Cavalier Factory

By admin  

Thanks for visiting our site!
Cavalier Factory
Checkout Ebay Auctions For The Cheapest Prices

Malibu Cavalier Alero AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Malibu Cavalier Alero AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Paypal   US $24.99
Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM Cass CD Factory OEM Radio
Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM Cass CD Factory OEM Radio
Paypal   US $24.99
GM Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
GM Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Paypal   US $24.99
87 Chevy Cavalier  Factory Delco AM/FM Cassette Player OEM (works)
87 Chevy Cavalier Factory Delco AM/FM Cassette Player OEM (works)
Paypal   US $29.99
CHEVY CAMARO MONTE CARLO S10 BLAZER MALIBU CAVALIER FACTORY CD PLAYER OEM RADIO
CHEVY CAMARO MONTE CARLO S10 BLAZER MALIBU CAVALIER FACTORY CD PLAYER OEM RADIO
Paypal   US $89.95
2001-2005 Cavalier Delco Factory Audio Amp OEM
2001-2005 Cavalier Delco Factory Audio Amp OEM
Paypal   US $30.99
1997 CHEVY CAVALIER Factory OEM RADIO Casette PLAYER Part Number 16195161
1997 CHEVY CAVALIER Factory OEM RADIO Casette PLAYER Part Number 16195161
Paypal   US $50.37
2000 2001 2002 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY CAR STEREO CD
2000 2001 2002 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY CAR STEREO CD
Paypal   US $59.95
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY AM FM RADIO CD PLAYER
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY AM FM RADIO CD PLAYER
Paypal   US $59.95
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
Paypal   US $59.95
96-99 CHEVY CAVALIER CAR FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
96-99 CHEVY CAVALIER CAR FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
Paypal   US $89.95
Cavalier Malibu Impala AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Cavalier Malibu Impala AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Paypal   US $19.99
GM Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
GM Cavalier Impala Malibu AM FM CD Factory OEM Radio
Paypal   US $19.99
00-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo Venture 10324039e Radio Factory OEM
00-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo Venture 10324039e Radio Factory OEM
Paypal   US $35.00
2003 2004 2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY STEREO CD
2003 2004 2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY STEREO CD
Paypal   US $89.95
Chevy Cavalier Factory CD 2005
Chevy Cavalier Factory CD 2005
Paypal   US $65.00
Delco 16232091 98-01 Chevy Cavalier Malibu Camaro S10 Sonoma Factory Radio
Delco 16232091 98-01 Chevy Cavalier Malibu Camaro S10 Sonoma Factory Radio
Paypal   US $19.95
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
Paypal   US $65.00
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
Paypal   US $65.00
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
Paypal   US $65.00
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
Paypal   US $65.00
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
02-05 Cavalier Impala Malibu Monte Carlo 10335223 Radio CD Factory OEM
Paypal   US $65.00
2000 Chevy Cavalier Factory OEM Car Radio P/N 09379051  S/N 89CXYYM593420754
2000 Chevy Cavalier Factory OEM Car Radio P/N 09379051 S/N 89CXYYM593420754
Paypal   US $71.97
03 04 05 CAVALIER AUDIO EQUIPMENT
03 04 05 CAVALIER AUDIO EQUIPMENT
Paypal   US $75.00
2003 2004 2005 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD PLAYER
2003 2004 2005 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD PLAYER
Paypal   US $59.95
96-99 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
96-99 CHEVY CAVALIER OEM FACTORY STEREO CD PLAYER RADIO
Paypal   US $89.95
04 2004 05 2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD MP3
04 2004 05 2005 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD MP3
Paypal   US $89.95
2001 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY AM FM STEREO TAPE CD PLAYER
2001 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY AM FM STEREO TAPE CD PLAYER
Paypal   US $89.95
00 01 02 03 04 05 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD TAPE
00 01 02 03 04 05 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY RADIO CD TAPE
Paypal   US $89.95
01 02 03 04 05 Chevy Cavalier Driver Airbag Steering Wheel main Air Bag Factory
01 02 03 04 05 Chevy Cavalier Driver Airbag Steering Wheel main Air Bag Factory
Paypal   US $229.99
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY MP3 AUX & SATELLITE RADIO
03-05 CHEVY CAVALIER FACTORY MP3 AUX & SATELLITE RADIO
Paypal   US $142.95
AM/FM/CD PLAYER ORIGINAL FROM FACTORY  04 CAVALIER
AM/FM/CD PLAYER ORIGINAL FROM FACTORY 04 CAVALIER
Paypal   US $39.95
CHEVROLET CAVALIER MALIBU ALERO 03 04 05 AM FM CD RADIO STEREO OEM ID: 10315119
CHEVROLET CAVALIER MALIBU ALERO 03 04 05 AM FM CD RADIO STEREO OEM ID: 10315119
Paypal   US $71.99
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 Chevrolet Cavalier Front Factory Speakers Pair
99 00 01 02 03 04 05 Chevrolet Cavalier Front Factory Speakers Pair
Paypal   US $45.00
1991 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY STEREO
1991 CHEVROLET CAVALIER FACTORY STEREO
Paypal   US $24.99
1999 Chevrolet Cavalier Delco Factory AM/FM CD Stereo Model # 09383045
1999 Chevrolet Cavalier Delco Factory AM/FM CD Stereo Model # 09383045
Paypal   US $19.99
Powered by phpBay Pro

Check out Amazon:
Prokofiev: Cinderella, complete ballet music Op. 87 (2 CD Set) Prokofiev: Cinderella, complete ballet music Op. 87 (2 CD Set)
List Price: $16.98

Homer Price Stories: The Doughnuts & The Case of the Cosmic Comic [VHS] Homer Price Stories: The Doughnuts & The Case of the Cosmic Comic [VHS]
List Price: $14.99

Black 77 Black 77" Long 30" Wide 4" Pad Reiki Portable Massage Table with Free Half Bolster and Carry Case. have the same table in Blue, Cream, Burgundy, Pink and Purple
Sale Price: $110.76

This table simply is the best table you can get in the market and still a bargain for the price, This table comes complete with all functional components and luxury design. The frame is made of beech to ensure professional strength with a weight limit of 600LB...

Shark Hard Surface Hand Steam Cleaner - Factory Serviced Shark Hard Surface Hand Steam Cleaner - Factory Serviced
List Price: $69.99
Sale Price: $73.99

Harness the incomparable cleaning power of steam in this state-of-the-art squeeze bottle. Perfect for quick cleanup indoors and out, simply fill the bottle with ordinary tap water and seconds later you'll have a powerful, chemical-free household cleaner...

BestSalon® New 5 X Magnifying Lamp Light Stand Facial Skin Care Salon Equipment Barber 2049 BestSalon® New 5 X Magnifying Lamp Light Stand Facial Skin Care Salon Equipment Barber 2049
Sale Price: $68.88

Our employee will inspect every shipment before the factory can put the product in the container, and this product is CE certified (International safety compliance standard)

2007 Topps Baseball Factory HOLIDAY Complete Set - 661 Cards!! (HTA Hobby Set) 2007 Topps Baseball Factory HOLIDAY Complete Set - 661 Cards!! (HTA Hobby Set)
List Price: $80.00
Sale Price: $23.99

2007 Topps Baseball Factory HOLIDAY Complete Set - 661 Cards!! (HTA Hobby Set)

2000-2002 Chevy Cavalier Factory 15 2000-2002 Chevy Cavalier Factory 15" Replacement Wheel
List Price: $500.00
Sale Price: $259.00

2000-2002 Chevy Cavalier OEM Factory 15 Inch Alloy Wheel Replacement Rim Brand New Original Factory Reproduction alloy wheel. Guaranteed the Best Quality Wheel on the Market! All wheels and rims are Manufactured to meet and exceed O...

Metra 70-1858 Radio Wiring Harness For GM 88-05 Harness Metra 70-1858 Radio Wiring Harness For GM 88-05 Harness
List Price: $8.95
Sale Price: $0.01

For 1988+ GM models

Metra 70-1721 Radio Wiring Harness For Honda/Acura 98-Up Power 4 Speaker Metra 70-1721 Radio Wiring Harness For Honda/Acura 98-Up Power 4 Speaker
List Price: $7.95
Sale Price: $0.01

For 1998 Honda connect power and 4 speakers

Metra 95-2001 Double DIN Installation Dash Kit for Select 1990-Up GM Vehicles Metra 95-2001 Double DIN Installation Dash Kit for Select 1990-Up GM Vehicles
List Price: $12.99
Sale Price: $6.69

Compatible with Buick Cadillac Chevrolet GMC Oldsmobile Pontiac Isuzu modelsDouble DIN radio provisionISO stacked radio provisionHigh grade ABS plastic


Here are some more information for Cavalier Factory:
Cavalier Factory

I had slightly mixed feelings the other day when I received an e-mail from the website Friends Reunited telling me that someone from my old school was trying to contact me. This was because most of the people who attended my senior school turned out to be psychopaths. In spite of this however I let curiosity get the better of me and decided to visit the site and look at the e-mail. Luckily I remembered that my personal details were not accessible so if it was someone trying to track me down and then dismember me they would have to try a bit harder.

Despite my paranoia I was relieved to discover it was my old mate Steve Singh. He was letting me know that someone else from our school had put together a collection of old sports photographs which had been published in a book. I was surprised about this but then I remembered that despite the school being set on fire as a matter of routine and having a very dubious academic record we did excel at sports and had a very good football and rugby team and produced some quite accomplished cross country runners.

It was nice to hear from Steve as we went to junior school together and I would often go to his house after school as my parents were at work. It was during this time that I was introduced to Indian cuisine and Steve's mum would insist on feeding me all kinds of exotic dishes despite the fact I would then go home and be expected to eat faggots and peas.

Steve's Dad (Mr Singh) was a real character and had his own taxi business. I remember he had a small fleet of Vauxhall Victors which to a small kid seemed enormous. Mr Singh said we could earn a few quid by delivering taxi leaflets and we soon found ourselves in the back of his prized Vauxhall Firenza. I seem to recall it was not the most attractive car I had ever seen and was basically a Vauxhall Viva that someone had stuck a moulded GRP front on and then fitted a huge engine. The Griffin emblem sat slightly to one side on the bonnet rather like the whole thing was created in some back garage instead of factory produced. We loved it though and as a taxi driver Mr Singh didn't need any encouragement to drive it rather fast. I remember flying around in the back and slipping on the vinyl seats until we reached the tower blocks. "Right" said Mr Singh "I want you to do all these and I'll pick you up later"

We were abandoned there with these huge sacks of taxi leaflets staring up at the flats towering above us. Our tactics were simple, get the lift to the top floor and then run along each landing shoving as many leaflets as we could through every letterbox until we had run out (the sooner the better).Any leftovers could be dumped in the rubbish shoot. The plan backfired however as people had telephoned to demand to know what they were supposed to do with 250 taxi leaflets not to mention the caretaker who said his rubbish shoot had been blocked by a load of 'Ace Taxi' leaflets. We returned home to find a clip around the ear waiting for us.

The first sporty Vauxhall I ever drove was a Cavalier SRI which belonged to a friend of mine who was a sales rep. There was a rather alarming delay when you put your foot on the accelerator and then the car would take off like a startled animal. I also drove an Astra GTE which had that funky futuristic dashboard. The biggest highlight for me was going for a spin in a Lotus Carlton which was owned by a printer I used to use. With the possible exception of the Carlton all of the previous cars don't even come close to the performance of the modern VXR range currently available, all of which are a far cry from Mr Singh's Firenza!

In this article Jon Barlow looks at the previous generation of performance Vauxhalls and how they don't compare with their modern equivalents.

[http://www.nowvauxhall.co.uk/vxr.shtml]

Oldies but Woodies

by Jody Argo Schroath

I walked past the covered slips of a certain marina on the Northern Neck of Virginia, and this is what I saw, not skipping anything. Minnow, a lapstrake Chris-Craft cruiser; an old wood Citation;Ole Chris, an old Chris of about 30 feet; Therapy IV, an old Chris cruiser; a wooden Carver; a Chris-Craft Cavalier; a big wood something; an old Egg Harbor; and a 1965 57-foot Chris Constellation named Good Spirits. This latter is the marina’s unofficial clubhouse, and, with its awning, soft chairs and wicker settees, its flybridge deck feels like the veranda of an old pillared plantation. Moving on, there was Encore, a 58-foot Elco that once was named Do-Ho and belonged to Howard Johnson; an empty space usually filled by a 55-foot Chris Constellation that is currently out for repairs (always a word with dangerous overtones when used in reference to an old wood boat); and a 1949 46-foot Chris-Craft Double Cabin Flying Bridge listing slightly to port. This one’s mine. With some work she could be a real beauty, I said to myself yet again. This has been my mantra for the past five years. And indeed the long soaring curve of her cabin is pure Art Deco, by way of the Jetsons. Inside she has a large mahogany saloon and aft cabin, a full kitchen and a nifty turquoise linoleum bathroom—not that it actually works, of course. The bilge pump clicked on and water began to gush out the starboard through-hull. I smiled ruefully, remembering that my husband Rick calls her our $2,000-a-year decorative fountain.

I looked back up the dock. Nobody. All these lovely old boats and nobody to talk to. I turned back to my own boat, leaning quietly and gathering dust, and I was overtaken by a wave of helplessness. Frustration. Loneliness. I needed to talk. I needed to talk Chris-Craft. What I needed was to find owners who actually come down to their old Chris cruisers, who take them out of the slip and out onto the Bay. I needed to sit in their saloons and feel like a glamorous Chris-Craft owner of the past—Katherine Hepburn or Eleanor Roosevelt, for example. I needed to see the brightwork at the end of the tunnel.

Over the spring and summer that followed I pursued my resolve. I attended every antique and classic boat show and rendezvous I could find on the Bay. I chatted up the owners. I oohed and aahed over restorations that left me avocado with envy and fairly popping my rivets with resolution. And I insinuated myself into boatyards where old cruisers were likely to be under the saw and fine china brush. Finally, I contacted the Mecca for old-Chris owners, the Mariner’s Museum in Newport News, Va., which houses the 200,000-piece Chris-Craft collection, and I talked with Jerry Conrad, who curates the collection and is himself the author of Chris-Craft, The Essential Guide.

What did I learn? For one thing, the word “people” in the phrase “people who own old Chris-Craft cruisers” almost always refers to couples—Mr. and Mrs. Owner. Guys may own and love old Chris-Craft speedboats and utilities, but couples own and love cruisers. Women are as enamored of them as the men are, and they are in on the process from the beginning, from helping to choose the style of cruiser, to renovating and decorating it. Yes, decorating: one of the most compelling advantages of an old cruiser over a modern boat. You can make the interior your own the same way that you would in a period house. And you can make it just as warm and welcoming. On top of that, there’s room for the children and friends and the children’s friends.

Why a Chris-Craft rather than an Elco, Trumpy, Trojan, Egg Harbor or one of dozens of other fine boat manufacturers of the past? Chris-Craft was the largest pleasure boat manufacturer in the world during the 1950s and 1960s, so there are a lot of them still around. And Chris-Craft made a lot of different styles and sizes—60 to 70 varieties in some years—so there was, and is, something for everyone. After World War II, the words “cabin cruiser” and “Chris-Craft” became synonymous. Every time you opened a magazine, from Motor Boating to the Saturday Evening Post, you’d be greeted by advertising that featured Chris-Craft “girls” waving merrily from the front deck of a new Express Cruiser or lounging about the saloon of a Commander or Cavalier. “Here is beauty beyond belief and comfort with a capital ‘C’,” enthused the advertising booklet Chris-Craft for 1950, referring to the 30-foot Express Cruiser. “See it and you’ll sell yourself.” Chris-Crafts were everywhere, and people tend to buy what they remember in the happy past.

In June, when I attended the Antique and Classic Boat Society’s boat show in St. Michaels, Md., that’s just what Russ Gray of Oxford, Md., told me. “Growing up, I knew Chris-Craft, so that’s what I wanted.” Russ and his wife Pat decided two years ago to buy themselves an old boat. “We didn’t have any other hobbies,” Pat shrugged. The couple—he’s an executive recruiter and she’s an antiques dealer with a shop in Florida—had spied Mary and Ned Crabbe’s 1955 33-foot Commander Express Cruiser Sweet at the cardboard boat races in Oxford and fallen in love with it. They resolved then and there to get one of their own, and soon afterward they did—a 1950 36-foot Double Stateroom. This is their first boat, and they consider the choice practically preordained. They first saw the boat at a show in South Carolina on July 21, 2005. They made an offer, and, when the purchase had been concluded, the owners gave the Grays the boat’s original sales letter. That’s when they figured it was all preordained. “It was dated July 21, 1950!” Pat says happily.

She said they are thrilled to be owners of an old Chris cruiser and to be at the boat show. But it didn’t come easy. As so often happens with old boats, their new purchase turned out to have a few problems; notably the transom needed to be replaced. “At first you think it just needs a little paint . . .” Pat’s voice trailed off, and I nodded with complete understanding. She’s so right, I mused. First, it’s “let’s replace a few boards,” and then it’s “let’s refasten the entire hull,” and pretty soon it’s five years later. In the Grays’ case, they had the boat pulled right away and put Campbell’s Boatyard at Jack’s Point in Oxford to work on it. “We were still working on it up to the moment of last year’s show.” And to good effect. Their boat, One & Only, won Best Cruiser in Show its first year out. Well, I thought to myself, this is just the kind of happy ending I am after.

Ned and Mary Crabbe’s story is a felicitous one, as well. They bought Sweet as a wedding present to themselves. “Instead of having a big wedding, we thought, why not buy a big boat?” Mary told me as we sat in the stern deck seats enjoying the early summer sun at the St. Michaels show. (Their boat was two slips from the Grays’.) As the purchase of their chosen boat was proceeding—it was slowed by the fact that it was not actually for sale—they lost their house and workshop to Hurricane Isabel. But they went ahead and closed the deal. “Little did we know we’d spend five years working out the bugs.” (Are you beginning to see a theme here?) Sweet has its original refrigerator, decking, interior and engine, but the hull has now been completely refastened. (Yep, I hear you.) The first year, Mary changed the bottom color and boot stripe. After that, the Crabbes realized that as small business owners (they have a renovation, design and building company in Oxford), they were just too busy to do the boat work themselves. “We’re wood fanatics and Ned loves to restore, but he’s so busy. We trust the boatyard.” Like the Grays, the Crabbes had Daryl Frey at Campbells do the work.

Why did the Crabbes choose an old Chris-Craft? Searching the internet, they fell in love with the look of 1950s Chris-Crafts. And while Ned is the woodworker, Mary has experience with wood boats. As a teenager she worked at Thompson Boatyard in Chester, Md., where she learned how to varnish and paint and do other wood boat maintenance. “So I wasn’t afraid of them.” (Hmm, perhaps that is my problem: epifobia, the fear of Epifanes.)

Many buyers of old cruisers decide to eschew restoration—whether the do-it-yourself or the leave-it-to-the-experts variety—and instead find a boat already in tip-top condition. John and June Beschenbossel, for example, purchased their 1966 38-foot Tri-Cabin Constellation in 2005 from the boat’s third owner, a nuclear scientist who had maintained Blue Moon in excellent condition during his 30 years of ownership, winning prizes and helping to found the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club. Now the Beschenbossels pretty much sit back and enjoy the fruits of the former owner’s labors, including Blue Moon’s wine cellar and flat-panel television (well hidden from view, of course). They have also coated Blue Moon’s deck with the same rubberized paint that is used on tug boats, so that takes care of that maintenance problem. Still, John has plenty to tinker with. In addition toBlue Moon, he owns 14 classic cars, including Rolls Royce, Bentley, Jaguar and MG. The Beschenbossels had cruised over to St. Michaels from Mayo, Md., for the boat show, but also managed to bring a Rolls for the Rolls Royce show being held simultaneously. I forgot to ask how.

Back on the Northern Neck, I asked Jim Hillier, owner of Good Spirits, about his approach to old boat ownership. “I’ve restored more than a dozen pre-Civil War homes in Petersburg, Va., so I don’t feel daunted by wooden boats,” he told me as I settled comfortably into the wicker settee on the “veranda” of Good Spirits one Sunday morning. This is his third Chris cruiser. But all three were in pretty good to excellent shape when he bought them, he said, which has allowed him to spend more time enjoying them than working on them. No arguing with that, I thought, as two other marina denizens came onboard for Hillier’s scrambled eggs and coffee.

Both the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club and the Chesapeake Bay Chapter of the Antique and Classic Boat Society are great resources for getting to know old boats in general and Chris-Crafts in particular, but how about a yacht club devoted entirely to antique and classic boats, you ask. That would be the Classic Yacht Club, based on the Chesapeake Bay. Its members’ classic boats must be at least 25 years old and at least 50 percent restored. Each year they hold several social events, a judging event and several rendezvous at various locations on the Bay.

It was at the Classic Yacht Club’s July rendezvous at North East Yacht Club that I met David and Clara Ochipinti and first saw their 1966 57-foot aluminum Chris Roamer Bella Navé. Immediately, I decided to apply for membership in their family so they would invite me back on a regular basis. I was enchanted with the Ochipintis because they represent both the do-it-yourself school of Chris-Craft ownership and the forget-that-buy-it-Bristol graduate school, and because they use their boat all the time—every weekend during the boating season, which for them runs into November. “We use the heck out of it,” Clara told me. I loved that.

Their first boat, a 1955 37-foot Commander, was a baptism by fire, as in the first time they took it out the engines failed and they had to figure out how to get back without them. (A tow.) Their second boat was a 1967 45-foot Constellation, which they purchased near its birthplace in Michigan and brought back through the Erie Canal, tossing out things like old bedding at stops along the way. “We worked on the Constellation all four years we owned her,” Clara said. “We did all the work ourselves. Finally, we said, ‘What are we doing?’ “ This time they decided to find a boat in really good shape—and one that was even bigger since their two daughters kept inviting more and more friends onboard for family weekends. This time too they found their boat in Michigan, within a few miles of the factory where it had been built. But, instead of having to tie new bedding on top of the car (giving a good impression of the Clampetts on their way to Beverly Hills), this time they enjoyed a maintenance-free cruise down the waterways. “It was like night and day.”

A fresh-water environment and ongoing maintenance have been kind to Bella Navé. All of the stainless and chrome are original. The aluminum hull has had an anticorrosion coating applied to protect it. “I hadn’t intended to move away from wood until I saw this,” David told me as we toured the boat. From the hull up everything is mahogany—except for the decks, which are teak. A previous owner had installed a wet bar and restored the instruments. The Ochipinitis have replaced the galley floor, which was linoleum. The guest cabins are remarkably spacious, with a hallway and closets opposite the door and three closets inside. There is a Jack and Jill shower (two entrances). The master stateroom has its own bathroom and about half-a-dozen closets. Because this boat is aluminum, it has more storage than a wood boat because the frames are thinner and storage space can go right up against the hull, David explained. Bella Navé also has new Cummins turbo diesels and zoned heat and air conditioning. She cruises 16 to 18 knots and is easy to handle, Clara said. At 63,000 pounds, the hardest thing to do is stop.

Several weeks later, although my application for membership in the Ochipinti family was still pending, they agreed to take me out on the Sassafras River for a quick spin. Although they live in West Chester, Pa., they keep their boat at Skipjack Cove in Georgetown, Md. In fact, their second boat, the 45-foot Constellation, is just a couple of slips down; its new owners are now members of the Classic Yacht Club as well.

They made it look so easy. As David started the engines, Clara began the casting-off process. She stood at the bow and gave hand gestures as David put Bella Navé into reverse. Slowly, the boat eased out of the covered slip, which seemed to have room for no more than a saltine cracker or two between hull and posts. No rush, no panic, no bumps. They’ve done this a few times before. “We need 60 feet. The fairway is 90,” David said as he pivoted the boat to port. There are three 90-degree turns just to get out of the marina. “Lots of people don’t take their big boats out because they think it’s more trouble. But it’s not true.” Out on the Sassafras, David kept the speed down until we passed the end-of-speed-limit sign downriver. We might as well have been aboard theQueen Mary the ride was so solid. David opened the throttle, and we picked up speed. The big aluminum hull went up onto a semi-plane. Onboard, it was quiet and still steady enough to play pick-up sticks. Wow! So this is what it’s like, I thought to myself. I took a deep breath as if I could store all this enthusiasm in my bloodstream.

I’m going to need it. I don’t have digits sufficient to count the major systems that need to be overhauled on my boat before the thrill is mine. But now I had a support group as big as the Bay, and that was a great start. And for the work I can’t do myself, I know that there are a surprising number of boatyards on the Bay that still work on wood boats. Krentz Marine in Callao, Va., Campbell’s Boatyard in Oxford, Md., Sarles and Petrini boatyards in Annapolis, and Hartge Yacht Yard in Galesville, Md., to name just a few. And there are classic boat restorers like Michael Haines in West Chester, Pa., Howard P. Johnson of Old Time World in southern Maryland and George Hazzard’s Wooden Boat Restoration in Millington, Md. This is the lesson I have learned about dealing with boatyard craftsmen: When you bring your boat to them and they look at you as if you probably need help to turn the faucet on in the morning, don’t let it bother you. The people who work on wood boats for a living are a militant lot. They love wood and wood boats and they hate to see them deteriorate. I am told that Doug Daiss, owner of Krentz Marine (that certain marina on the Northern Neck) turns purple when an owner tells him that he doesn’t plan to keep his old Chris cruiser under cover. It’s a source of deep frustration for all those who work on wood boats that neglect dooms hundreds of them every year.

Finally, I turned my attention to the southern Bay and the Mariner’s Museum’s amazing Chris-Craft collection. This was just great! I sent them my boat’s hull number, and they sent me a fat packet of nifty stuff like the hull card for my very boat, which gives all the options it came with and even the color of the Simmons Hide-a-Bed sofa (green and white). They also sent me sales literature for my model, photographs and technical drawings suitable for framing. Believe me, this is the cheapest stuff I am ever going to buy for my boat. According to Jerry Conrad, since the museum took possession of the Chris-Craft archives in the mid-1980s, they have been contacted almost 40,000 times by phone, e-mail, fax and walk-ins. Since 1988, they have put together about 7,500 research packages. And they are still working their way through the 200,000-piece collection.

So that’s how I spent my summer. Now it’s fall, and once again I am walking out the dock to my boat. I have just come from the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum’s Antique and Classic Boat Show, and I am thinking, heck, with all those resources, why was I ever worried? Then it suddenly dawns on me that with all this research, I haven’t done a lick of work on my boat all season!

About the Author

By Jody Schroath, Senior Editor for Chesapeake Bay Magazine. For more great articles and photos on boating, sailing, fishing, and cruising, visit http://www.ChesapeakeBoating.net

Anyone know how to remove the factory shift knob from a manual transmission on a 2001 Cavalier?

Majority of the time gm vehicles have a u clip on the side toward the radio you pull out.

UPDATE: Olive Hill Flood Cleanup Continues, One Week Later
On the streets of downtown, lifetimes worth of belongings are now trash waiting to be put in dumpsters.

Thanks for visiting!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Blogplay

Post a Comment

Your email is never shared. Required fields are marked *

*
*