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Just Got Free Boat
Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. :D Only one
problem is I don’t know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I’m up to the challenge. What I’m wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. The boat is a 70’s and its a 16’er thanks for any help in advance! |
Just Got Free Boat
On Jul 14, 11:22*am, sweetcar1968 wrote:
Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. *:D Only one problem is I don’t know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I’m up to the challenge. What I’m wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. *The boat is a 70’s and its a 16’er thanks for any help in advance! Sounds like you're about to spend a whole bunch of money on a boat that you likely won't get back. It might be cheaper to try to sell it and buy something of similar age that isn't in distress. -Robert |
Just Got Free Boat
On Jul 14, 2:22*pm, sweetcar1968 wrote:
Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. *:D Only one problem is I don’t know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I’m up to the challenge. What I’m wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. *The boat is a 70’s and its a 16’er thanks for any help in advance! The number one problem that makes boats that old worthless is rot. It might look like a fiberglass boat but there is lots of wood under that fiberglass. Check the floor and transom for rot. Often you can just push on it and feel the spongyness under the fiberglass. The stringers are harder to check out since they are between the floor and the bottom of the boat. Just like floor joists running front to back. A thorough check involves drilling small test holes to see what shape the wood is in. Free, I'm thinking it has rot and plenty of it. |
Just Got Free Boat
On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:22:24 -0500, sweetcar1968 wrote:
Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. :D Only one problem is I don’t know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I’m up to the challenge. What I’m wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. The boat is a 70’s and its a 16’er thanks for any help in advance! There is a reason it is a "free" boat. You will probably spend a boatload of money getting it back into shape unless it's been well cared for which, being "free" is unlikely. Which is not to say it's not worth it to you, but glass, resin and marine plywood isn't cheap and your labor has to be considered also. And even if you do a great job, you've spent money that you will never recover because the boat is essentially worthless. However if you insist - start with the floor as jamesgang suggests - ifit's rotten, then the minimum is floor and probably stringers. If the floor is no good, the transom is probably suspect so check that - it's probably no good. Then it's on to the interior - new seats, etc. Engine probably isn't any good...you can see where this can lead you. It probably isn't worth it. |
Just Got Free Boat
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message ... On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:22:24 -0500, sweetcar1968 wrote: Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. :D Only one problem is I don't know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I'm up to the challenge. What I'm wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. The boat is a 70's and its a 16'er thanks for any help in advance! There is a reason it is a "free" boat. You will probably spend a boatload of money getting it back into shape unless it's been well cared for which, being "free" is unlikely. Which is not to say it's not worth it to you, but glass, resin and marine plywood isn't cheap and your labor has to be considered also. And even if you do a great job, you've spent money that you will never recover because the boat is essentially worthless. However if you insist - start with the floor as jamesgang suggests - ifit's rotten, then the minimum is floor and probably stringers. If the floor is no good, the transom is probably suspect so check that - it's probably no good. Then it's on to the interior - new seats, etc. Engine probably isn't any good...you can see where this can lead you. It probably isn't worth it. A lesson to be learned by all new boat owners. "There's nothing to be fixed, nothing to be added and no sum of money to be spent that will increase the monetary value of a boat". ........... Eisboch 2008 |
Just Got Free Boat
On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:44:26 -0400, "Eisboch" wrote:
"Short Wave Sportfishing" wrote in message .. . On Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:22:24 -0500, sweetcar1968 wrote: Lucky me just managed to receive a free distressed boat. :D Only one problem is I don't know jack about boats. Now I am pretty mechanical and have restored a few cars so I think I'm up to the challenge. What I'm wondering is if anyone can give me some tips or direct me to some site where i can get good information. The boat is a 70's and its a 16'er thanks for any help in advance! There is a reason it is a "free" boat. You will probably spend a boatload of money getting it back into shape unless it's been well cared for which, being "free" is unlikely. Which is not to say it's not worth it to you, but glass, resin and marine plywood isn't cheap and your labor has to be considered also. And even if you do a great job, you've spent money that you will never recover because the boat is essentially worthless. However if you insist - start with the floor as jamesgang suggests - ifit's rotten, then the minimum is floor and probably stringers. If the floor is no good, the transom is probably suspect so check that - it's probably no good. Then it's on to the interior - new seats, etc. Engine probably isn't any good...you can see where this can lead you. It probably isn't worth it. A lesson to be learned by all new boat owners. "There's nothing to be fixed, nothing to be added and no sum of money to be spent that will increase the monetary value of a boat". Damn straight. :) ~~ says Tom who just spent seven+ grand upgrading his 2000 Ranger ~~ |
Just Got Free Boat
On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:08:54 GMT, Reno wrote:
wrote in news:53d0f7fc-0d5d-4c48-aee8- : I agree with all of James' points about rot. I also got a free 16 foot boat - every single piece of wood was rotted; transom, stringers, floor, seat bases, etc. The transom did have a solid inner liner that didn't sound bad when tapped but when I cut the inner liner off I dug out most of the wood with bare hands, it was that rotten. snip Nice post. Thanks. If I ever think about taking on an old boat, I'll be sure to read this first. --Vic |
Just Got Free Boat
On Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:08:54 GMT, Reno wrote:
wrote in news:53d0f7fc-0d5d-4c48-aee8- : I agree with all of James' points about rot. I also got a free 16 foot boat - every single piece of wood was rotted; transom, stringers, floor, seat bases, etc. The transom did have a solid inner liner that didn't sound bad when tapped but when I cut the inner liner off I dug out most of the wood with bare hands, it was that rotten. I took the deck and floor off so I could work better and took all sorts of cutters and grinders to the inside. Basically all I got for free was an unreinforced hull and deck. It took 3 summers of weekends and evenings. I learned a lot about epoxy. Mostly I used West Systems but I did try one other brand that I found on the Internet. The critical thing is weight - I weighed everything I took off or added so the net weight gain was 50 pounds. If you are not careful to make everything you add as light as possible you will exceed the design weight of the boat and end up with a poor handling and likely unsafe boat. When the hull is stripped of all reinforcing it is very flexible and you need to make a huge effort to support it perfectly so it ends up straight. I designed a set of 6 adjustable supports made from 2 x 6 bases, 8-inch PVC sewer pipe and threaded rods with large washers and nuts. I used a waterlevel to level the boat left/right and front/back. After that I re-checked the levels and found a need for slight adjustments a few times. As you replace the transom, stringers and floor the hull gets stiffer and sits differently on the supports. I also did some filling and repairs of the outside of the hull and had to have a system to rotate it upside down. Use only high build paints - I got some low build car type paint for the deck which looks great but it shows the slightest imperfections. The high build paint on the hull looks perfect because it fills the small places. Low build paint is much more difficult to use - it makes a huge amount of mist that almost requires a downdraft paint booth. High build paint doesn't mist much and needs only a dust-free garage; I lined my garage with plastic sheets for the painting. I used a hull paint that can't be left in the water more than a few days so I have to trailer use the boat. If you want to leave it at a dock you have to use an epoxy paint which costs a few hundred dollars more and is much more difficult to use. I had to make a lot of compromises between cost and difficulty - sometimes I went with better materials and more difficult methods but I soon tired of that and got quicker and cheaper as time went on. Don't use and epoxy that is less than 3 to 1 ratio - 5 to 1 is better because it is more water proof. I had to rebuild the steering and shifting equipment. My uncle is a retired industrial mechanic so he was able to make new spacers to align the internal pieces that are unavailable and I only bought a few pieces. I spent around $850 on epoxy and fiberglass cloth, $200 on paint and $500 on miscellaneous parts. Now I have a very nice solid boat that I know everything about. Compared to the price of new boats it was a great deal money wise but you have to consider the "lost" three summers. I did it as a hobby with my Dad and uncle helping so it was a very nice time of socializing. So I have a nice boat and an even better relationship with my Dad and uncle. My Dad is a 'go go go' type of guy and without him driving the progress of the project it would have taken 4 or 5 summers, maybe never got done. If you would consider the investment in time as work rather than a nice hobby then you will be very unhappy with what seems like a never ending list of problems and expenses. Then you should take the advice of the poster who suggested sell it and get something you can use right away. I got a lot of help from rec.boats.building and by googling. Great information! Thanks a lot. |
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