Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

[tboydva]

This is sort of a re-post of my completed restoration. I kept a log of my activities (in html) and posted it to my private webspace for therapy while I was restoring. I also asked specific questions here and got lots of great information. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I posted a link to my site, but it wasn't in a form that could be transferred to the completed projects forum. The moderator informed me that how it needed to be formatted. I whined a bit, but he stuck to his guns (great trait in a moderator), so I was forced to produce the readers digest version of my resto and I wanted to re-post, a) because I'm proud of the way it turned out and b) (minor) I thought some of the lessons I learned and some of the ideas (like finding non-wood materials and creating a drain-line so that my flotation foam won't get waterlogged) may be of general interest. So, here's the edited version (still a few posts). Hope it gets some prime-time on the completed projects forum...

16 ft Landau boat refurbished. It's a 1983 and the previous owner (somewhere along the line) put in a new floor and console (so it seems). Here's some beforehand pictures.

Here's how it looked after purchase.

Not too bad. It's got a 60 HP Johnson, which had great compression (140?1 PSI).

So, here's the start. First the floor needed to be removed. It's hard to see, but the seat bracket was almost completely rotted out of the floor. Wood! No place for it on a modern boat!

Here's the front piece of plywood removed.

Look at the rot!

Here's the bow with the plywood floor removed.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Here's removing the console and starting in on the carpet...

Now to get all the old carpet off...

Down to the plywood...

Now the real job begins! There was a mess of polyurethane foam sprayed in. Not really a quality job. I think it's a good idea and plan to redo the foam filling. But, the stuff was not put in very well! Here's what was waiting for me under the rotten floor:

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

I used a number of scrapers and spatulas. This stuff was rigid and waterlogged. What a chore! Here's the bow finally scraped clean. I removed the front compartment by grinding off the rivets and pulling out the aluminum panels.

So, my buddy does fabrication work. Check out the welded in supports he put in! He ran all the vertical cross members (i.e. bow to stern). They're gonna make the floor really stiff.

OK, so now that the insides are gutted, I decided that I should go ahead and replace the transom - it's plywood. Again, there's gonna' be NO wood on this boat. So, I ground off all the rivets, but it was still a chore to get out! I wanted to replace the transom with something that will never rot. But what... I?ve heard of people using Coosa board (but it?s VERY pricey). I found a place up near Altoona, PA that sells "odd" pieces of fiberglass. The owner apparently works at a plant. So, I got a couple of fiberglass ply sheets for about $20. The transom was 1 1/4" thick plywood, so I had to laminate two 1/2" and one 1/4" fiberglass laminate sheets... Sounds easier than it was. First, I had to remove the old transom...

Here are some lag bolts with a bunch of clamps to tighten all areas. I buffed up the fiberglass sheets really well to get a good binding.

Here's putting the holes in the 1/4" laminate sheet using the old transom...

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Here's putting the holes in the 1/4" laminate sheet using the old transom...

Now, the final lamination (two 1/2" sheets laminated to one 1/4" sheet). Aluminum is so much easier (and less splintery painful) to work with!

Now, I had to cut out the shape of the transom. This fiberglass "plywood" is some kind of hard. My saw blade was trashed and I finally broke down and bought some fiberglass/aluminum jigsaw blades (expensive). They last about 5 minutes of cutting and it took me forever cutting out this shape!!!

Here's the final cutout... Just needs some belt sanding.

This baby will NEVER rot!!!

I'm sure this is the way it is with every boat owner, but as long as I've got the whole floor out and I'm replacing the transom, I might as well give the boat a good painting? Right?
I had the neighbors help me flip the boat over. Then I had to grind off all the old oxidation and/or paint from the existing hull...

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

OK, here's more of the cleanup before painting

After the primer, a good full coat of paint!

After the primer, a good full coat of paint!

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Here's the hull after the last few coats!

I slid the new transom in place and lined up existing holes

Then, my buddy welded in some support square tubing in the bow section (he can really do it nice!).

Here's my new console. I got one from eBay ($120) which is all plastic. I removed the steering wheel from the old console (and control box), then I got some switches, mounted the depthfinder. There was a goofy recessed area which had drink holders. I removed it and installed a hatch so there will be usable space. I put hinges on the existing access panel which should help when installing the electrical and steering/engine controls.

Unfortunately, my oil change reservoir was stored on top of the console (by me) and the used diesel oil leaked all down the front (which is the nasty black line). Haven't been able to fully remove it. I guess it's like the first scratch....

Here's installation of the bait pump access and foam spray hatches

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Now, it's time to paint and finish the upper hull. Primer first:

Then, the top coat:

Now, I have to route the PVC conduit in for the bait tank (livewell) which has a pump side and drain side. I notched the ends to fit "into" the aluminum flashing so they stay in place in the stern. The ends had to be sawed off as there isn't a whole lot of room to play with. Then conduit for the control cables, electrical, and steering. This was tough because a 45 ? angle was as sharp as could be done and still fit in the control cables (which have about 8" of rigid metal).

I put in SS hold-downs for the cooler that can be placed fore of the console. I got these from McMaster - they're only around $4. The perko ones (which are galvanized steel) will run over $20 a piece at West Marine. What a crime! Used all stainless fasteners with nylon-core nuts. This'll never break free or get loose! Also note the nut-serts here as well. They're 3/8" threaded beasts that are inserted like a rivet. Popeye would'a had a time with these guys. I'm exhausted from squeezing the install tool, but I finally got them in. They'll hold in the leaning post and the console. They're all aluminum. OK, now time for a little pre-assembly to make sure the deck fits flush (which required some grinding away on one face of the square scaffold tubing).

Here's the trailer restoration. It was a mess (wish I had my older boat's aluminum trailer!!!). It needs new rollers and all the surface rust to be ground off. I got some rustoleum primer and paint so that I could cover the major rust areas.

Here's the trailer before:

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Then, a coat of primer:

Then, the topcoat (wish I'd used a different color than ?aluminum.?

Here's the bunk boards installed on fiberforce recycled lumber (no rot) with carpet and stainless screws

Note also the new rollers - pricey, but they're fully greased and spin freely!

Here I added a coat of Gorilla Grip to the fenderwells so they'll be grippy when climbing in and out of the boat!

Here's the finished job

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Now it's time to install the floor. I placed the aluminum floor panels in and made sure everything measured up so that they could be riveted in place. I used stainless 3/16" rivets so that the floor wouldn't "buckle" up when the expanding foam was installed. I wanted something that I could use for a "french drain" line so that any waterlooging in the foam would be allowed to drain out. I used a PVC pipe (2") and drilled a bunch of hole in it. But, what would allow water to drain, but not fill up with foam when I sprayed it in? My brother-in-law who's a plumber suggested packing it with bread (which would melt out or rot). Having recently had my daughter in a "crafts" program, it dawned on me that paper mache might work very well. It is very hard when dry - not impacted by epoxy, but converted to mush when inundated with water. Here's the center drain line "mached" in place.

Nice organized workspace, huh.... Note the air-powered rivet gun. This was a Godsend! For $35 at Harbor Freight, it was worth every penny!

Here's the front floor panel riveted in place and foamed.

Now the bow deck...

Here's the middle panel installed and awaiting a foam bath.

Now, all foamed in...

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Next, I primed the aluminum floor and added coats of Gorilla Grip covering (Dolphin Grey).

Here's the final coat, dried and tape removed!

Here's detail of the bait system. There's a modular plug that's valved (on both sides). Popping this in will allow flow and drain.

Even though it'll cause a bit more drag, for durability, I decided to coat the centerline (the paint was already worn off just from moving the boat around) with a couple of coats of Grizzly Grip.

Now, here's fitting in the console

OK, here's the freshly painted engine mount - I put a small plate on the bottom so that water doesn't get caught in the bracket and shoot up into the transom.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Here's the final installation, putting in the console, leaning post, outboard and cables, and wiring:

Finally, here's the outboard hooked up and ready to go! The steering cable finally arrived...

Well, I'm going to do a few more things (install a windshield, get the bait tank working, install a T-Top), but I fired up the engine today (one crank after almost a year of sitting!), and am certifying this baby ready to hit the water! You saw the few before pictures. Now, here's the after:

See you on the water!!!

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

How long did she take you ?? Really nice job, I vote for the move over to completed !!!! Congrads on the great job !! John

 

[redeye1962]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

looks great. I know you and your family will have fun.

 

[DJ]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

I don't know where your pictures are hosted but after eleven minutes, I'm only one third through the entire post.

Looks like a great project but almost impossible to see it all.

Any plans on painting the engine? It kind of detracts from all the other hard/beautiful work.

 

[jcsercsa]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

I don't know where your pictures are hosted but after eleven minutes, I'm only one third through the entire post.

Looks like a great project but impossible to see.

DJ i didnt have a problem , they were all right there ? John

 

[zach103]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Me either.. it deff looks good. and i 2nd johns vote

 

[DJ]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

Agreed, a great project with a great return (childrens smiles).

Nice work.

 

[tboydva]

Re: Re-post (sort-of) Finished Restoration, 1983 16 ft. Landau

All, thanks for the votes! My webspace certainly has burps in availability (cost is low, but so is the reliability at times). Sadly, this project took about a year... I was hoping to be done this Spring, but as you can see from the ages represented in the group on the boat, I've got some young ones to keep occupied. I tried to let them help out and explain things along the way (when my patience would permit) and my daughter (almost 7) told me numerous times after our shakedown cruise that the restoration journey was well worth it (she was squealing with delight!).

DJ, you had to mention the outboard! It was in the plans, but I just couldn't do another step right now! I'm planning that for the winter/spring (as well as putting on the T-top). As with all boats, there is a list of "incompletes" and "to be dones." I looked into getting a sticker set and it wasn't available online, so I've got to do some searching. We used to paint our tractors frequently when I was a kid, so I'm handy with the air sprayer! I think I'll keep updating my web pages as minor improvements ensue... Thanks again for the votes!!!

Have to leave you with another view of the smiles!