1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

[Prof. Mike]

Greetings,

Folks asked to see a few pics on my new acquisition prior to doing a considerable repaint and refit. Here's a few shots attached.

Boat has 828 hours on the Vovlo 3.0 and 270 drive. Floor and transom were done already. Carpet is new and the cuddy cushions are flawless. Has a full camper top in Sunbrella (faded on top). The blower, bilge and wipers work. No lights operate, gauges don't either. Seating needs to be redone (have interior from a Chieftain as well). Throttle/shifter case is broken ( open to suggestions on what to replace it with). Speedo seems to have lost the pitot tube and line.

Hull and deck need to be repainted (spring time job up here in Ontario) suggestions on best refinishing method and paint to use would be appreciated.

Have a tandem trailer with the residual components of a hydraulic drum surge brake system. (wheel assemblies complete but the hitch unit is toast).

I even have all he boat records back to its original purchase.

Traded my 1991 Lowe with a 1980's 35 Merc and galv. trailer for the whole package. Looking to go out onto Georgian and Lake Ontario new year for large fish. Not a bad deal me thinks....opinions?

Regards
Prof. Mike B

 

[jasoutside]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Looks pretty darn good for a 40 year old boat!

For paint I am a fan of Rustoleum, price is right and ready available at your local lumber yard. Some guys like to go with the more expensive "marine" paint.

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Welcome to the Starmada Mike, Looks like you did real good on your trade, great looking Islander. I'm with Jason on Rustoleum. Up here in Canada they tell you Tremclad is the same thing, don't believe it. Acklands Grainger carries the full line of Rusto Pro at decent prices. Brakes for your trailer, I would head to Princess Auto and but the 10"x 2" electric package when their on sale, they work great are inexpensive, just unplug you trailer before you back in the water.

 

[Weep'n Willy]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Nice to see another cabin boat being brought forward for a new life. It is hard to ask for a better boat for fishing the big waters for those elusive silver fish. Easy to trailer to the port where the action is and still can handle some unpleasant waters. Will be looking forward to seeing you progress as you create your fishing machine.

 

[InMotion]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Welcome Mike! Looks like you have yourself a nice rig there. No doubt as you open it up and get into there will be many, many more things to address.... but in the end you will have a terrific rig for a fraction of what you would pay new --- and the knowledge/skills to fix it over the years!

Looking forward to seeing what you do to her!

Jim

 

[Brenn]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Very cool boat

 

[ricohman]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Very nice.
Having seen some particulary bad tremclad paint jobs I would suggest spraying it yourself.
If all you are going to use is enamel without hardener then you won't have iso's to deal with. Even a cheap Princess Auto HVLP gun will give you a better result than a brush and a roller. Mind you I have seen some nice roller jobs that have been color sanded.
Buy the Tremclad (Rustoleum in the U.S) and reduce it with thinner and spay away. You won't even have to worry about mixing paint and having the boat painted in sections.

 

[Prof. Mike]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

I've got a Devilbiss HVLP unit with remote canister. What percent should I thin it out by? 10, 15...more? Any ides or suggestions on surface prep?

Regards...

Prof. Mike

 

[ricohman]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Thinning will depend on the temp and humidity. Always shoot a test pattern. Bare aluminum should have an etching primer.
You don't have to go right to the bare metal. If the paint is well adhered you can paint right over it.

 

[crkranz]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

I've got a Devilbiss HVLP unit with remote canister. What percent should I thin it out by? 10, 15...more? Any ides or suggestions on surface prep?

Regards...

Prof. Mike

Have you read WoodonGlass's write up on his forumula? If I was going to spray enamel, this is what I would start. I have read other reports where they thinned much more than 25%.

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-resto...mingo-i-finally-started-w-pics-384982-10.html

 

[Prof. Mike]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

Update on the Ark....did a quick wash and scrub with Vim, cleaned up real nice. Them sprayed it with Excel Implement Enamel, on sle sale up here. Boat looks reasonable now and will be good till next summer. I have to look at it all day out my offcie wndow and the hull just had to be cleaned up.

Motor (Volvo 130) wouldn't run right, so I cleaned the fouled plugs, flushed the gas lines, cleaned out the carbs and presto...running and idling boat. Winterized the craft after that nd I'm now ready for spring.

Question for you folks out there. I've got these little glass windows in the seat bases to look through to see the fuel gauge built into the tank...pain in the you know what, especially in shaded light. What do I need to have real gauge readouts on the dashboard. The gauges obviously, but what is around in terms of sending units and how are they wired so you don't blow up your tanks!!!

 

[dozerII]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

You would need a pair of these Universal Electric Sending Unit - iboats and a pair of fuel gauges plus the wiring.

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 1973 Islander: The Ark is being redone

You would need a pair of these Universal Electric Sending Unit - iboats and a pair of fuel gauges plus the wiring.

And a hole in the top of the tank to put the senders in. What do the top of the tanks look like? Usually those with built-in gauges don't have a way of mounting a sending unit.