By Rob and Maggi Cassell, SoCal Chapter
Quite a number of years ago at an ACBS show, we overheard restorers comparing projects in their shops. These can be passionate conversations, and the description of one of the last Chris-Craft 19’ racing runabouts having the deck cut out so she could be turned into a utility/ski boat with a bright yellow & red “McDonald’s” interior left a lasting impression. So much so that during a chance conversation on the docks at the 2018 Lake Arrowhead show when someone mentioned a neighbor with a wooden boat for sale that “was really yellow”, we just knew. A few months later Maggi and I found ourselves custodians of a vessel with deep roots in Southern California and Lake Arrowhead. R-19-492 holds a footnote in the history of Chris-Craft 19′ Racing Runabouts as the “first of the last” production group of 12 ever built — with two gauge dashboards instead of three. She left the plant in Cadillac, MI in June of 1954, destined for the Lake Mead Boat Company in Boulder City, NV. This wouldn’t be her final stop. Many Boulder City boats in this time period found their way onto trucks and up the hill to Big Bear Lake and Lake Arrowhead. While we don’t have documentation, anecdotal evidence leads us to believe “Ezduzit” (pronounced easy does it) may be an original Lake Arrowhead boat.
The story is that after years on the lake, her original owners passed her to one of their children, and somewhere along the way the decision was made to cut out the engine enclosure and rear cockpit decking and convert her to a more family friendly utility/ski boat. These days this could sound like a travesty to many people, but it’s important to remember that in the 1960’s & 70’s these were just old boats — more likely to be stripped and
burned rather than preserved. There are stories of a few Lake Arrowhead racing runabouts getting this utility/ski boat modification, although I haven’t seen another.
Eventually the Smiths bought her and brought her to SoCal ACBS member and restorer extraordinaire Dave Wright for a new bottom and side planking. “Ezduzit” went on to spend many summers with them, sporting a bimini top andrunningaroundontheColoradoriveratParker,AZ. But by 2018 it was time for her to move on. After an afternoon sharing stories and laughs with Mrs. Smith and combing through the boat, we found a number and “Ezduzit” followed us home late that year. Oh, and yes, Dave Wright was the one who spoke so passionately about that yellow interior all those years ago!
In early 2019, we slowly began to coax that original 158HP Chris-Craft MBL back to life. A little Marvel Mystery Oil in the cylinders. New battery, coil, spark plugs & wires, fuel pump, carburetor re-build kit, and (randomly) motor mounts – all were available through suppliers in the broader ACBS community.
Perhaps a beverage or two while weekend wrenching with friends and by late April she was ready to launch again for the first time in years, bright yellow interior, bimini and all. That morning was magical. The launch ramp was empty. The lake was glass. With a gentle touch of reverse she slipped off the trailer and glided out past the buoys. We brought her up on plane easily and the smiles grew and grew as we lapped the lake. There were still a few gremlins to discover, but we were out on the water again! May found us at Bass Lake, where SoCal and NorCal/Tahoe ACBS chapters meet – fondly remembering Dave Wright, reveling in how wrong the deck configuration was, burning fuel and wrestling with electrical gremlins. A little distributor work and she’d run again. We came down the hill with an award for the “Most Unique of Show” and more smiles. June is for Lake Arrowhead. It had been a while since we brought a boat to the show, and it just felt like “Ezduzit” was home again! But she kept letting us know she needed a little more attention. Always electrical, this time with the battery (even though it was new).
She stayed quiet through the pandemic, until a few of us went to Bass Lake on our own in 2021. Sure enough, the gremlins appeared, but this time we’d hedged our bets by traveling with SoCal ACBS members and restorers John Maddox and Brian Robinson for the weekend. The conversation started with simple rewiring work. But we’d always intended to bring her back to her original configuration someday. And the more we looked at the boat, people’s schedules, experience with this particular model, it became undeniably clear that someday was now. So we dove all in, eyes wide open with the mantra “what’s the right thing for the boat”.
Brian and Tim at Robinson Restoration took on the woodwork – removing the deck and interior, fabricating the missing framing and engine hatches, sourcing missing hatch handles & other hardware, replacing the dashboard, deck & interior woodwork, new upholstery, restored gauges, chrome, paint, stain, varnish, striping, and most importantly new wiring (because that’s where this project started). Words hardly do their work justice. But photos of the boat torn down, with fresh wood on the deck, and finished ready to pick up sure do! John Maddox and I took on the engine work. Disassembly was accompanied by about a million photos, because you just don’t know what questions you’ll have during reassembly. And why not take artistic shots of pistons, valves, springs and tappets while we’re there?
Everything came apart, and the important parts made their way to the machine shop for acid-dipping, magnaflux, decking, honing and the like. Meanwhile we set to work rebuilding the original mechanical fuel and water pumps, sourcing valves, new-old-stock bearings and tons of other parts. I learned the hard way that grinders come with safety guards for a reason. That’ll leave a mark. But the show deadline wasn’t moving, so it was time to wrap up both the finger and the restoration project.
Back to the photos as needed, along with advice, documentation, tips & tricks from friends across the ACBS community. Hurry up but make sure the valves are adjusted perfectly. Get that crankshaft in there, but make sure the bearings fit perfectly and double-check that the bolts are properly torqued. How does Maggi feel about media blasting to prep those last few parts for paint? Make sure those piston rings are seated correctly. I had forgotten how stressful the final weeks of restoration can be with a show deadline looming. Hey, that copper head gasket looks really cool. Now it’s buried under the head. A few passes and she’s torqued up to 75 foot-pounds. The rest feels like a blur until that moment in the car on a Friday afternoon frantically trying to find that last part, when it just felt like it was slipping away — until we get to the last possible store, just before closing. Bingo! It was dark by the time we had everything wired and plumbed, but when that engine fired up and ran smoothly it felt so good! No time for celebrating, though. Saturday was disassembly and paint. Sunday was reassembly and the trip down to Robinson Restoration just in time to be reunited with the boat.
A week or so later we were heading up to the Lake Tahoe Concours d’Elegance with a very freshly restored boat in tow. The technical judges were gracious enough to wait and lend a hand with dock lines as “Ezduzit” eased back into the water for what felt like a second “first time”. And the boat was gracious enough to fire right up for the judges before we tested the transmis- sion and made our way to our slip. The whole show was magical, and this time we came down the hill with a First Place in Class! And more smiles.
Today we couldn’t be happier as R-19-492 gets to come home to Lake Arrowhead in the same condition as when she first arrived almost 70 years ago. Our journey with her started with fond memories of ACBS SoCal members who’ve come before us. Through her restoration we’ve built and strengthened friendships, learned from incredibly knowledgeable experts, and found inspiration from others in the vintage boating hobby here in SoCal and across the country that we’ll carry with us for many years to come. So thank you Roy & Dave, Jim, Lew, John, Lee, and many others along the way. And very special thank you to Tim & Brian Robinson and John Maddox for sharing your restoration skills. Now it’s finally time to head down to the dock, lean back, kick your feet up, and say “Ezduzit”.
This story was originally printed in the spring 2023 issue of the Northern California Lake Tahoe Chapter newsletter.