Manatee Rebuild 1976

[tallcanadian]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Great looking boat, awesome job in fixing it. I love the paint job, makes it look very rich looking. Good luck with her.

 

[HookMaster]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Ok I am going from a Merc. 115 to a Johnson 150. Both are 6 cyl and both running 3 carbs. The Merc was a 1984 and the Johnny is a 1996. Now my question is this. I have a 18 gal tank and I carry two 6 gal tanks under each seat. How much more gas will the Johnny burn than the Merc? will it be a big difference? I know the Merc was tunned by my Mechanic to burn pretty rich. He always told me it would make the engine last allot longer at the cost of fuel economy. Will 30 gal get me through a day of running around? With the 150 I know I will not be running it as hard as the 115. I run around 24 miles and hour. I hope to be running around 1/2 throttle.

Thanks for your opinions

I have an Evinrude 100 V4 with two carbs an a V6 gear case on my Manatee......I run 25-27 @ 4000 rpms and burn at tops 15-18 gals for a whole day of fishing - running and trolling. You might burn 25 gals just my estimate depending on how much running you will do.

PS What did you do with the 115 Merc??
Don

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

I hated to see that 1984 go to waste as the power head was in excellent conditon and ran great. I gave the motor to Ted for helping me paint the boat and fix the transom. He is going to repair it and put it on his brothers boat which is another classic restore he did. A 1961 something. It did my heart good knowing it was going to run again. But we are looking for a good lower unit we can just bolt the power head on. If anyone comes across a good drive unit.

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Now the outside is getting close to being finished and the weather has turned cold and wet outside. I am looking to work on the inside and need to replace some of the Vinyl. The seats are in good condition and are Brown vinyl. I am going to go with new Brown vinyl on the side bolsters. So where is the best deal on Vinyl? I am asking my kids to help me replace the vinyl for christmas and I want to help them find the best deal on some marine vinyl. I am trying to avoid buying it on ebay. Can someone point me where they found their vinyl coverings and any pointers I should follow other than stainless steel staples? been there done that mistake before.

 

[HookMaster]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Hey.....

I buy my vinyl from an upholstery wholesaler here in Norfolk VA...Camco @ (757) 855-5890

They sell a line called "Seaquest" with a good selection..........I can puchase it for you and ship it if it will be to your advantage. See if you can find a Seaquest color and let me know......

Don

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Thanks and I might take you up on the offer but I am still looking around here for something I can put my hands on. I have a sample here of the seats and I want to try to match as close as possible. The seats are like a saddle leather brown. I thought about red too but the wife didnt approve. Black is too hot and the cream seems blaugh. So brown leather got the most votes. Sunday we were able to get the motor hung back on the boat. The anti cav plate ended up being about a inch below the bottom of the boat. I am hopping thats not too low but I have a feeling it might be. Getting that thing drilled and lined up was no small task. Is there anthing easy on a boat restore? LOL

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Damifudo,
I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned Joann's Fabric, but they carry marine vinyl. You should be able to find a store locally.
Good luck
Bob

 

[arcadiainc]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Great restoration on a classic boat. What length is the boat? Would you post a full length photo? I want to use the shot as a screensaver. Best bet for the bow rail is to duplicate it in stainless steel. Your friend that did the repair work possibly can bend a new one for you. If so, that would keep the cost down. On the bottom. I used a graphite epoxy mix on a recent restoration. Turned out great and offers additional speed and protection. Great job!

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

The boat is 18 feet and I am now working on doing a new interior with new Marine vinyl. I will have beter pictures soon as I have not been doing alot since the Holidays but I will be back over there some this weekend. I have to cut up some oak Pallets for some heat in the garage and it has been a little cold lately.

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Today I finished hooking up all the controls to the motor and found out that shift cable are a little long. Probably about 3 feet too long. I can loop them under the engin well or???

My other question is I am thinking of instead of covering the side pannels in the boat with marine vinyl but instad buying some nice wood and finishing the pannels with a dark stain and varnish. This would dress up the boat with some nice wood and I wouldnt have to worry about the vinyl on the seats not matching the side pannels. What wood should I use? I am thinking of Mahogany but I know that is pretty expensive to get 2 8 foot pieces and 2 10 foot pieces.

Now there are so many little details I have to take care of to get this thing completed by spring. Money is flowing quickly too. I dont think the kids would mind not going to college while I finish this boat?

 

[jetset9c1]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

I have an Evinrude 100 V4 with two carbs an a V6 gear case on my Manatee......I run 25-27 @ 4000 rpms and burn at tops 15-18 gals for a whole day of fishing - running and trolling. You might burn 25 gals just my estimate depending on how much running you will do.

PS What did you do with the 115 Merc??
Don

May I see more pics of your boat? It looks just like my Manatee.

 

[HookMaster]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Here are a couple...... By the way, I did lower the bimini top so it doesn't sit so high up....Have about 500 hrs on it right now.Great boat !

 

[jetset9c1]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

That looks great, thanks for the pics. I'm going to redo the floor and transom this winter into spring.

Mine is a 76 center console by the way, in the same color yours is.

Itrides heavy right now, but I've really fallen for that boat.

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Well the new Tach I ordered off flebay is in. I think its a really good deal as long as it works. It has all the systems check built into it and is a simple 8 pin plug. The cables for the throttle are a little long. I sort of looped them around under the gas tank. I am wondering if I should get shorter ones but thats about 75 dollars at least for new control lines. I am checking with a lumber mill to get prices for Mahogany to install on the side pannels instead of covered vinyl. I think real wood finnished up will add some class to the old girl.

I will admit with the cold weather here I have lost alot of motivation and have been dreaming more of snow skiing than working out in the cold garage. I have a wood stove for heat but by the time I get it warmed up enough to work its time to call it quits and head home. For now I am slowly collecting all the items I need so when warm weather hits again it will not take much to finish her up..

Today I took the christmas lights down and everything that was driven in the ground it still there because it is frozen in solid. I love the idea of hibernation till spring.

 

[jspano]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

damifudo

nice job! looks like your rounding third and heading for home on this restore!
i have a friend (scott) i think he's in your area... Catonsville, Md. he has a jon boat and does alot of crabing off it in the bay

how bout those Ravens!!!!

 

[BobsGlasstream]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Damifudo,
The Mahogany side panel will be a nice touch. Maybe a lot more maintenance, but pretty cool.
Good luck
Bob

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Yesterday I went and found the Mahogany wood for the side pannels. I found 10 inch wide boards 11 foot long for $ 133.00 dollars. I was going to need 8 yds of vinyl to cover the side panels at $ 26.00 a yd would have been 200 dollars alone that doesnt include the padding underneath. I think nice stained Mahogany is really going to dress this boat up nice. I plan on rounding the edges and adding a nice stain to bring out the redish color in the Mahogany.

So my question is what stain and over coating should I use for this nice wood I got? Has anyone experience with finishing the wood for their boat? I did my seats on my Harpoon sail boat with http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...1?&cid=chanintel&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=19881.

I want the wood to hold up and to have a nice redish finish to it. Please can you give me some advise as to what to try and where to look for a good finish?

Thanks for all you great input on this forum. What a great place to find out information. Remind me to buy you all a beer.

 

[HookMaster]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

I would suggest looking into this line of top coat for your mahogony............

http://www.epifanes.com/home.htm

West System also will have what you need for protection before varnishing.........

http://www.westsystem.com/ss/barrier-coating/


Keep the pics coming.............

 

[Damifudo]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

Thanks for your input. I will look into it and try it on a sample piece to see how it turns out. I want a nice high gloss finish when I am complete. I am hopeing for some warm weather so I can do some wood work and things dry properly. Its always nice to have the winter to do big projects like this but then it is so limiting by the weather and the temps.

I will post up more Pictures but there just has not been allot of progress lately I am sad to report. I have been in just material gathering mode. Money is tight with all the bills comming from Christmas so I have to get a little bit here and there to not upset the apple cart at home.

Most of us guys have to fly under the wife's radar of how much your spending on this project. Boat restore never seems to get put into the family budget. If I could just buy the things I need at a horse store it would be so much easier to get the money I need to finish this project. LOL

 

[HookMaster]

Re: Manatee Rebuild 1976

I hear it almost always......."How much this time ??" And another favorite of mine is "Heard you got a FREE boat - How much did it cost you ??"

I stopped counting cause it will be what it is to do
I picked up a 1985 Merc 115 for my '74 Glastron GT-160 project............

http://www.shareaproject.com/pages/projectTut,p,524,00.htmlit.

It is supposed to be in running condition and checked out at 125 PSI per 6 cyl's. Have the lower unit in for seals and pump. The boat it was on will go to the landfill but I plan to restore the trailer for the 160. Stripped the boat and sold some stuff so my total investment for the motor and trailer stand at $265.00 plus what I have put in the motor restoration. Hope we get warm weather soon! Want to get to work on it but it is toooo cold.

The Epifanes varnish is the best you can buy and when you check on price you will see what I mean. List price for a quart is $47.00 I pay around $30.00