The season is over for me so it's time to start pulling this thing apart. I purchased the boat in August for $1000. For that I got the boat, the '87 B series Force 50 hanging off the back, a galvanized tilt trailer, a bow mount 36lb Minn Kota Powerdrive, an ancient Humminbird fish finder, and what looked like the remnants of a mice infestation.
A friend and I towed it to my house and set to work on getting it running. The boat hadn't been in the water since 2002 and prior to that was only used a few times per summer, always kept on its trailer. The scum line you see on it now is from sitting in the water behind my house for 3 months (I'll be putting antifouling paint on the bottom). The bulb, fuel line, and fuel tank were original and shot. A quick trip to the hardware store scored us a new plastic tank and a new fuel line and bulb. The battery was toast, but a friend had just given me 2 near new deep cycle group 27s from his other boat. Shockingly, it started instantly. Enthused by this we decided to put it in the water the next day.
After trailering it to the launch ramp and putting it in, I started it and my friend drove the trailer back to my house. I opened up the throttle and things seemed pretty good. For about 2 minutes... Then it started losing power. I was able to get it back to my house where it would have to sit for a couple weeks (I distance race sailboats during the summer). Once home I set to work cleaning out the fuel recirc system and checking through the shop manual for fuel delivery issues. I had seen a thread on here mentioning decarbing and picked up a can of deep creep. That was the ticket. It instantly ran better. After adjusting the points (which need to be replaced) it ran great the rest of the season.
The boat has the usual problems. The bilge pump was shot and had to be replaced. The livewell pump is also shot and now that it's out of the water I can put a new one of those in. The deck is soft in a couple spots and needs to come out. The casting deck also needs to be replaced and the hatches reworked. The seats are okay, but the vinyl is starting to get brittle so I'll probably replace those with a more fishing friendly solution. The wiring is what you would expect for a used boat. There are no leaks cracks or dents in the hull. All the rivets seem tight but i'll be coating with Gluvit after the deck is out anyway. I can only guess what kind of shape the foam is in, but from the signs I've already seen it is half chewed up and soaked with water.
So far I've got the gearcase off the outboard and drained. I'm also pulling off the Minn Kota to keep it in the basement for the winter. I'll probably remount it with a quick release plate before I put it back on. That thing has been amazing for fishing on my lake. I'm hoping to get most of the interior out tomorrow and then start working on pulling the deck out. before the snow starts coming down.
I don't plan on making this a Bristol refit. It's a fun little boat, but I'm not looking to create a museum piece. The topsides paint will remain as is for now. The carpet on the gunnels will stay as well unless I end up having to pull all that trim off. The deck may end up being foam or balsa with glass skins as I'm familiar with that method of construction and I want to reduce weight where possible. The decking will probably be coated with Kiwi Grip as I have 2 gallons of it in my basement from one of the boats I race on. The consoles will be elevated at least 3 inches as they are way too low right now making steering uncomfortable. The engine will get torn down and re-assembled for reliability, but I'm on the lookout for something bigger as the 50 just doesn't have enough juice once the boat is loaded down with a few people. It's fine for my lake, but if I take it up to the cabin on Houghton Lake or over to Lk. St. Clair the 50 would be over worked. The bottom will definitely be getting a barrier coat and antifouling paint since my lake is pretty shallow and the boat will be living in the canal behind my house.
Enough blabbering. On to some pics.
A friend and I towed it to my house and set to work on getting it running. The boat hadn't been in the water since 2002 and prior to that was only used a few times per summer, always kept on its trailer. The scum line you see on it now is from sitting in the water behind my house for 3 months (I'll be putting antifouling paint on the bottom). The bulb, fuel line, and fuel tank were original and shot. A quick trip to the hardware store scored us a new plastic tank and a new fuel line and bulb. The battery was toast, but a friend had just given me 2 near new deep cycle group 27s from his other boat. Shockingly, it started instantly. Enthused by this we decided to put it in the water the next day.
After trailering it to the launch ramp and putting it in, I started it and my friend drove the trailer back to my house. I opened up the throttle and things seemed pretty good. For about 2 minutes... Then it started losing power. I was able to get it back to my house where it would have to sit for a couple weeks (I distance race sailboats during the summer). Once home I set to work cleaning out the fuel recirc system and checking through the shop manual for fuel delivery issues. I had seen a thread on here mentioning decarbing and picked up a can of deep creep. That was the ticket. It instantly ran better. After adjusting the points (which need to be replaced) it ran great the rest of the season.
The boat has the usual problems. The bilge pump was shot and had to be replaced. The livewell pump is also shot and now that it's out of the water I can put a new one of those in. The deck is soft in a couple spots and needs to come out. The casting deck also needs to be replaced and the hatches reworked. The seats are okay, but the vinyl is starting to get brittle so I'll probably replace those with a more fishing friendly solution. The wiring is what you would expect for a used boat. There are no leaks cracks or dents in the hull. All the rivets seem tight but i'll be coating with Gluvit after the deck is out anyway. I can only guess what kind of shape the foam is in, but from the signs I've already seen it is half chewed up and soaked with water.
So far I've got the gearcase off the outboard and drained. I'm also pulling off the Minn Kota to keep it in the basement for the winter. I'll probably remount it with a quick release plate before I put it back on. That thing has been amazing for fishing on my lake. I'm hoping to get most of the interior out tomorrow and then start working on pulling the deck out. before the snow starts coming down.
I don't plan on making this a Bristol refit. It's a fun little boat, but I'm not looking to create a museum piece. The topsides paint will remain as is for now. The carpet on the gunnels will stay as well unless I end up having to pull all that trim off. The deck may end up being foam or balsa with glass skins as I'm familiar with that method of construction and I want to reduce weight where possible. The decking will probably be coated with Kiwi Grip as I have 2 gallons of it in my basement from one of the boats I race on. The consoles will be elevated at least 3 inches as they are way too low right now making steering uncomfortable. The engine will get torn down and re-assembled for reliability, but I'm on the lookout for something bigger as the 50 just doesn't have enough juice once the boat is loaded down with a few people. It's fine for my lake, but if I take it up to the cabin on Houghton Lake or over to Lk. St. Clair the 50 would be over worked. The bottom will definitely be getting a barrier coat and antifouling paint since my lake is pretty shallow and the boat will be living in the canal behind my house.
Enough blabbering. On to some pics.
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