1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

[AGrayEngineering]

As a custom machine / fab shop owner and an avid boater it was an obvious choice when it came to restoring this old boat. The story begins 4 years ago when I purchased a beat 1970 MFG Gypsy with a 1990 Force 50hp. I used this boat 3 times a week all summer for 4 year. It was a good boat however the floor was getting a little soft and the transom was bowing under the weight of the motor. I had toyed with the idea of fixing the transom and floor, but the plan changed when I found this beauty while visiting a customer.

After some number crunching I decided that the most cost efficient way to get back on the water would be to salvage every usable part off my old boat and scrap it, rather then sell it and start fresh. Plus I wouldn't feel good passing the problems onto the next guy.

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,... Sweet lookin' ole tinny,...

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Based on old sales flyers and dimensions I believe it's a 1966 Ski 'N Troll. Originally rated for 45 hp I did some research and found that my 50 hp was lighter then the average 45hp available in the 60's so I decided to go ahead and keep it. I wanted to start fresh so I sanded the entire hull, filled dents & welded any holes I didn't plan on using.

She got 3 coats of regular oil based rust-o-leum on the hull and spray paint for a top coat of color. Understand this was a logistical decisions. I'm aware of the downfalls of non-marine paint and that this method will require some upkeep. My boat gets trailered home every day so it'll spend most of it's life out of water. In my experience she's going to get dinged up and scratched. Weather from the occasional beaching or people climbing in and out. I'd figured go with what's easy to touch up.

Next came the interior. I fabricated the seat from marine plywood & pressure treated lumber. The seat is a 3 piece double back design which bolts together so if a pad gets ripped or stained I can simply unbolt remove the stainless steel staples and recover.

The seats are mounted on aluminum angle bracket track which allows for some adjustment. The seats are merely held down by weight & friction. With 1 person in the seats they don't move yet are easily removable to access storage underneath.

I replaced the orignal plywood transom with my own 3 piece laminated assembly then reinforced it with 1/8" aluminum on the front, back and top.

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Although I wasn't a huge fan of putting the fuel tanks up front I had to for weight distribution. I toyed with the idea of a permanent tank with a fill nozzle, but settled for my orignal tanks mounted on a wood rack. As a good friend once said "if it's stupid and it works, it's not stupid".

The controls were salvaged from my previous boat however I had to fabricate a throttle mount because the old setup was not a self-contained unit. Other parts kept from the old boat were the speedo, stereo, fish finder, transom hooks, bow & stern light, steering wheel, fuel tanks, and bilge pump.

One of my favioret things about this boat is the ability to row it. The seat is in the perfect position and with a set of 8' oars it moves like a jon boat. I'd much rather break down wit a good set of oars then one or two of those dinky safety paddles. Not to mention I can get into every fishing hole and shallow in the state.

Although not 100% finished I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I was able to get her sea-worthy enough for a test drive the other day and it was amazing.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

WOW, Just WOW!!! The Yellow & White is Amazing!!!!! Nice Work!!!!

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Here's the video from her first powered day on the water.

1966 MirroCraft Ski N Troll Test Drive - YouTube

I hope to finish it up in the next week or so.

Items left on the to-do list include:
Paint the floor with gray tinted textured paint
Paint the rub rail / dash tray
Make some oar holders
Fab & install power trim

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

The entire project took about 9 months from the day I brought it home to when she was on the water. Actual work time I estimate to be between 150-250 hours or work. I knew it was going to be a performance increase over my old boat, the new one is 400 lbs lighter and a v-hull instead of a tri-hull. That same motor / prop setup pushed my old boat at a top of 25mph. I can now get 30-31 in the top end with a 10x12 prop and I have a 11.25x13 on it's way. Also I have to run some tests to compare fixed trim settings and weather or not it's better with or without the motor hydrofoil.

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Nice job AGray ! I,m with WOG the yeller paint looks great ! How do you like the tanks in the bow ? Get much fuel smell ? I have been toying with the idea of moving mine to the front ..

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Nice job! Really seems to scoot out on the water...
Love the fact you can row it comfortably and into all the little shallow spots...
Thanks for sharing and looking forward to the pics of the finishing touches...

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Be sure to keep the pressure treated lumber WELL SEALED & away from bare aluminum.

Otherwise, nice work.

 

[m casey stock]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Great looking rig! Nice job on the upgrades. That is a fun size boat, my son and I both have similar size and style boats to yours. We've had fun on the water already with his and I'm looking to plash mine soon. I'm kinda moving slow with mine because we have a center console that is our primary do anything family boat. I like the color addition to a white base on any boat, it's just, IMO, a very classy clean look.

http://www.tinboats.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=25757

 

[pckeen]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Love it! Great work, great video.

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Although the boat was functional last year there were still a few finishing touches before I'd consider it "done".

The latest install: Custom MirroCraft emblems. The originals were missing and I couldn't find any replacements so I traced the logo & cut it out on the CNC Plasma.

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

FINISHED! (or at least as finished as you can call a boat project, we all know they never end.)

The biggest project of this season was pulling everything out so I could paint the floor. I did a little bit of homework and rolled the dice on Rust-oleum's "Deck Restore". This tintable textured rubber paint said it could be applied to wood, plastic, composite and "other" surfaces. In my experience if it sticks to plastic, there's a good chance it'll stick to metal. I started with the special plastic roller, but a big 12" flat roller + boat hull = waste of time. I ended up brushing it on with a 2" chip brush, took all of 90 min to paint the inside (minus under the seat where I was sitting). I also didn't paint a 2" strip down the middle of the boat. Why? Because that's where the water has flow. Had I sealed the entire floor there would be a puddle between each rib instead of working it's way back to the bilge. I can already tell the high traffic spots are going to wear right off, but frankly I was just looking for something to be a uniform color on the inside to cover up the stains and old carpet glue. Good news is I still have 1 1/4 gallons left so I'll touch it up as I go.

Other finishing touches were:

- Moved battery to back. Originally wired under the seat for weight distribution the battery cables were just too long. It developed a hard to start condition similar to a bad battery, must have been a dead spot in the wire because it works great now.

- Installing universal voltage regulator (as the force outboard didn't have one and routinely overcharged batteries)

- New radio (last one got smoked from an overcharge)

- In boat wakeboard racks. With floor space at a premium I needed a way to keep the boards upright and out of the way. I actually made these aluminum racks 4 years and just happen to keep the tower after scrapping my previous boat.

- Secured front tank / gear rack. Originally it wedged in there for "easy removal", but it ended up banging around so I made some brackets and bolted it down

- Reinforced trailer axle (not shown)

- Cleaning up the rub-rails

- Painted dash tray

Now she's all ready for a summer of wakeboarding, fishing & cruising.

 

[AGrayEngineering]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Few more pix:

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

reminds me of the ski-n-troll that I grew up with. it also was yellow on top and white. however the yellow was a bit more pale.

we also had a merc 50 on ours. its the boat I learned to drive with, and its the boat I learned to ski behind.

nice looking boat.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Emblems came out awesome!Love the way it turned out! Beautiful job!
May it provide you with many seasons of fun and enjoyment...
Definitely a prime candidate for the "Completed Projects" section.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

You did a great job on this boat, good ideas, good construction, simple, good looking, and very functional. 2 thumbs up from my view!!

 

[sphelps]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

Great job ! Looks like she's ready for some good ol fun times for sure !
Congratulations on a job well done !:high5:

 

[m casey stock]

Re: 1960's MirroCraft Ski 'N Troll Resto-Mod

The boat looks great! Where at in MS do yo live?