TOPIC: 65' or 66' CC Corsair

I have a boat that the Maritime Museum can't find in the Chris Craft records. It is a 17.5 foot Corsair with a 221 140HP V8 Ford and an Eaton outdrive. It was in storage for 25 years, brought out and rebuilt (motor and outdrive). She runs and sounds great. I'm looking for any information that could lead me to where this boat was actually built. The color scheme is unique from any that I've seen in any pictures , and the bid V scoop on the back is only shown in the 66' brochure.

The 1960s fiberglass Chris-Craft Corsair boats were made by Thompson Boat Company of New York, Inc. at Cortland, NY, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chris-Craft.

What is the Chris-Craft HULL ID of your boat? It should be embossed into the fiberglass just under the gunwale port side just after the bow AND starboard side just in front of the transom. Mine starts with "ORDO..."

I have a 1966 Corsair Sport V 17'-6" outboard. Blue hull with white deck and trim. Back-to-back fold down seats. 1966 Evinrude 100 HP outboard motor. I call her the "Blue Bomb"!

Andreas

I saw the several posts about Big Blue, and the boat is very similar in style. I also saw pictures of an inboard in a driveway with the same big V scoop. The records may have been lost between the Courtland factory and the Interceptor motor installation, the guy at the museum thought anyway. I will post more pictures as soon as I get the info off of my crashed computer. Thanks form the reply, Jack

I'm sorry. I meant Blue Bomb. Mine is called Deja Blue, and the serial # is ORBZ 17 214 3 N. I actually have the Courtland factory paper tag from the boat, so she was built there, and then disappeared!

Is it possible that the hull ID is ORDZ and with a "D" and not a "B" ????

ORDZ 17 2143 falls into the 1965 model year for the Corsair Sport V 17 1/2 footer. This is according to Jerry Conrad's book "Chris-Craft: The Essential Guide"

If she is ORBZ 17 001 to 036 that falls into the 1963 model year

I believe the Corsair brochures are on line at www.chris-craft.org and maybe on the www.network54.com/Forum/424840/login?forumid=424840&action=getplus Commander page.

If she has an inboard/outboard, that should have been installed at the Cortland factory, not at a dealership. The factory did not install outboard motors on the boats.

Andreas

Sorry. It's been awhile since the last post. I still have the Corsair. Now it has rebuilt seats, a new stainless horn, a swim platform, and a general sprucing up for the summer. The problem is that on her maiden voyage on the Connecticut river, the bellows disintegrated and I almost sunk her. I now have the outdrive apart and found everything in pretty good shape except for the bellows, which I can't find. All of the net threads are several years old, and none of the sources have produced anything so far. The u joints and the steering dogs are rusted, but still function fine. I guess the water has been getting in there for a while, just not flooding the boat until last week. I don't have the funds to switch out the drives. Does anybody have an idea about how to find or make a new bellows?

Oh, and it is a "D" in the hull ID which runs vertically on the bow directly below the front marker fitting.

Sorry to hear of your trouble Jack, but very glad you got her home without sinking! I would recommend posting the model and serial number of the drive in the "Sterndrives" forum with some pics, I think that's your best bet on getting some feedback there ?

Hi jwh,
I have the same issue. Did you find a solution? I thinking you can use the later squared off transom bellows. Fill old holes redrill for the square version. You would have to track down the metal "ring"to match the new bellows and possibly enlarge the hole?

Hi all. I believe Andreas is right about the B really being a D. The color scheme, engine hatch, and air vents are all consistent with 65/66 which makes the D highly likely. The motor is in really nice shape. Currently has it listed on Craigslist in CT.

That is a good looking corsair. Tempting. Jwh did mention it was a D in a latter post so you and Andreas are quite correct.

There is also an 1963 outboard version in Southington CT. $500