1961 Larson All-American 14'

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

Another picture of the deck after it's been epoxied back together.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I used a large screwdriver, chisel, and hammer to bust the old wood from the fiberglass on the transom. The transom was so rotten that it pulled out in two big pieces. The original transom was 1" thick. I managed to save it to use a pattern for the new one.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I found some paper at the local hardware store that came in handy for making templates. I think it was called construction paper. I'm not really sure what it's used for - but I think it may be used for construction.

I used the paper to make templates for the seats, and I also used it to make a dash panel. My boat did not have a dash panel originally, but I love the looks of a dash panel that matches the seats. Since I decided to paint the boat black, I wanted to use a lot of white vinyl on the interior. I obviously don't want to sit on a black seats, and the white would offer a cooler area to rest my rump, as well as a nice contrast to the black exterior.

The dash panel would also allow me to cover up the port steering holes, and I could use it to mount my new gauges for my motor.

If you look closely, you can see all the holes that I'm filling with epoxy. Fill the holes, then sand. Fill some more, then sand. Fill, sand. Fill, sand. Most of my boat was sanded by hand.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

Notice how nasty and scuffed the windshield looks? More on that later - it cleaned up nicely!

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

The original floor was 1/4" plywood. I replaced the floor with 1/4" plywood. I also epoxied the floor to seal it, and then I fiberglassed the floor with 4oz fiberglass cloth. The plywood floor in the photo is not attached. I have the plywood resting on the strings to make it easier to move around inside the hull while working.

I did not extend the center stringer to the transom because I wanted to make a bilge area for the water to drain. I'm a bit paranoid about rot after spending an entire day ripping out a floor, and another removing an old transom that I want to make sure that if there is any water in my boat, that I can remove it. You may also notice the stringers on the outside of the center string are notched so that water can not get trapped between the stringers. When I finish boating, I jack up the front of the boat, and any remaining water is toweled from the bilge. I will eventually install a 12volt bilge pump, but for now I have a nice handheld unit that works well. I also have a manually operated sponge that works well.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

After glassing the floor in the boat I reattached the deck. After the deck was attached, I managed to flip the boat upside down. I temporarily attached the rubrail again so I could roll the boat without cracking the fiberglass hull/deck joint.

I performed the boat rollover alone with a lot of praying, and some carefully placed blankets and pillows. I slid the boat from the trailer. While the boat was on the floor, I lifted it onto the rubrail and balanced the boat on its edge. I would highly recommend using a friend or two to do this job. I don't have any friends, so I had to do this alone.

With the boat standing on edge, I slowly walked around the boat keeping it balanced, and lowered it down on the deck.

I got to see the bottom of the hull for the first time, and it was in really good shape. There was a few nicks and dings, but for a 47 year-old boat I thought it was in nice shape. I used epoxy and glass bubbles to fill in any gouges and nicks.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

The little dark areas are epoxy/glass bubble mixtures. Not much work needed on the hull to get it ready for paint.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I was really happy with the way the bottom came out. It's a damn shame that it's hidden under the boat.

I used 220 grit sandpaper on the bottom. I used Petit Easypoxy paint (1 part polyurethane) for the hull.

I used the roll & tip method of applying the paint. I followed the instructions on the can and it worked very well. No runs, and no flat spots. I applied two coats. It didn't take much paint at all to cover the hull. I used one quart. I really thought it would take more, but was pleasantly surprised.

I wiped the boat with acetone before applying the paint. I used a small (6" foam) roller to roll the paint in one hand, and used a 3" wide natural bristle brush to lightly drag across the rolled paint to bust tiny air bubbles (tipping off) from the roller. There have been volumes written on painting boats so I won't get into it much. My biggest tip would be to use very little paint on the roller - really work it into the pan to remove the paint so you have a lightly loaded roller. It's best to cover small areas at a time and work quickly. You don't have to paint like a madman, but work quickly enough to keep a wet edge and you'll be fine. It's not nearly as difficult as many make sound. I have the painting skills of a retarded monkey and I still managed to do a nice job.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I am not a patient man. I hate waiting. I hate waiting for paint to cure. I hate waiting for epoxy to cure. I hate waiting for just about anything, so the wait for my bottom paint to cure was torturous. I sat in the garage for a couple of days just staring at the paint. I couldn't work on the boat because I had to the wait for the paint to dry.

After a couple of days had passed, I carefully rolled the boat back onto her hull. I rolled the boat by myself once again (I need to get some friends) being very careful not to scratch my nice paint job that no one will see on the bottom of my boat. I used the tilt function on the boat trailer and placed my creeper under the transom and slowly winched it onto the trailer.

Success! I cannot tell you how exciting it was for me to get to this point. I'm still a long way from completion, but the hull/deck is joined, and the bottom is painted. I began attaching my new ski hardware because I had to drill a couple of holes in the boat and didn't want to mess up the paintjob later. I had completed 90% of the deck filling/sanding while the boat was split. Now I could complete the deck filling/sanding with the boat back on the trailer.

I decided to mount the ski tow towards the middle of the boat because a 14' lightweight boat would benfit the most from having the tow point towards the middle, rather than closer to the transom. I would later move this ski mount back, but that's another story that I'll tell soon. Not all of my ideas worked well.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

oops! - Thanks oops!.

fixb52s - I'm not really sure why I have dice - but I had them on my previous boats too. I think they're kind of cheesy, but it's fun. I went back and forth on the racks, but I'm glad I installed them. A 14' boat does not have much interior room, and hauling a kneeboard and wakeboard inside the boat is a real pain. It's much nicer to have them outboard so my friends and I can hang out in the back of the boat at anchor and listen to some music.

Jerico - Very cool! I love seeing these old boats put back into service. I love the styling of the older boats with a mixture of the modern stuff (racks, stereos, gauges, single cable steering, etc.).

 

[Jerico]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

Fantastic pics of the progress. I am curious how you cleaned up the windshield. Mine is in pretty good shape, but does show that its 49 years old. This thread really makes me want to tear into mine this weekend. It will probably have to wait though. I need to unwinterize the other boats first.... lol

PS: That thing must fly with a 70 horse. How does it do pulling you skiing? I used to keep the driver busy trying to go straight. I could turn the boat when I cut...

 

[i386]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

She's coming along nicely.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I am curious how you cleaned up the windshield. PS: That thing must fly with a 70 horse. How does it do pulling you skiing?

Jerico - I used a plastic cleaner called Novus Plastic Scratch Remover. This stuff is amazing. I really thought my windshield was going to have to be replaced, but after some buffing with this stuff it looks almost new.

I'm not sure how fast my boat is, but it has no problem at all getting out of the hole. I use a 15 pitch prop for pulling skiers, and I have 21 pitch prop for running the river, which I have only used once.

As for skiing, I only kneeboard and wakeboard. My driver can difinetely tell I'm back there, but I'm not pulling nearly as hard as a skier would.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I'm going to go ahead and place the build pictures in this thread and add the details later when I have a bit more time. Descriptions to follow soon.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I used 3M blue masking tape to tape the Larson stripe on my boat. This boat did not have this line, but it's similar to the line that was on their 14' Playboy model. I really like the Larson stripes, so I decided to put one on my boat - histrorical accuracy be damned! The radius was done by using a large pizza pan that seemed to fit the curve profile that I needed. I also made the stripe a bit wider in the back of the boat than on the original Larsons.

The stripe was painted using Petit's Easypoxy gloss black. I used a roller and tipped with a natural bristle brush. This paint covers extremely well.

If you notice I didn't paint the transom yet. I decided to hold off on painting the transom because I still had quite a bit of decisions of what to do back there.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I seemed to have gotten my pictures out of order. Oh well - this is the masking of the Larson stripe. I used a pizza pan to draw the radius on the tape, and then I came back with a razor blade and cut the tape. It took a few tries of sighting the tape to get a nice fair curve, but I'm very happy with the results.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I used the bow eye as a guide for the top of the stripe, but the bottom of the stripe was eyeballed to get a nice fair curve. I wish there was something more scientific to it than what "looks" good, but that's all I did. Nothing fancy about it.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

Wow! Talk about a huge difference. It's amazing what a lot of body work and a little paint can do. This is the first coat of black I put on the deck, and the second coat of black I used for the stripe. I have only put one coat of black paint on this boat. I originally planned to use 3 coats, but I haven't gotten around to putting the other two coats on it. I may wait until next winter before repainting. I'm really happy with my paint job.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

After waiting for the paint to dry (how fun is that!?) I pulled the masking tape to reveal some very crisp line on my stripe. WooHoo! I decided I would trim the lines with red pinstripe to hide any bleeding, but there was no bleeding. I decided to place a red pinstripe line on the boat later anyway because I love black/white with red striping. I think it works well.

 

[stevewolverton]

Re: 1961 Larson All-American 14'

I rolled the boat into the sun after the paint had dried to give it a look. Inside I've placed the white marine vinyl seat covers on their plywood counterparts. I hadn't received the foam order yet, so they're just in the boat for ideas at the moment. The sewing of the boat cushions took me a day and it wasn't too tedious. Having a black boat I did not want to have dark seats. Of course I hear everyone whine - "It's going to be too hot...You're going to burn up...It'll show water spots...It will make you sterile..." blah blah blah. Here's what I have to say about black boats - they're awesome. Yes the deck gets hotter than a white boat, but it also looks better IMHO. How often am I on my boats deck, considering it's a closed bow? Never. Yes, it does waterspot more than other boats, or at least is more visible, but I always wipe my boat down when I pull it out of the water. Black boats are more work and require more attention - I don't mind as the looks are worth the extra effort.