This thread is mostly to brainstorm some ideas for my 13' Fiberglass Hourston powered by a 45hp Mercury "Classic Fifty"
When I purchased the vessel it had:
Negative:
-No seats
-No battery
-No gauges
-Controls not connected
-Wiring for lights all cut
-Dirty carbs
Positive:
-It was relatively cheap
-Engine fired right up and telltale is strong
-Came with proper controls and all service/owner manuals
-Engine is in great condition
-Push/Pull type steering (non cable)
-Bilge pump
I've installed swivel seats, a new battery, hooked up the controls and steering, made an attempt to re-wire the lights (cooked some wires somehow, the old wires are shorted somewhere), And cleaned the carbs.
I've only had it on the water once, it floats with no leaks but unfortunately being new to boats I had the engine angled wrong and just thought the motor was too heavy. Fortunately after thinking about it for a while I realized what I had done wrong and corrected the issue in my driveway.
I'd like to re-do the seating, for some reason the seat base for both the captains side and passenger are too far back and they are staggered. I thought about putting in a bench seat for the front and using the swivels in the back for extra passengers, would the bench be too inconvenient to climb over?
I assume that the ply deck or sub-floor(?) can be drilled into without jeopardizing anything? I'd like to remove the front seat bases and install my own.
The previous owner liked to crash into the trailer when loading, so there are some marks on the fiberglass on the hull, so when I paint it I'll have to patch those up.
I'd like to make this boat a do-everything boat: Cruising, watersports and fishing.
My list of to-do's:
-Water pump kit
-Reconfigure the seating
-Paint, and F/G work
-Paint trailer, new bearings and tires.
-Re-wire
-Gauges
-Buff windshield
For winter I think she'll sit, and I'll try to get as much done in the spring as possible.
Here are some pictures, unfortunately I dont have any of the inside of the boat yet. Let me know what you think of the boat, any ideas you may have to make it look or perform better too!
When I purchased the vessel it had:
Negative:
-No seats
-No battery
-No gauges
-Controls not connected
-Wiring for lights all cut
-Dirty carbs
Positive:
-It was relatively cheap
-Engine fired right up and telltale is strong
-Came with proper controls and all service/owner manuals
-Engine is in great condition
-Push/Pull type steering (non cable)
-Bilge pump
I've installed swivel seats, a new battery, hooked up the controls and steering, made an attempt to re-wire the lights (cooked some wires somehow, the old wires are shorted somewhere), And cleaned the carbs.
I've only had it on the water once, it floats with no leaks but unfortunately being new to boats I had the engine angled wrong and just thought the motor was too heavy. Fortunately after thinking about it for a while I realized what I had done wrong and corrected the issue in my driveway.
I'd like to re-do the seating, for some reason the seat base for both the captains side and passenger are too far back and they are staggered. I thought about putting in a bench seat for the front and using the swivels in the back for extra passengers, would the bench be too inconvenient to climb over?
I assume that the ply deck or sub-floor(?) can be drilled into without jeopardizing anything? I'd like to remove the front seat bases and install my own.
The previous owner liked to crash into the trailer when loading, so there are some marks on the fiberglass on the hull, so when I paint it I'll have to patch those up.
I'd like to make this boat a do-everything boat: Cruising, watersports and fishing.
My list of to-do's:
-Water pump kit
-Reconfigure the seating
-Paint, and F/G work
-Paint trailer, new bearings and tires.
-Re-wire
-Gauges
-Buff windshield
For winter I think she'll sit, and I'll try to get as much done in the spring as possible.
Here are some pictures, unfortunately I dont have any of the inside of the boat yet. Let me know what you think of the boat, any ideas you may have to make it look or perform better too!
