'78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

[sphelps]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

The tires look good to me Troop! I think mine are good enough to pull down to the Keys.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

lol....Little dry rot there on the rubber...

but then they are probably 49 yrs old too, so not so bad

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

I would remove those extraneous rollers.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Thanks EZ, I was thinking the same thing. With the bunks should only need the center keel rollers, right?

 

[ben2go]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

The rollers shouldn't support much of the weight,just a light touch.The bunks should take most of the weight.Free rolling rollers don't damage hulls.I think your boat should have 4 or 5 keel rollers and a bow roller near the winch on the winch post.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

What he said^^^^

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

From my experience with aligning cars, I would say the tire wear you are seeing is probably from a bit of misalignment...it doesn't take much, an 1/8 of an inch of excessive toe-in or out, or offset tracking {also known as Crabbing} will give you that type of cupping wear...trailers and their axles usually live a rough life and a slight amount axle bending/shifting can occur over time...
Some careful measurements from a good center point on or near the the tongue to the center of the spindle, of course with the wheels and bearings removed, will give you good indication of whether or not you have a tracking problem.
You can check for excessive toe by measuring side to side, the front center and the rear center of the tires.
The difference between the two will indicate if you have a toe problem.
Kinda hard to 'splain with words...but if you don't get it, holler a PM at me and will be glad to clarify...
I also attached a couple of my kindergarten sketches to try and help...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Ben - EZ - the rollers were pushed in with weight, so they may be too high. I will fix that.

GT - I was thinkng along the same lines. I went out tonight and found that the shackle between the leaf springs on one side is worn. I was not able to pullit, started raining, but a definite clap when I jumped up/down on the diamond plate near fender. Possible rain from now till late Saturday here, hope it misses us. I do not plan on taking every nut/bolt out, but that could change. Right now I just want to get the rusty items taken care of. Check the lighting and the brakes/suspension. Maybe throw some new carpet on bunks. They are in good shape from what I can tell so far. Eventually I will use WoG's recipe for hardened Valspar/Rustoleum to put a fresh coat of paint on. See his Signature thread, page #10.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Sadly no boat work for me yesterday, today and possibly tomorrow

I do not want to track mud on the bare glass. The yard has looked like this for 2 days now.

 

[bear_69cuda]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Bummer dude....

Hopefully you still have a good weekend, even if you cant work on the boat!

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

You better stock some rations & fresh drinking water in that bare hull w/ some paddles

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Dang, by the looks of all that wet stuff, you may not have to go too far to Splash the hull...:facepalm:

Hope it dries out soon...

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Thanks guys...I decided to work on figures..might be able to get some wood, glassing materials ordered soon.

 

[sphelps]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Ya may want to tie her up to that deck so all that grinding work don,t float away!

 

[Hghvoltage]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Trooper we are getting the same thing here, its been raining for about the last 2 weeks. We really really needed it is the only reason I'm not upset that I can't work on the boat.

 

[Decker83]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

We had alot of rain here in Dallas last week. Some of the lakes here rose 4 feet. We need all the rain we can get here to. I think Lake Lavon was like 11 feet low before last weeks rain.

Looks like your yard turned into a lake. Hope you get back on the boat soon.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Yeah you might want to go out and patch the hole in the transom!

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

Yeah you might want to go out and patch the hole in the transom!

I actually thought about doing just that. My wife was saying we might need to get in the boat if it keeps raining, I showed here the huge hole in the transom, not floating with this I told her.

 

[Trooper82]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

ok, looking for opinions here.

Just me and the wife, maybe passenger or two will ever be in this boat at one time. I am thinking about a casting/fishing platform for the bow vs. keeping seats. The seats were small and cramped. Room for 4 but all 8 knees would be touching, if you know what I mean.

Issues that could arise as I see it include:

1. foam - there is a lot up there, would I need the same amount under the raised deck? Just a guesstimate, but I think the platform would wind up about 6" taller than the rest of the deck.

2. structural - Will the hull deform if I take the seating area out now, or should I wait till I have the strings in place?

3. safety - will this be too high to be a safe platform? Would only be used when the boat was still.

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: '78 Ebko Lebaron - Therapy

ok, looking for opinions here.

Just me and the wife, maybe passenger or two will ever be in this boat at one time. I am thinking about a casting/fishing platform for the bow vs. keeping seats. The seats were small and cramped. Room for 4 but all 8 knees would be touching, if you know what I mean.

Issues that could arise as I see it include:

1. foam - there is a lot up there, would I need the same amount under the raised deck? Just a guesstimate, but I think the platform would wind up about 6" taller than the rest of the deck.
My best guess is the amount of foam should remain approximately the same, you are not necessarily adding more weight...
2. structural - Will the hull deform if I take the seating area out now, or should I wait till I have the strings in place?
I don't think it will be a problem with the cradle you have, if anything you could add a little extra support for your own peace of mind...if anything add a strap or two across the gunwhales to keep the hull from spreading...???
3. safety - will this be too high to be a safe platform? Would only be used when the boat was still.Depending on the seas, it should be A-OK...remember bass boats have more of a toekick around their fishing/casting decks than any real gunwhales...as long as the water is calm, and like you said, it will only be used when sitting still, should be no problem...

Thanks for your suggestions.

And finally, you could also make it convertible...a removable casting deck with a built-in livewell, maybe??? Properly structured, it could even support a fishing chair...
There I go, thunkin agin...:facepalm: