the project begins

[swimmin' for shore]

Alright. Here goes. I've got 2 boats to get in the water, and I'm just returning from sea to get to the first. It's a 1968 Mark Twain, 17' fiberglass boat. It has a 160 hp I/O mercruiser engine that runs like a top. As a matter of fact, I bought it for 300 dollars and that motor started up with just a touch of starter fluid. So I figured that it was worth the effort. The transom is solid. The controls and attachments...horn, windshield, etc...were all in place, and the only mechanical thing I've replaced thus far have been the lights and an ignition. <br /><br />So here's the issues I'm dealing with, and I've been studying for 4 or 5 months for most of these items. The paint is weatherchecked all the way through and into the fiberglass. I've begun the process of sanding that down, and as it goes all the way down to glass, I'll plan to repaint. No problem, for now.<br />The floor is out. It was already out. The stringers are good, and they're set fairly close together for good support. I started cleaning up the edges with a rotozip and diamond wheel last night. That will be done by tonight, and I'll start cutting wood for the new floor. I've already purchased 5 or 6 gallons of epoxy, and the cloth is waiting. <br />The only issue I've come across that I wasn't prepared for is that the fiberglass enclosed wood beneath the front end of the motor is rotted and caved in. So, this block has to somehow be replaced. Does anyone have experience with this? I know I need to get the height right, but will the old fiberglass shell(the part that didn't cave) be accurate enough to do this? Any help would be greatly appreciated. James

 

[craze1cars]

Re: the project begins

Just dig it out and replace it with whatever was in there. You should be able to figure out how thick the boards were. Most likely it's just a few pieces of ply sandwiched together. It doesn't have to be a perfect match because that front engine mount should have a height adjustment on it anyway, right? Final adjustment will be done there with an engine alignment tool.<br /><br />I ran into a similar problem, but mine is a much newer boat 1992 Rinker that saw an abused life. I, too, expected to replace just that board. But the more I dug, the more rot I found. 3 garbage cans of mulch later, I took it all the way back to bare fiberglass and replaced every single board surrounding the engine, all the way back to the transom...thank God the transom and stringers looked solid and dry.<br /><br />You'll just have to dig it out of there and see what you've got. Good luck!

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: the project begins

Alright. It's finished, and not nearly so bad as I thought it was going to be. I used a diamond wheel to cut out all of the old glass, a shop vac full of mulch, and then cleaned it up. I bought pressure treated 4x6 at home depot, and cut it in to fit the floor. I pre-drilled my holes, covered the whole thing thick with resin, and filled in the holes with the same resin before putting it back in place. 3 or 4 hours, new bolts, and 4 feet of 4x6. Other than that, a great sense of pride in a 20 dollar job done right. Thanks for the advice.

 

[DJ]

Re: the project begins

Good job.<br /><br />A word of advice on that engine. Those old in-line sixes were pretty much bullet proof. But, they do not like being turned up anything past 4300 RPM's.

 

[swimmin' for shore]

Re: the project begins

Thanks for that advice. It's sound, and much appreciated. I bought the boat, mostly for the motor. I figured that I could put it in my thunderbird. After discovering that the t-bird motor could be fixed, I decided to fix and resell this one as a salmon boat. Out here, you get a pretty penny, if you're willing to put a 10hp trolling motor and a couple of downriggers in place. I have a lot left to do to the body and interior, but that motor runs like a charm, and probably won't be seeing anything more than new oil and plugs.