A bit of lunacy, but I have always really liked the unique look of the closed bow trihull Chrysler Valiant. Saw a restored one in bright green, knew I wanted one someday. Seeing a 99 cent auction a mere 5 hours (one way) from my home got me thinking this would be a quick restoration. ha ha ha

Well in a fun 7 days and $103, the valiant was mine. After the LONG trip to the far edge of Long Island (from my upstate ny home) I found the rig as described....falling off the trailer, lower unit buried in the soil, both tires off the rims...

I brought two hand winches, countless cables, new wheels and tires, two jacks, and used everything I brought. jacked it out of the dirt, blocked..then winched back on the rusty trailer. The surprise was that the springs were terribly rusted...so I ended up spending an hour in a Home Depot parking lot reinforcing the hangers and brackets for the long traffic clogged ride north. Nothing like dragging a questionable boat trailer through NYC traffic. Never again.

Thankfully, after significant prayer on the shaky ride home, I tore into the old girl. Not surprising, the salt water used 45hp motor was siezed. The brilliant previous owner left both plugs out. What was surprising was that the clamps and bracketry attaching the motor to the transom were all completely rusted. I had to cut the outboard off the boat with an angle grinder. I sold the outboard with controls on ebay for $15. covered my tolls :)

Upon tearing out the floor in the late fall of 07, I was delighted to find that this little mopar was much better off than a similar vintage starcraft I scrapped weeks before. Whereas the Starcraft was reduced to mulch from the carpet down, this little bugger was pretty solid. The stringers were quite good, and only one frame was rotted. For good measure I pulled everything out anyhow, replaced and reglassed with bigger, more frequent frames than before. The transom was fine, so I simply reinforced the bildge box for good measure. I have a theory that the intense salt air actually helped preserve the wood on this one. She was wide open to rain (although well angled) for a few years minimum, but probably 20 ft from open sea....

So here she is, 90% done, ready for a shakedown cruise on 5/11/08. Actually a couple weeks behind schedule, I had hoped to have it in the water the first weekend of May, but it wasnt ready so I used my aluminum starcraft the first two nice weekends. So I figured a picture before launch would be good in case it sunk :)

I did a poor job documenting this rehab - so I will simply detail it. The frustrating part was rebuilding the trailer. Probably sunk $200 into all new hardware, wheels/tires, and many busted knuckles. I will never do this again - I will just buy a better trailer next time. Wich that completed, I wet sanded, buffed, and buffed the chalky red gelcoat with the full suite of 3M products. Not surprisingly, I still wasnt happy with the finish - very cloudy. So I took a risk and bought Penetrol at Lowes for 10 bucks and I am a believer. It is not for every project, but it really created a decent shine on this red....interior and out, but it wouldnt have worked without all the buffing and sanding. Far from perfect, but really good looking from 10ft or further. Best of all, I found a NOS white convertible Taylor Made top on ebay for $100. Never so happy. Additionally I found a low-hour 1979 Chrysler 35hp for power, and added a couple of white Wise back to back seats on the new grey carpet. I will add more interior shots - but bottom line, it is very snappy looking little rig. The top is what sets it off, though. I get more admiring looks than I expected for a low budget runabout.

Sure I always tank test my projects, but this was the first time a shakedown cruise ended up a whole day on the water with nary a tool deployed. This 35 literally starts at the bump of the starter - cold or warm - and pushes the Valiant to plane instantly. Anymore power would be a waste of gas. We are thrilled with the handling of this little runner...and the kids like to drive, of course.

I am down to the silly details now - fenders for the trailer, new lights for the trailer, a couple trim pieces in the interior, a new aft light pole and two new rear cleats and it will be 100%. Cant wait for the next weekend to take her for another spin!