78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

[BitterSweet]

I moved to Savannah about 3 1/2 months. Im an aircraft mechanic with four years experience, an associates degree and am an FAA certified Airframe and Powerplant mechanic. During my time in NJ I ran my own business contracting to a repair station performing aircraft maintenance, and on the side I specialized in aircraft composites and painting. It was a great experience.... well fast forward Ive been here for 3 1/2 months and have not been able to secure a job... I been doin work here and there to pay the bills but no "real jobs" Simply the economy sucks and Savannah's unemployment rating is higher than the national average... its been depressing.

Its funny how things work out... I traded a small motorcycle that I had restored for my fiance (who had stopped rideing) for a 78 procraft 1700 bass boat... what a peice of sh*t... basically i traded this wonderful mechanically and cosmetically sound bike for a 78 140hp ob motor, a 17 ft trailer and a boat hull.... hahah normally i think most people would have wanted to assult the person they traded with but for some reason i was not upset at all.. the fellow i traded with was 300lbs and swore that even tho the deck was soft the boat was in good condition and the metal plate mounted to the transom was sound as well. I watched the transom as this large fellow shook the motor and the transom did not flex... long story short, the boat is nothing more than a project... but eh with no money and nothing to do all day besides apply to jobs... everyman needs a break.

Going into this i told myself, i have the tools and skills to do this and if all else fails, i have a motor and a trailer of some value... i can just take the boat and dump it off in a landfill and sell the motor and trailer to get some money back... i figure constructivly deconstructing this boat will not cost anything but time (which we all know i have plenty of) until i get to the reconstruction process which at that point i figure about 5k to build a boat... reason i say build a new boat is because im changing it and figure ill name it RyanCraft (Ryans my name) haha well fist i came up with a design...its kind of a fish & ski in bass boat hull... here it is.. oh and i designed it on google sketchup and then saved it as a 2d pic in low quality so i could upload it on here...

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

Here is the boat in well, "rough" shape...

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

So now Im gonna bring you up to where im at, to my understanding the live wells do not add "structure" to the boat, but i learned they do add structure to the cap... i did not want to remove the cap because i did not want to make a jig to hold the hull in shape while i worked on the boat because i do not have a trailer that hugs the hull either....also i planned on changing the design of the boat as demonstrated above so i got to chopping and unbolting and sh*t...oh and the steering cable was frozen so i enjoyed hours of lube and beating it haha... but seriously it was miserable, also as stated above i have a "redneck" fix on the transom.... this boat was deffinatly part of the redneck yacht club haha enjoy

 

[86RajunCajun]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

I doubt that the hull will lose its form without the top cap on. My cap is off and my hull hasnt changed a bit in 3 months its been sitting like that.

I just dont see it happening upless it is fircefully held out of shape for a long period of time.

Have fun making your boat how you like it!

RC

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

The console before and after pics, this boat seriously was a hazard haha, there was about 3 miles of clipped unused wires that were not terminated properly, some live wires running the length of the boat through the bus bar and fuses and then just cut off and laying in what i was sure a very wet hull... but i didnt no at this point... so i began pulling out the spaggetti and marking everything... theres a pic of unused wire that i pulled out and the previous owner did not know why the instruments didnt work...ha cuz someone clipped it all... and the wiring that was there was house hold wiring and conduit carelessly layn in the storage locker and through the cap and half assed wired... wow some people should just not mess with this stuff...

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

ok so now the fun part... fiberglass caught in the corner of my eyes, my hair dusted white, my skin itchy like i jumped into a mosquito nest and my a scratchy throat... its all been well worth it and very rewarding... armed with my sharpie, circular saw, jigsaw and an angle grinder with a small saw blade attachment, i layed out my cuts and got to it. then ripping up the rotting deck followed by tearing out the water logged foam... :redface: much more work than i thought but like i said its costing me nothing and im enjoying every bit of it...

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

more pics... one with me in it taking a break... oh so itchy... and the back pain... but i got my whiskey for some liquid courage and a some what supportive fiance that is proud of me.... also a pic of the rotten floor (bottom side) so you can really see that maybe this boat sank? ha doesnt matter now but i think i probably just saved some peoples lives or at least saved them from a long swim home (by getting this boat) also the live wells, i got them out pretty well in very few peices.. i will not be re useing any of the sh*t i gutted from this boat.... also i cut out the console. there was rotting wood in it and ill just make a new one, no sence in doing half assed work... do it right and do it once...ripping up the floor was a bit tricky but thanks to IBOATS and the wonderful people on this forum whom have endless knowlege and the curtousy to share ive become well educated... also refferencing the fiberglass boat maintenance and repair manual published free online by "West System Brand Epoxy" WestSystems.com on the right side there is a section "projects" and in that "boat repair" and "boat building" with endless amounts of free knowledge... not to advertise but i figured that knowledge will be good for people... good pics in their manuals also... well the deck was a bit tricky cuz the deck was glassed to the walls called tabbing... i cut that carfully and a bit of encouragement from a crow bar and out it came

Thanks IBOATS memebers for your shared knowledge and thanks IBOATS for giving us this this Forum to share... it really is appreciated!

 

[86RajunCajun]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

Looks like your doing pretty much the same thing i plan to do with my boat. Cut all the interior garbage out of the top cap to allow for a nice open workable fishing area and passenger seating for comfort.

The only problem i can see is is how are we gonna make a solid helm for our steering and instruments etc and how are we gonna finish out the areas we removed the fiberglass structure from. Most likely gonna be needing to mold and glass in structure that we like.

Good luck with your project man..

RC

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

more pics and more progress, its a nice thing to see because what i revealed sure was not so nice.... :redface: a little added caption to the foam picture... Jenga anyone? haha pics of the rotting stringers... theyll be replaced.. the crossmenmbers... theyll go to and what you cant see in the pic... some very sloppy lay ups... that will go to. no room for sloppy in my boat... also i could not believe 1) how dirty everything was in under the deck 2) that this boat was still able to float (foam was probably 200lbs all together cuz of water logging) and 3) the amount of sh*t i found in the boat behind the walls and under the floor, fishing parts, two steering cables that had just been cuz, a big *** fishing ?reel? (looked like something they might use to hook the fish to the boat while getting ready to put a cap in its *** or something) haha wow sorry guys for rambling but i dont really have anyone to talk to about this, my girl doesnt care really and i dont have friends here do to the area i live in .... uhg who needs em when you got projects like this and beer

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

ok so whats next... i HAVE to get this motor off... i opted out to not remove the cap... its got its ups and downs... but i was gonna use a rated come-a-long to pull the motor and secure the comalong to a sturdy beam in the car port any idea how much the eyelet is that goes through the ring gear? i was thinking of using some heavy duty straps and wrap the sh*t out of the motor... we use them in aviation to pick crashed planes up off the runway.... and ... tom i plan on building a motor stand that i found on the forum with plans kindly supplied by "dh4winn79" (i thought he deserved the recognition) (especially if he sees his stand in my pics)

so then i saw on another post someone cut the back cap off to access the transom so if you look back to the pics i was gonna just cut the back off and pull it off so i can get to the transom and the stringers that run back there... like i said... doin it all right and once... when the time comes i can replace the cap and glass it back in.... i was gonna use some "tie down straps" to wrap around the hull and cap in other areas maybe two total to support the boat and offer a bit more tability while im rollin around in there.... any thoughts on anything id be happy to get yalls feedback... oh and on another post i also saw someone commenting on the fact of rebuilding a boat... my two pennies... I LOVE IT, Im doing it for me, it is very rewarding... and well worth the time and pain... i have rebuilt many aircrafts, cars and motorcycles... it was time to experience something new... ironicly my father whom i hope is reading use to be a marine technitian and work in a boat yard for many years.... and even though i know he thinks im whack for taking on a project like this when im completly broke... i know your proud pop... and eh FATHER LIKE SON.... haha

thanks for looking... more soon

 

[bkwapisz]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

That boat will be 100x better when you get it done I'll bet.

I'm following your thread. Keep up the good work!

Brian.

 

[prolinews]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

I rebuilt that same boat awhile back not as extensively. Mine was a real pos too. The best part about it the foam in the hull was not glued poured etc. I wished that I would have cut mine up because the stock layout sucked I did fab a seat pad by the rod box the buddy seat thing was a little weird . That is a pretty fast hull design I had a hydraulic jack plate a warmed up 3cyl pro 50 yamaha and it would scream. I wish you the best of luck with it .

 

[ezmobee]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

i was gonna use a rated come-a-long to pull the motor and secure the comalong to a sturdy beam in the car port

That's what I did. You can see mine hanging here http://i176.photobucket.com/albums/w200/ezmobee/New Boat/DSCF2257.jpg

Your progress is looking good. Good luck with it!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

Wow a Procraft..... short story....
in 1994 I was fishing out of a PC bass boat in a huge storm actually a hurricane was coming (we had no business being on the water)..... my friend drove the PC at WOT and we were slamming the waves headed to the ramp. He yelled (it was noisy) that the boat "felt funny" like a wet noodle.... we made the ramp .... I jumped and got the truck and backed in the bunk trailer... When he pulled up onto the trailer I went to hook the bow hook OH THE HORROR!!!!! The keel of the boat was split!!! I was able to put my fingers and most of my hand into the hull. We had split the hull from stem to stern!

Procraft replaced the boat at no charge and we traded it the next week on a Ranger.

Another fried had a jackplate on his Procraft...... Lost the motor and a huge chunk of transom into Lake Champlain.... boat was 1 year old and he took Procraft to court and won.

I am glad you are re-building..... do an extra good job on the keel and stringers. I still do not have trust in the construction and get nervous when I see them pounding down the lake.

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

Thanks for the support and entertaining stories guys... after my job search or harassing calls to companies telling them to hire me, ill start building the motor stand... and hopefully continue on.

Ryan

 

[BitterSweet]

Re: 78 ProCraft 1700 turns to RyanCraft

Not much progress today but eh, thats ok I have been enjoying myself. I finally got an interview....tommorow :redface: I dont really understand the work world around here. when i lived in Jersey employers would bid on me to make me come their work for them, here ha... Is it because I have an education? Seriously do I have to be a poorly educated hick or not have a green card to get a job around here.... whatever... now that thats out of the way... my progress

well I utilized another gentlemans plans for the mobile transom and added my own few dimentions and touches and built it for under $10 and in about 3 hours. Home Depot has a section of scrap wood that they sell 4 ft peices of 2x4s, 2x6s, 2x8, trim and other peices for under a buc or real close to it... so yea thanks HD... i did not get the casters yet nor drill the transom holes. I figure i will lower the motor on my mobile transom then drill them and go from there. I will also probably spray the mobile transom with some can paint so that when i degrease the motor down the road the cleaning solvents and other debris will not decay the wood.... well at any rate enjoy the pics.

lots of diff views for your pleasure.. hope it helps someone