1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

[nhblock]

As detailed here and here, I recently purchased a 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14' rowboat, and a 1966 Sears/McCullogh 7.5 outboard. I have the outboard and I'm picking up the boat on Sunday.

My plan is to drop it in the water this weekend to get some use out of it in this abnormally warm spring. Then, during the NATO summit in May, the Coast Guard is shutting down all our waterways so I'm going to take it into "dry dock" and do a full resto on the boat and the motor.

My first question is: how should I prepare to restore the rub rail that surrounds the top of the boat? There is a lot of pitting in the metal, especially on the bow. Should I just hammer out the big depressions and polish it? Or is there anything further I can do short of milling all-new parts?

Additionally, the rail is riveted on. Do I have to rivet it back on or can I bolt it?



She's not the biggest thing on the water, but she's my first.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

More photos

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

Hello again nh. Cool little boat. The only cure for pitted/oxidized rubrails is elbow grease and patience :/ You'll probably never get the larger pits out at this point, but you can still get a little bling out of her. Sanding the rails in progressively finer grit papers (1000 grit and beyond) combined with aluminum wheel polishing compound are about your best bet. I tried to get mine back to original, but it was too much work, however I was able to get a pretty good "brushed aluminum" look. It's not mirror shiny, but it still has a nice, fresh, clean appearance to it.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

Elbow grease it is. Any particular cleaner/solvent I should use for the initial scrubbing?

Also, what's a good solvent for soaking and scrubbing the cleats and hardware?

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

I'd recommend using a polish wheel and rouge. Harbor Freight sells em cheap. This is the results I got

Then follow up with some of this....

I think you'll like the results. You're not supposed to sand aluminum if you don't want the Brushed look, but sometimes there's just no avoiding it.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

Thanks, wood. You got some really nice results with the polish wheel! Can't wait to get my hands on this thing and start scrubbing.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

I've been keeping a detailed log of everything I've purchased for this boat. I thought I'd share my expenditures so far, because I was surprised at how fast everything adds up for this little boat! The funny thing is, I don't even pick up the boat until tomorrow!

I have tried to be as cost-conscious as possible -- researching everything, using Amazon, that sort of thing. I've attached two screenshots -- the first is the boat/motor and accessories, and the second is "mat?riel" or hardware/repair materials and that sort of thing.

This is just the beginning...

 

[bgc]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

She a fine lookin vessel and if you enjoy your time with her the money is well spent…


Dig around the threads on this site, you will find many tips on getting the most out of every penny.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

Thanks, bgc.

I picked up the boat yesterday and splashed her in to the Chicago river at my marina. I dropped on the outboard, hooked up the fuel tank, got all the lines set. But I didn't make it further than 5 feet from the dock! My on-the-water testing of the outboard revealed two gremlins that I didn't run across in my bucket tests:

1) The throttle linkage gears are mis-matched, so where the throttle handle should be in the "shift/start" position, it's actually near WOT. So I have to take off the throttle handle and match up the gears to the correct throttle positions.

2) The pull cord recoil started getting stuck after about an hour of heavy use. Hopefully there's just some debris in there, or it just needs some lubricant. That's what I'm praying for, at least!

So I'll be taking off the outboard tonight and doing some tinkering so I can hopefully get her on the open river this week. I got the boat so I can commute to my office by river, and I'm still walking on land

 

[bgc]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

I remember my first like it was yesterday……

She was the greatest thing I had ever seen. Took her home, stripped her down, gave her bare skin a good rubdown. (Previous owner had painted her with latex paint) Put a new impeller in, tuned her up and headed for the water.
It was a beautiful day to watch how quick a boat can sink without the plug in……

Sounds like trip #1 was better than mind and I believe most people have had the “Ran great in the tank” moment after a launch…….


If she’s been sitting a bit, replace the impeller, condenser(if applicable), clean the points and carburetor, and lube the begezzers out of it. Most of the time the recoil just need oiled.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

It was a beautiful day to watch how quick a boat can sink without the plug in……

That's too funny!

I picked up a can of white lithium grease and sprayed the crap out of all the moving components on top, around, and under the recoil. Worked perfectly; it spins freely now. Glad it was just a lube issue!

I ran out of daylight to deal with the throttle gear issue, so that's tonight's project. Then maybe I'll get further than 10 feet. Just maybe.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

Success! She runs great. I was able to run at about 3/4 throttle for about 45 minutes last night. Pictures of the trip and my first mate are attached. I still have to pull off the motor and fix the throttle linkage gear alignment to get it set up for WOT. I was hasty and tried to do it on the boat, but I lost a nut overboard and decided that continuing wasn't a very prudent course of action.

Question: Once I sand the whole boat down in preparation for re-painting, will I have to cover the entire boat in epoxy before the paint? Or just the parts where I'm doing fiberglass repairs and additions?

Also, what type of paint and finishing does everyone suggest? I'd like to do the hull in gray like it is, but spray the whole topside in glossy white.

I'm putting together my master purchase list for the restore, which I'd like to start at the end of May.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

AWESOME!!! Glad you were able to get her on the water and open her up a bit. I'm not much of a painter/f'glass guy, so I'll leave that to the pros, but doggie is having a great time and looks sharp in the pfd. The skyline is beautiful too. I bet it's even more amazing at night. Good luck with the projects. Keep us posted.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

If you want to go cheap, there's a link at the bottom of my signature below for how to paint your boat for under $100. Don't let the price fool you, it's still a viable and durable paint job. Lot's of guys here on the forum have used it with great results. There's all kinds of Paint. All kinds of methods. Just depends on how much you want to spend and the methods you want to use to apply it.

 

[nhblock]

Re: 1959 Tomahawk Carmate 14'

If you want to go cheap, there's a link at the bottom of my signature below for how to paint your boat for under $100. Don't let the price fool you, it's still a viable and durable paint job. Lot's of guys here on the forum have used it with great results. There's all kinds of Paint. All kinds of methods. Just depends on how much you want to spend and the methods you want to use to apply it.

Great instructions. It says this method is for boats that won't be in the water all the time -- is that the case? This boat will be in the water 24/7, 365.

I'm thinking HVLP. Did a bunch of research on the forums for gel-coat, but it seems like a lot of prep and sanding for such a small boat, especially thinking about all the nooks and crannies with the built-in seat spans. So, now I'm thinking paint. Still, I'm willing to put in the effort and time to get it right if gel-coat is indeed the way to go.