1966 Duo Restoration

[justkipp]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I don't know enough to give any advice, but one gentleman on this site did that and more to his boat, and he did show his progress and how he did it. It should be helpfull to you, just search for dou boat forums, if I can find it I will let you know. We are having a great time on my boat, but it is a '75 and in pretty good shape. Good Luck. Kipp.

 

[justkipp]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I just found what you are looking for, EPH 445, has great photos of what he is doing to his boat, he took the top off and is restoring it from the ground up! Kipp.

 

[eph445]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Hi Victoria10,
Nice lookin boat. Yes I'll be replacing my deck also. I'll be replacing the stringers too since they were also quite soft toward the stern. I'll be working on the bottom first though, doing a little gel coat repair, then repaint. Afterwards I'm going to replace the transom so it may be a while yet before I get to the deck. I'll be using 1/2" marine grade plywood and I've decided to glass each side with CSM and epoxy resin for added strength. I'm a little on the heavy side weighing in at 250lbs so I figure the extra strenght would help support my weight. I decided not to temporarily fasten it with screws as I mentioned in an earlier post. I'm going to adhere it permantly to the stringers and the edges with a cabosil epoxy mix. Since this is my first restore, I invite any and all info, advice from the more experienced restorers out there if any of you happen to come across this thread.
Thats about all the advice I have for now Victoria10. I'll be posting more photos in the future of what I'm doing.
Happy Boating!

 

[Victoria10]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

The motor appears to be in excellent shape - the body is in great shape, only the floor needs to be replaced! Does anyone know what the mix is for the gas for these boats?

 

[eph445]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

The motor appears to be in excellent shape - the body is in great shape, only the floor needs to be replaced! Does anyone know what the mix is for the gas for these boats?

Not sure about that. I run 50:1 in my old 1965 Mercury.

 

[Victoria10]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Trying to find out what is the stringers in the boat - Is it what holds the floor up from the bottom? Looks like they are fiberglass? Or is it wood covered by fiberglass.... I am going to use foam once I get the floor done since there wasn't any foam in it to begin with.

 

[zigzag]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

hi guys first post.


anyway, i'm working on a 1965 that is nearly identical to yours except fot the dash and my window has cut corners.

had a question for you. do you think your stringers were in their original places?

i tore my deck off a few days ago and cleaned out tons of wet foam. i only had one stringer down the center of the boat. plus it was sprayed with foam under the deck. just trying to figure out whose stringer layout is correct. to late for mine though, i just pl'ed mine in place.

 

[walker_3]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I have a supposedly 1969 Duo that looks the same the one pictured previously, except it has a 1974 65hp merc. on it. It has been in my family since 1974, and my wife and I still use it.

I have put in 3 new stringers (I have a stringer down the middle of the hull, and 1 on each side), a new floor, expandable foam under the new floor, new carpet, and I built and covered new seats. I also had to rebuild the transom, but when I did I put a plate of 1/4" steel in with the new plywood also (this really helped the performance of the boat).

My only problem is the windshield crazed and needs to be replaced.

Will try to get some pictures up soon.

 

[nate1220]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I just rebuilt a 1965 Duo X15 last year. Bought the bot motor and original evinrude 40hp big twin for $300. Restored it in may, usd it all summer then sold itfor a nice profit in the fall.

 

[searay245se]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

have started a restoration on a 68 duo pretty much the same thing wrong with mine as with others(stringers,transom)would take any advice on what size to use for the stringers and such,also restoring a mercury mark 58a el for it.

 

[Victoria10]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Just a quick question - what did you purchase your boats for in the condition they were in? Just wondering if I had to sell mine....... (hope I don't!)

 

[boaterdudeguy]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I just bought a Sears boat that looks like the Duo. It has a 1967 50 hp merc 500 on it. I was interested in your boat and was wondering if it is the same kind of boat.. I will post pics later. My boat is the same red color. What do you recommend for bringing out the top red color? I think a buffer and some type of product paste would do it?

I also unfortunately have a cracked windshield. I would like to fix it, but what product would work?

 

[lonewolfed]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Actually your Duo looks like mine, which is a 1964!

I just redid the whole boat, my bible was a book called "Runabout Restoration".

I did not pop the cap off, I repaired the transom from the inside. New stringers, deck, electronics, motor, controls, steering, paint. I even put in a bilge pump. I recomend you install additional drain plugs in the back where it uses to be sealed (the bilge area), and put an inspection hatch in upfront. The fact that below the deck was encapsulated caused these poor girls to rot out quicker. Nothing beats pulling out two more plugs and tipping the boat up on the trailor to drain it completely. Otherwise once water gets under there it is stuck forever. The inspection hatch lets you check the status, and mine is stored for the winter with the hatch and plugs all removed. The way the boat was designed the floor and stringers are such that two piece stringers are ok, but one piece is ideal. They are totally sandwiched in there and cannot work themselves loose.

You can email me at EDIT for pics. The boat handles great, I've been in the ocean with it and it handles the chop. The hull design is the coolest.

 

[Victoria10]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Finally started on my 1968 Duo, got all the rivets out and trying to get the steering wheel out but am having a hard time.... any suggestions?

 

[MercMe]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

I cant tell you how helpful this has been I just got a 66 duo my self!!!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Gret lookin' rig there. That old Merc really ties it all together. They don't make 'em like that anymore. Nice!

 

[MercMe]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Thanks Kfa Hey eph445 if your still reading this how did it go getting it all back together how did you get the rivets back in the top? I need to replace my transom and could use the help thx

 

[eph445]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Ok I'm back folks. Had some personal issues to deal with. One of which was losing a well paying job and now I'm working for peanuts, breaking my back at a foundry so I'm on a very limited budget. Anyway I got the bottom all taken care of as far as the gelcoat repair and paint. I used VC Performance Epoxy paint from IBoats and it turned out quite well. The bottom had a gazillion little hair line cracks that would have been impossible to repair with gelcoat but the paint covered the cracks nicely and now the bottom is slick as glass. It was a little expensive but well worth the price. My only other option would have been to completely remove all gel coat down to the bare glass and then take it to someone with the proper applicator and experience with gel coat. Who knows what that would have cost. I also got the transom installed but 1 thing I realized I shouldn't have done is epoxy the inside surface because now before I apply the layers of csm and roven I'm going to have to key that surface with a heavy grit sand paper. Just more work I made for myself. I should have left it bare wood. I would still have had to key the surface but bare wood would have been a lot easier than epoxy. I got the stringers assembled but I don't have them bedded in yet. I made the stringers from 3, 8 foot strips of 3/4 inch marine grade plywood laminated with epoxy and fiberglass cloth for added rigidity. They are the same height as the stringers that I ripped out but a little wider. I could have made them from just 2 strips of plywood but I think they would flex too much since they're only about 2 inches high. That's about all I can do for now until I get the cabosil and paint remover that I ordered from IBoats. Should be getting it later this week. I'll get some more pictures uploaded later today. It's been so long I forgot how to do it.

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Best way to post pics now is to open a Free photobucket acount, upload your pics to a library, then use the IMG Code to copy and paste your pics into your iBoats Post. Like I said in your other thread...

 

[eph445]

Re: 1966 Duo Restoration

Thanks. I still have the photobucket account but I had forgotten about the IMG tag. I think I'm supposed to re size photos to 640 x 480 correct? I'll look at that post again.