1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

[Leisure67]

Hey all,
I cant find much info about this boat but I think I have a 1959 18' Lund aluminum runabout which I bought about 5 years ago. Any info or pictures of similar Lund boats anyone has would be greatly appreciated. I am getting close to finishing up my last project so the Lund came out of the shed last weekend, where it has been for the last 5 years, so it could get some long overdue lovin. I have a heated shop where I can work on it this Winter so I am trying to get the things that I need to do outside done now before the cold weather gets here.

I started last weekend by stripping the four layers of paint off which was the most enjoyable task I have done in a long time -or not!! Finished that last night. Next step is to do a leak test while the water is still in a liquid form which means getting the old floor up. Working on that this weekend.

This is my first attempt at restoring a boat so any advice is very much welcome. I do collect, restore, & wrench on vintage garden tractors, snowmobiles, dirt bikes, & chainsaws with liminted success so I do have some tools & ability for the task at hand.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but I think the old girl is in pretty good shape with the exception of couple of battle scars on the rear corner.

As she was when she came home.

After paint stripping.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Very cool old boat! and you did a real good job stripping her, looks great!

It sounds like you have your ducks in a row on what to do, give a holler if you hit a snag.

Keep us updated with pics... we love the boat porn!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Welcome to the iboats dry dock. Great looking boat & nice job on stripping the paint.

Does the Mercury run? Looks good tucked in there in the back!

 

[Fleetwin]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Nice.

The easiest way to check for leaks is to put water in the boat.

If you have any leaking rivets, hit them with 'Gluv It". It's available here on iboats. Great stuff.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Just curios...What did you use for stripper?

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Boat porn coming up jigngrub!
Yesterday was a fairly productive day so I should be able to do a leak test today by putting water in the boat as Fleetwin suggested. I do plan on hitting all the rivits & seams on the inside with Gluvit.

Taking everything out of the inside was pretty much uneventful because there just isnt much in a boat like this.

I had forgetten about the fact that I needed to do something with the motor before I could take the splash well out so I had to make a stand for it. I have a compact utility tractor with a loader which I used to pull the motor from the boat & put it on the stand. All went well.

The splash well was fastened to the transom with flathead screws & nuts which were rusted. They wouldnt come off without stripping the flatheads & were in a spot where they couldnt be cut off from the inside so I had to grind the heads off from the outside. I used a whizzer cutoff tool to grind most of the head off then finished it with a sanding disk on a die grinder. Drilled out the rivits that held the rest of it in place & it was out.
The aluminum interior panels had to pulled inward at the bottom in order to get the floor out from under them so I drilled the rivets out & pulled them in. They are fastened with solid rivets at the top which I hope to leave in place. Floor came out easily after this.

I do have a question about the floatation behind the interior side panels. I dont want to take the panels completely off because of the solid rivets at the top but wont be able to replace the floatation if I dont. It is dry & looks to be in good shape. Will I be OK leaving the existing floatation there?

Working on getting the transom wood out today after the leak test. Feel like I am babbling on too much here. Sorry about that

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Welcome to the iboats dry dock. Great looking boat & nice job on stripping the paint.

Does the Mercury run? Looks good tucked in there in the back!

The Merc does run. Had it on the lake a couple times after I got it. I had to do some adjusting because it wouldnt idle -after adjusting I couldnt get enough RPM's out of it so it will need some tuning. I agree -they are a good looking motor.

Just curios...What did you use for stripper?

I tried a couple different brands & liked Zip Strip the best.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Boat porn coming up jigngrub!
The splash well was fastened to the transom with flathead screws & nuts which were rusted. They wouldnt come off without stripping the flatheads & were in a spot where they couldnt be cut off from the inside so I had to grind the heads off from the outside. I used a whizzer cutoff tool to grind most of the head off then finished it with a sanding disk on a die grinder. Drilled out the rivits that held the rest of it in place & it was out.
The aluminum interior panels had to pulled inward at the bottom in order to get the floor out from under them so I drilled the rivets out & pulled them in. They are fastened with solid rivets at the top which I hope to leave in place. Floor came out easily after this.

I do have a question about the floatation behind the interior side panels. I dont want to take the panels completely off because of the solid rivets at the top but wont be able to replace the floatation if I dont. It is dry & looks to be in good shape. Will I be OK leaving the existing floatation there?

Working on getting the transom wood out today after the leak test. Feel like I am babbling on too much here. Sorry about that

Your gunwale/sidewall foam will be ok to leave in if it's dry.

When it comes time to reinstall the splashwell you can use closed end blind (pop) rivets to replace the rusted screws and nuts you removed, if the screws were short.

Closed end blind rivets can also be used to replace any leaking hull rivets you may have. You can also use these rivets to replace the solid rivets that hold your interior sidewall panels if you should decide you want to take them off.

Here's a look at the rivets and how to install them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MA1-5NXjs&feature=related

These rivets are very strong and are waterproof and vaporproof, they're used in aircraft building as well as boat building. They're also much cheaper than stainless steel nuts and bolts that aren't waterproof when you install them.

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Transom wood is out & the leak test completed. Only one questionable spot at the rear bottom seam that may have been leaking. I had taken the speedometer sensor out which left three open holes in the area of the questionable leak. May have been coming from those holes? Will seal everything will Gluvit & should be good to go.

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Your gunwale/sidewall foam will be ok to leave in if it's dry.

When it comes time to reinstall the splashwell you can use closed end blind (pop) rivets to replace the rusted screws and nuts you removed, if the screws were short.

Closed end blind rivets can also be used to replace any leaking hull rivets you may have. You can also use these rivets to replace the solid rivets that hold your interior sidewall panels if you should decide you want to take them off.

Here's a look at the rivets and how to install them:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0MA1-5NXjs&feature=related

These rivets are very strong and are waterproof and vaporproof, they're used in aircraft building as well as boat building. They're also much cheaper than stainless steel nuts and bolts that aren't waterproof when you install them.

Those rivets look like they would work well for the top of the interior panels which I think I will end up removing because I dont think I will be able to finish drilling the old rivets out without taking them off.
The splashwell bolts were about 2-1/2" long & went all the way thru the transom. I will replace those with stainless steel bolts & nuts.

Thanks for the info!!

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

I need some ideas for the paint on this boat. I'm really not sure how the boat came out of the factory? There is no paint under the number stickers on the front of it which is making me wonder if the sides had any paint on them from the factory? There was a light green paint under the snaps on the top which makes me think it was the original color the top was painted but I did find that color in places on the sides too? I am not stuck on trying to paint it as it came from the factory but would like something that would look period correct. Dont have a problem with polished aluminum on the sides but do think it would be best to paint the bottom because it would be difficult to keep it polished. If I painted the bottom would it look best to follow the rivet line that ends at the nose of the boat or to follow the splash rail on the side? Color will most likely be a light green which will be used on the topside also.
Would appreciate opinions.

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Think I decided how to paint the boat. Below the spray rail, transom, & the top will be painted -above the spray rail will be polished. Sure I will change my mind several times yet?
I did also find out from Lund that their records do not go back far enough to tell me what year my boat is. And I did actually measure it at 16-9" -not 18'.
Hope to polish the other side today so I can flip the boat & work on getting the bottom ready for paint.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Shark Hide can be applied to keep the high shine on the polished areas longer... There's another brand name available, the name escapes me..

The 1 side polished looks great! I'd follow the splash rail line all the way to the bow, not to stop the polish along the rivet row....

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Shark Hide can be applied to keep the high shine on the polished areas longer... There's another brand name available, the name escapes me..

The 1 side polished looks great! I'd follow the splash rail line all the way to the bow, not to stop the polish along the rivet row....

Heard a lot about the Shark Hide on this site. Will most likely be using it.

I do plan on following the spray rail all the way to the bow. I agree that it wouldn't look right following the rivet line.

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

I didnt get the other side polished last weekend & have to play carpenter this weekend (2nd job to pay for my toys) so it probably wont get done this weekend either. I did manage to get the the bottom of the inside cleaned & ready for Gluvit. That was a job.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Measure twice ~ cut once... And count your fingers often, should be 8 + 2 thumbs

Had many 2nd jobs that were carpentry

Have a good weekend

 

[64osby]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

L67 - Nice project. I did some looking and found this http://www.lundboats.com/boats/catalog-archive

Looking at the 59 and 64 years
http://www.lundboats.com/pdfs/old-catalogs/1959.pdf
http://www.lundboats.com/pdfs/old-catalogs/lund-1964.pdf

The bow handle looks like a 59 style but not much else. In the 64 catalog they show a Surfrider Model K16 at 16' 9", looks pretty close, except no bow handle. You might double check dimensions.

So I say it's in between those years or not shown in the 59 catalog.

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Measure twice ~ cut once... And count your fingers often, should be 8 + 2 thumbs

Had many 2nd jobs that were carpentry

Have a good weekend

Haven't done so well on the finger thing. Ring finger & pinky went thru a roller chain when I was very young -sewed them back on. Used my thumb for a table saw blade brake -blade didnt stop And ran the top of the pointy finger over a starter ring gear on an old snowmobile while adjusting the carb on the move -learned that was not a good idea. Need to use that last finger occasionally so I hope I dont screw that one up!

The carpentering thing does make a good weekend gig. Been doing it for about 18 years & done quite well with it. Spent most of last summer doing three decks all using Azek composite decking. I stare at computers all day working in operations for a good sized trucking company -playing carpenter is much more enjoyable & satisfying. Picture below of the one deck last Summer that had me wondering why I was wasting my weekends doing this crap??

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

L67 - Nice project. I did some looking and found this http://www.lundboats.com/boats/catalog-archive

Looking at the 59 and 64 years
http://www.lundboats.com/pdfs/old-catalogs/1959.pdf
http://www.lundboats.com/pdfs/old-catalogs/lund-1964.pdf

The bow handle looks like a 59 style but not much else. In the 64 catalog they show a Surfrider Model K16 at 16' 9", looks pretty close, except no bow handle. You might double check dimensions.

So I say it's in between those years or not shown in the 59 catalog.

Thanks for looking! Those brochures were the only pictures I could find anywhere of the older Lund boats & I didnt see anything there that looked like an exact match to mine? I agree that it may be one of the years that they dont have brochures for (1960 to 1963)?

 

[Leisure67]

Re: 1959? 18' Lund runabout restore

Most of the original chrome parts on this boat were in pretty good shape with very minor pitting so I decided to just clean them up. Worked on that before I left yesterday. Cleaning more of the smaller parts this morning.