This boat was manufactured in Algonac, Michigan in the fall of 1941 just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. It was delivered to Connecticut in February 1942 at the same time Chris-Craft was converting their production to wartime requirements. How, exactly, the boat was returned to the state of Michigan over the years is not known. The previous owner only had it for a few years.

 

The Ferrey's Acquisition:

Back in 2004 Gerran was interested in the 1959 Chris-Craft ski boats as the family were all avid skiers and a vintage ski boat seemed like a really cool idea! There was one for sale in Saugatuck, Michigan so he went to have a look at it at Macatawa Bay Boat Works (MBBW) in August of that year. While in their boat shed he noticed a really sharp "Barrel Back", only made for 3 years 1939 - 1941, and he knew this was the boat he wanted. He fell in love with the lines and after some negotiation with the owner in Grand Rapids the boat was purchased in October. It had a brand new rebuilt 6 cylinder Chris-Craft "K" engine but needed some sprucing up. The bottom was original.

 

October '04 through June '05 the boat underwent an extensive restoration at MBBW. New stain and varnish, replaced some rotted wood, new "original" green Chris-Craft leather upholstery, refurbished fuel tank and a new "original" 6 volt system.

The boat was then delivered to their summer place on Stoney Lake in June 2005 where it's been thoroughly enjoyed since. However, Gerran noticed that the bottom was taking longer to soak up every year and after a referral from Duncan Fanning (whose Shepherd he'd always admired), John was contacted about the bottom.

 

FYI - Gerran didn't give up on the vintage ski boat idea, but opted for a more practical version, purchasing (and refurbishing) a '77 19 ft. J-Craft with a first generation 175 Black Max in 2007.