I inherited this boat after my Grandfather past away. He purchased it new and was a lifelong angler. He loved fly fishing for trout most of all and had this boat for lake fishing in Northern WI and I think a trip or two to Canada. Anyway, it has not seen water in quite a while. It had been stored upside down outdoors for several years before I got it. I restored the trailer about 12 years ago and never started on the boat. Got distracted with building a home, getting married, and chasing my son. He is now 7 and has been at me about fishing so it finally seems like the right time to dig into it. I have never restored a boat so I am hoping that tracking the progress on this sight might generate some helpful tips as I do it. I'm not promising this will be a speedy process but my goal is that it will see water before the end of this summer. I'm not looking for perfection in this project but would like it to look nice and most of all be safe and functional.
I don't know the exact age of the boat, but am guessing it is from the late 60's or early 70's. The earliest registration sticker I could find on it was from 72. The model is a 14 Super Star with ID# 924685 if that helps anyone who has a clue. I have the original Evinrude 6hp engine which he took excellent care of. He stored indoors at all times when not in use. It is scary clean to point you could eat off it. The tag indicates it is rated to 20hp, 4 people, or 800 lbs.
I started today with what seemed most obvious, the transom. I was hoping to find it was OK but no luck. I started to sand it for paint and quickly discovered it is rotten in the corners under the cap. My first question is what to replace it with. I carefully removed it in so I could use it as a template for new wood. It appears to be be thickly layered plywood. I'd have guessed it was solid wood. Should I replace with plywood, or fab something from a 2x8? If so, I thought treated lumber, but that would seem to be quite heavy. I'm guessing whatever is lightest would be best. Please make some suggestions as I'd like to get beyond this first.
My next thought is to either salvage or replace seats, and replace the styrofoam under them with some layered high density foam as that looks quite weathered.
Here are some picks from my starting point. Please give some tips on the transom.
I don't know the exact age of the boat, but am guessing it is from the late 60's or early 70's. The earliest registration sticker I could find on it was from 72. The model is a 14 Super Star with ID# 924685 if that helps anyone who has a clue. I have the original Evinrude 6hp engine which he took excellent care of. He stored indoors at all times when not in use. It is scary clean to point you could eat off it. The tag indicates it is rated to 20hp, 4 people, or 800 lbs.
I started today with what seemed most obvious, the transom. I was hoping to find it was OK but no luck. I started to sand it for paint and quickly discovered it is rotten in the corners under the cap. My first question is what to replace it with. I carefully removed it in so I could use it as a template for new wood. It appears to be be thickly layered plywood. I'd have guessed it was solid wood. Should I replace with plywood, or fab something from a 2x8? If so, I thought treated lumber, but that would seem to be quite heavy. I'm guessing whatever is lightest would be best. Please make some suggestions as I'd like to get beyond this first.
My next thought is to either salvage or replace seats, and replace the styrofoam under them with some layered high density foam as that looks quite weathered.
Here are some picks from my starting point. Please give some tips on the transom.
