1941 is a year in our nation’s
history that is synonymous with war. Recent events have
been
an all to clear reminder of the biggest global conflict
in history. Generations of young and old understand
what that year meant for this country and the world.
Never before or since has this country come together
in such a way to defend freedom and defeat evil. Even
as we face the reality of 9/11/2001, which claimed
more lives than December 7th 1941, anyone
who studies the history of this great country has to
see the differences. In 1941 enemies were clearly identified
and front lines of battle established. Today our enemies
are phantoms throughout the world and yes unfortunately
within our own borders. Sixty years has changed this
country and the world. Hopefully nations all over the
globe have studied and learned from that conflict we
call World War II, never to repeat again its deadly
consequences.
Chris-Craft was just one of thousands
of companies that turned their raw materials into machines
and equipment to fight the war. We should all be proud
of the Chris-Craft history and the contribution they
made. 1941 was a turning point for Chris
as well as the entire country. Everything would change
from that period forward.
Even
with the prospect of larger military contracts pulling
resources from the production line,
spring of 1940 saw the Chris-Craft style department
hard at work revamping the runabout line for the ’41
production year. This year was a crucial turning point
for the
line as it saw the introduction of the “Clipper Bow”
Barrelbacks. This design would forever change the style
of
boats after WW II. When you look at the 1941 19' Custom
you can’t help but see the huge impact it had on all
future production. Gone was the trademark arrow pointed
bow that had been the style since the first production
boat in 1922. Replacing the arrow was a rounded bow
that seemed to be as natural as a drop of water. Think
about it, just about every post war runabout has this
kind of rounded bow style. The split cutwater gives
way to the rounded nose in such a way that you still
have a subtle arrow affect. The broad flat deck absent
of the king plank in conjunction with the perfectly
raked V-folding windshield yields the look of a low
aerodynamic drag, high speed runabout. It’s darn near
perfect if you ask me.
Specifications and Styling
The 1941 series started with hull
#48800 on July 30th 1940 and had a total
production of 93 units.
Engine and model data
The “Clipper Bow” and “V-Folding
Windshield”
Let’s first take an in-depth look
at the styling differences that set the new trend in
1941. The
most obvious difference from the previous model years
is the rounded bow and
folding windshield. This change alone sets the original
hull design into a completely new look. The ’41 hull
from the dash forward was redesigned to be flatter
and have less forward slope than the ’39 or ’40. Gone
is the Bugatti windshield and in its place a very functional
V-Folding style screen that afforded the passengers
much greater protection from the wind and spray. You
could still get the best of both worlds as with the
Bugattis' by laying the entire screen on the front
deck. It is very interesting to note that the original
factory photo shows no hold down locks for the windshield.
Early reports and testing told engineering that hold-downs
were essential in order to keep the glass from cracking.
From hull #48802 forward hold-downs were installed
in the decks. The original factory and catalog photos
are actually of hull #48801 not #48800 as one might
think—more on that later.
In the “Clipper Bow” design
we also can see the famous king plank has been eliminated
giving way to equally spaced deck seams.
Cutwater, Deck Cleat,
Lifting Rings and Bow light
The
cutwater is quite unique and was a first for that style
on
a Chris-Craft. You know that
the CC style department had to be watching their competitors
closely because this split cutwater idea was not exactly
original to Chris-Craft. Take a look at the 1939-41
19' Gar Wood Deluxe Runabout and you will clearly see
a similar style of split cutwater. Gar introduced the
“Barrel Bow” style in 1939. The large deck cleats
are a very nice and functional addition to the bow
and stern.
Note that in the original photo there are no chocks
up on the forward bow to run your dock lines through.
Again this is unique to the #48801 hull. Throughout
the 1941/42 production we see the use of the "straight
ring" lifting rings. Take a look at the location; you
will see that the bow ring has been moved to the next
frame aft of the previous position. The bow light is
of the same type as models before but the location
has been moved to where the “Turtle Horn” was
positioned. The art deco horn was removed and a less
attractive
horn was placed under the deck.
The “Bear Claw/Cup Vent” Mystery
This
subject has been one of great interest in the past.
Most
CC historians have heard about the
U.S. Coast Guard regulations that were put forth before
the war regarding ventilation in the bilge. What many
people wanted to know was when this happened and how
Chris-Craft dealt with it. Three years ago Wilson Wright
shared an article with me written by Bud Besch on the
19' Customs. He was trying to find the answer and never
could nail it down. When I picked up where Bud left
off this was a number one priority. Several calls to
Jerry at the museum resulted in document able to prove
when and how this change occurred. This engineering
memo documents every hull that was on the production
floor at the time of the regulation change. Here are
the details below:
Step pads and Flag pole
height
In another discussion, we explored
the location of the step pads and whether or not they
broke the hideum. For the 1941/42 years it is clear
that the style change has the pads moved lower so that
the hideum is a continuous piece around the cockpit.
The stern pole height is somewhat
questionable. I have many of the original factory photos
that show the pole
the same height as its predecessors. But one picture
(the one that was used in the 1941/42 catalog) shows
a pole that is a little shorter. I think that from
a judging standpoint that either pole would be OK.
At this time there is no document that I am aware of
that proves the change to a shorter pole. If you have
a ’41 or ’42 with a standard length pole don’t
sweat it. Chris Smith (Grandson) has said on more than
one
occasion that if the photographer doing the shot did
not like the height of the pole they went and got another
one of different length. I’ll continue to research
this interesting topic and will update the web site.
Finding
the factory “photo boat”
Upon
starting the research project for the ’41 series
I told myself that I just had to find the very first
hull #48800. After all that
was the photo boat and the boat I had been looking
at in pictures for over 10 years. Keeping my eyes peeled
and finding one boat at a time I finally found #48800.
My heart was racing as I contacted the owner. It turned
out that he didn’t even know that he had the first
production ’41. We talked for some time and soon I
discovered something didn’t sound quite right. The
boat was unrestored and was tucked away in his barn
for a future restoration. The owner gathered up some
photos and sent them off. When the pictures finally
arrived I was totally confused until I sorted out the
details of this particular hull. Apparently this #48800
was a hybrid hull before the style department thought
they had it right for the rest of the line. 48800 is
a very unique and interesting mix of the 1939/40 model
with the ’41 “Clipper Bow”. To start off,
800 has the 1940 lifting rings and the location on
the
bow ring
is not moved aft. The bow light location is still in
the forward position on the bow as well. In addition
the flagpole location is different than the boat in
the factory photo. At that point I was slightly
confused and figured I would never identify the photo
boat since it was obviously not the first hull.
In
June of 2000 I got a break. After analyzing many
more boats I found a link to the photo boat. As I
stated
earlier the photo boat does not have hold-downs for
the windshield. Every boat I have found has these
hold downs except for 800 and up. In June 2000 I
found #48802
at Lake Tahoe. This boat was delivered new and has
never been touched. 802 had the hold-downs factory
installed so at this point in time I believe the
photo boat to the hull #48801. 48801 was delivered
to Russell
Point, Ohio on 8-17-40 and to this date has not been
found.
Interior Styling
The
major change to the interior was the color styles
for 1941 the predominate
color was called “Aqua Marine” leather. The installation
was identical to 1939/40 models. A second blue was
added called “Aqua Blue” and was first installed
in hull #48838. Chris-Craft—not wanting to miss
a sale also—installed different colors including
forest green and brown. F. Todd Warner claims to have
the best matching
hides of Aqua Marine out there. Macatawa Bay Boat Works
is another excellent resource for that color. For 1941
the banjo
wheel was
standard equipment. It differed from the 1940 model
year (three spoke, four wire) only in the color, which
was a bone white. The flat dash style of 1940 remained
and so did the instruments. The only unanswered question
that remains about the instruments is the color. We
have very good evidence that the first twenty or so
1941 hulls had the blue and cream color. At some point
early in the run they switched to the silver-faced
gauges. I have not been able to find any document that
solves this question. We can only assume that mid to
late 1941 and all 1942 models had the silver-faced
instruments. I will continue to research this. I suspect
that when they ran out of the blue they just switched
and moved on. We all know how cost conscious the company
was. What do you bet the style department had the silver
ordered but were told to use up what they had. End
of discussion? Ha! The cockpit floor was changed from
black ribbed vinyl to a white pyramid vinyl.
Gas tank change
Hull number 48837 was
indeed a transition boat. Not only did this boat start
the vent change but it was also involved with the venting
of the gas tank. This change was small but very important
for the safety of boating at the time. Prior to this
hull, all gas tanks were not vented and also drained
from a fitting in the bottom port side of the tank.
Engineering memo #761 12-13-40 ordered all boats on
the floor to be fitted with gasoline tank vents, and
anti-siphon outlets.
fastener change
Also
of interest is the time period in which Chris-Craft
changed from
flat head fasteners
to Reed & Prince type screws. In my research I discovered
that while hull #48847 was being restored it was found
to be half flat head and half Reed & Prince. That
hull left the factory May 9th 1941 so we
have some timeframe established for the switch.
Engine Options
The
1941/42 models used
three basic engine options. We discussed the model
“K” and “M” in
part one but reserved the “MB” model for part
II. The "MB" was
the largest engine option offered in the 19' series.
A further advancement of the tried and true “M” it
offered 145 HP at 3400 RPM. These extra horses were
derived by utilizing a larger Zenith carburetor, more
robust cam for higher lift and high compression head.
The first 19' “MB” powered Custom was hull #48838,
which was exported and also included the first “Aqua
Blue” interior. The “K” was the least chosen
option with 19 units in 1941 and only 6 units in 1942.
Next
was the “MB” with 22 units produced in 1941 and
11 units in 1942. Most popular again was the tried
and true model “M” with 52 units shipped in 1941 and
23 units in 1942.
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