimini top? Do you need closeups of the mounting points, or just an overall view of it folded out? Thats strange on the gunnel mount thing, mine is mounted to the rails that come up from the gunnel to the sides of the cabin. I also have an enclosure that came with the boat, I havn't even tried folding it out to see what it looks like yet. I'll try to get you some pics of the bimini tomorrow if the rain will hold off. Just let me know if there's anything specific you need to see.

Oh and I'm interested in who's boat is older too, i'll pm you the HIN and we'll find out.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Cj, what pics are you looking for on the Bimini top? Do you need closeups of the mounting points, or just an overall view of it folded out? Thats strange on the gunnel mount thing, mine is mounted to the rails that come up from the gunnel to the sides of the cabin. I also have an enclosure that came with the boat, I havn't even tried folding it out to see what it looks like yet. I'll try to get you some pics of the bimini tomorrow if the rain will hold off. Just let me know if there's anything specific you need to see.

Oh and I'm interested in who's boat is older too, i'll pm you the HIN and we'll find out.

Just an overall picture of it laying on the rails. I'm hoping that what I took off my gunnel is the same as what's on your rails.

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Hope this helps you CJ. Let me know if you need any more pics. Although I'm not sure my Bimini is original either.


Heres the label in my top



It is definately out of adjustment, the front snaps are about 5" away from reaching the windshield.

 

[barato2]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

i think the rail mount is not uncommon to the cruisers. in the case of my Starchief, it's actually one of the tops that fastens to top edge of upper windshield, like you seem to be describing. not sure if your framework is original, but i'm pretty sure the fabric has been replaced at some point.....doubt Sunbrella existed in the 70s. one thing that might be confusing about your setup is that it also has a solid rear support, an optional add-on that replaces the usual webbing straps to make it sturdier at the expense of rapid foldability.

 

[cj8mule]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Thanks doubleud!

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

I spent alot of time thinking and finally I decided that I would never be happy with the boat if I didnt fix the big dent. So today I got to work. In a couple hours I pulled the cabin wall and removed the rest of the floor. With the floor now removed I got to work cutting out the damaged keel section. I made one cut across it then removed all the rivets.

The damaged piece I removed

After I removed that section I got to work straightening the hull with some massaging

I was able to get the starboard side of the hull back almost perfect.


I got the port side back perfect.


And an old photo for comparison
Guess we will see soon enough if I am able to get it back together and sealed up.


It looks like this one is gonna need a complete rewire.

I'll get some more pics of the teardown soon. I was very happy to see no corrosion on the hull below the deck.

 

[classiccat]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Very ambitious 2x! :thumb:

Fab-ing up the replacement lower bow plate will be a project op2:

 

[doubleud]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Yes it will be one heck of a project. Dont worry, I'll photograph all the failed attempts along the way.

 

[Watermann]

Re: '74 21ft Chieftain

Yeah you may have to do the BF trick and anneal your new piece of keel plate to get it to the correct bend.