1965 King's Cruiser 28 restoration

by Peter Papageorgiou
(Corfu, Greece)

The first boat I ever really wanted was a Folkboat.

And that was 20 yrs ago!

So when this King's Cruiser 28 came up, designed by the same designer as more of a family boat, well I just had to have her...

A local chippie, one of the best actually, and a good friend too recommended I go ahead and buy her.

She has been out of the water for 4 yrs now, but is still in great condition, a tribute to the skill of those who made her.

I am in the process of scraping all paint of in order to make sure everything is intact underneath.

There are some rotten bits but nothing major.

I look forward to getting her sorted throughout the winter ready for a spring launch.

The boat has had two previous owners and was well looked after.

She lies in Corfu, Greece.

Comments for 1965 King's Cruiser 28 restoration

Click here to add your own comments

Dec 18, 2020
 Great memories
by: Anonymous

My fondest memories we’re on my uncles 1965 King Cruiser 28 footer the golden eagle just makes me very happy that somebody loves the boats like he and my dad did.
Mar 03, 2016
 Refurbed 1950 Right Royal
by: tim rowe

This looks a great project.

I have refurbed my Right Royal designed by Robert Clarke.

We are currently moored at Benitses Corfu having sailed down from Northern France.

I will be at the boat in April and would love to see yours.

Contact me on tim.t.rowe@gmail.com.

Any help I can give you are welcome too.


Best of luck.

Tim
Feb 19, 2016
 Hi
by: Bozidar

Hi Peter! I am thinking about buying a king cruiser myself.

It has been out of the water for 4 years now and it has a few holes on the hull.

Can you please give me some advice and send me some pictures of the restoration.

My email is b.mofardin@gmail.com

Thanks
Oct 21, 2011
 suggestion
by: paolo

hy, I have the chance to receive a Kings Cruiser 28 for free.

Is in very bad condition.

How is at the end?

ciao

Paolo
Jun 24, 2011
 We are exactly doing the same thing
by: Atli

ALTI
Feb 19, 2011
 Rot on K. Cruiser 28
by: jim

Rot was probably caused by an interior deck leak.

These can be common on cheap fiberglass boats, causing mold and fungus etc.

Saturate both sides in the repaired areas with resin should stop the rot.

If a leak develops in both these areas again, You have torsion between deck and hull.
Jan 24, 2011
 Rot
by: Mike

Hi Peter,

Sorry to hear about the rot, still, better to find it and deal with it now.

And you are doing the right thing by cutting it out etc.

The only thing I can add it that cutting a scarf on the end of a plank which is still attached can be tricky.

Butt blocks might be a simpler solution.
Jan 22, 2011
 A little advice wanted
by: Peter Papageorgiou

Hello again,

After a 2 month long spell of bad weather and with the Xmas and new year celebrations out of the way, I have started work on my lovely boat once again.

I found a rotten patch on one side.

It has obviously been a problem area as the other side has already been repaired.

The problem area is on the first plank from top more or less amidships.

I have chiseled out the really bad stuff and treated the area with boracoll to stop further rotting.

It looks like the rot extends slightly under the deck too, and the tops of the ribs are rotten too.

I have been told to cut out the plank slightly oversize and scarf in a new one (longitudinal scarf).

The rot appears to also affect the beam stringer to a certain extent.

What do you think?

I'll be happy to hear your comments,
Regards
Peter
Nov 13, 2010
 Re Thanks
by: Mike

Thank you Peter, for sharing your lovely project with us.

If you wish (as I hope you will) to add more pictures you can email them as attachments to me at mike@diy-wood-boat.com I can then resize them etc and add them from this end.
Nov 12, 2010
 Thank you!
by: Peter Papageorgiou

Thank you Mike for accepting my post and your wonderful comment.

I will surely be coming back to your site again and again for info and ideas regarding every step of my restoration.

I intend to stick to traditional methods as much as possible, without being stupid of course.

I like to think that if the boatbuilders of old, had some of today's materials available, they would have used them, so some things will be done a more modern way...

You are right about conditions here being ideal.

Currently we are at the beginning of what looks to be a mellow winter.

Temperatures are still around 20 C and I am still in T-shirt and shorts...

Another good thing is that I am a ship's chandler by trade, so access to materials is no worry...

More pics soon I hope, I will be working on Troll the next couple of days!
Nov 12, 2010
 Wooden King's Cruiser 28
by: Mike

Hi Peter,

I have often been guilty of coveting my neighbor's Folkboat.

There is just something superbly right about Tord Sunden's design.

The nearest I ever got to owning one was an Invicta 26 which like the Contessa was based on the Folkboat hull shape.

She was a superb little sea boat, the only drawback, she was fiberglass.

But then the King's Cruiser has also been built in fiberglass.

However, your "Troll" has the best of everything, the looks and handling capabilities of the Sunden design plus the look and feel of a 'proper' wooden boat, something 'plastic' can never reproduce.

Oh, and Corfu must be one of the most idealistic places to be working on her.

Best wishes for her restoration,

Please keep in touch and let us know how she progresses.

Mike
(mike@diy-wood-boat.com)

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Your Wooden Boat Projects...

Want to add more photos?

Photo Uploader

If you are having problems uploading Photos or would like to add more click on this link for the Upload Form.

Show / Hide