'79 Venture Bass Boat - Complete Restoration

[dillonheath08]

Glad to have ya!

Once I got the stringer and flotation foam cut out, I got in the boat and swept it out. I won't get to work on it much tomorrow but I am hoping to finish up my YouTube video in the morning before work. Wednesday I will be off work all day so I plan on getting out there early and finishing up the transom removal. After that I plan on chiseling out the rest of the stringers stuck in the channel in the bottom of the hull.

 

[Rickmerrill]

I have two holes in my boat, went thru a phase where I was trying to upload a URL and I live just North of you outside of Memphis. Coincidence? I don't think so! Before you know it the demo phase will be just a bad memory. I assume you know the hull can move on you when you start rebuilding so you need to brace it so you can get the cap back on when the time comes.

 

[dillonheath08]

Nice to know I have distant neighbors on the forum! The only concern I have with the hull moving is when I replace two flotation foam boxes on the left and right of the stern. They'll need to be tabbed in and then have fiberglass laid over the top of them. I'm afraid once they're glasses in I might be out of whack on my alignment and won't be able to pop it back in place

 

[Rickmerrill]

Yeah, if we both lived on Arkansas I think we'd be related. Just as long as you are aware of the potential problem you should be good. At least you don't have a bunch of freeboard on the gunnels magnifying the problem. A nylon strap or a length of all thread near the stern would keep them where they're suppose to be if needed.

 

[GT1000000]

Hi Dillon,
Welcome to the madness we call boat restoration...
Glad to see you have decided to bring back this old bass boat to better than new condition...
Love to tag along and help out when I can...
And, yep, no worries on the little slice in the hull...if you get a chance to read my novel, you'll see I strategically placed several high speed water inlets on my hull during the demo phase...
Definitely be sure to support the hull before tearing out all the support or it will become flimsy and lose its shape...hopefully you have taken lots of measurements prior to removing the cap...if not, even though it would be a bit of a pain, you might consider setting the cap back on, adding the required support, then finish gutting the hull...
Best of luck and have fun!
GT1M

 

[dillonheath08]

Welcome aboard GT1M!

I have a whole list of measurements as far as the stringers and deck go. But I didn't get one of the hull. Had my brain focused on the demo. The hull seems to be holding shape pretty well. The sides were not supported by anything other than those two boxes with the flotation foam. The hull didn't flex very much as the cap was removed. If needed I will measure the inside of the cap so that I stay inline with that measurement on the hull.

 

[dillonheath08]

We had an unexpected storm pass through last night and I try to keep the boat covered up but I failed to last night. I know there's not really a point in covering up until I have new wood and fiberglass in it but when it's wet it just makes for a soggy working environment. I had thought about building me a framework out of 1" PVC pipe and draping a tarp over that as both a shelter for the boat and a structure for me to work under. It would need to be 20' long x 6" wide and 8" tall... at best guess. It would be nice to have a way to lower it down flush with the boat so rain doesn't blow underneath it. Just a thought.

 

[greenbush future]

Mice looking project you have here, I can see you are motivated to do this project, and it is a project to re-do all that is rotten. You came to the right spot, other here will guide you through the entire process, all you need is a big wallet and lots of time and effort. You will end up with a nice safe, usable boat. The cost to replace all that is bad, might give you some sticker shock, fiberglass supplies are not cheap. But I still think it's worth the effort, if you enjoy boating.

 

[Woodonglass]

You can buy old Bill board signs that are Really large and heavy vinyl cheaper than HF Tarps. They make nice covers for your boat.

 

[dillonheath08]

I'm not sure where I would buy any billboards around here. I am in a tiny little town out in the middle of nowhere. I might be able to get some outdated road signs from my dad since he is a supervisor for the Department of Transportation. I priced a 20' x 30' tarp at Home Depot and I nearly fell down. $65 for a tarp. I couldn't believe it. But if ya gotta have it ya gotta have it. I am really hoping I can talk my brother into using his shop. He used it as a paint and body shop. He has it set up with a fan the suck the fumes and dust out. That would really come in handy with laying the fiberglass and with all of the dust from grinding the hull. I could rig me up a make shift work bench for mixing and have a couple of rollers for my two rolls of fiberglass material. He doesn't use it anymore so maybe he can be persuaded.

Money is always a major factor in anything we do in this life and this restoration is no exception. I am engaged and a college sophomore who commutes. I have a part time job here locally. Paying for the boat restoration is high on my list and I will spare no expenses to do it right but I have to live my life and I gotta leave myself some money to do that.

I have gone ahead and priced all of my fiberglass materials.

- 25 yards of 1.5 oz CSM = $72.50

- 10 lbs. of 1/4" Chopped Strand Fibers = $26.00

- 10 gallons of 435 Polyester Resin = $250.00 (I am sure I will need more but this is just to get me started)

- 4 lbs. of Cab -O- Sil = $22.50

- 16 lb. kit of 2 Part Foam = $67.00

- 15 yards of DBM Biaxial 1708 = $96.00
------------------------------------------------------------
$534.00 (Before Shipping & Taxes)

I will probably touch the $700 mark just on the fiberglass. I have also compiled another list of various things needed during restoration. Latex gloves, mixing cups, rollers, etc.. But I won't bore y'all with that.

 

[sphelps]

Sounds like a good start on the supplies ..Your brothers shop sounds perfect ! Hopefully you can talk him into it . If not some shade would be nice . Maybe you could spring for one of those 10x20 metal pole type car shelters . No Harbor Freight near by ?

 

[dillonheath08]

I'll of course need need carpet to redo the interior. A new windshield. New gauges. All of the cosmetics will come later on once I've redone the gel coat and have it the color I want it. I have decided since it's be stripped of all of the inner workings I might as well bring new life to the outside while I am at it. The outboard will be painted Matte Black with a chrome prop. The boat will either be black and red or silver and red. No Harbor Freights anywhere near me. The best I can go is a Home Depot or Lowe's.

 

[Rickmerrill]

As long as you can keep the rain off of newly laid glass you can get by but I hope you get the shop! Just know that when you start grinding it will go everywhere. Like blowing a bunch of baby powder thru a fan everywhere and it's hard to clean up. If it's setup so you can just hose it out that would be perfect. Also make sure the exhaust fan can take take that much fiberglass dust, it's abrasive as heck and can destroy fan motors - you don't want to end up owing your brother a new exhaust fan. Full tyvek suits really help keep the itch away but it will be extremely hot in them with MS summer temps. Pace yourself, drink lots of water and try to hit it early in the day or late at night.

 

[dillonheath08]

I've for the stern angled down hill just for rinsing it out. I've looked into those suits but like you said its way too hot to use them even with my boat under a tree that gives plenty of shade. I've already ground maybe 50% of the the boat. If for some reason my brother doesn't let me use the shop I'm just gonna get a boat shaped cover for it and tarp it every night

 

[dillonheath08]

Made some good progress on the boat this afternoon. I got out there and started grinding and cutting around 12:00 and put in about 5 hours worth of work. I got all of the glass cut off off the transom. I then went in and got my chisels and started chiseling out the old rotten wood. It's coming out in fairly large chunks. The best I can tell its sheets of 1/4" ply glued and stapled together. I have come across 3 layers of glue while chiseling.

Before the chiseling:





After I quit chiseling:



I got to the hull one the left and right side of the transom and I am over halfway there in the middle. I had to pack up because some dark clouds rolled in and I didn't want to be caught in the rain with all of my tools getting soaked. Should have the entire transom out tomorrow.

 

[Woodonglass]

TIP: Set your Circular saw to a depth about 1/16" less than the thickness of the wood. Then start cutting a series of kerfs into the wood both vertical and horizontal about 2" squares. You'll be amazed at how much easier it will make chiseling out the wood.:joyous:

 

[83mulligan]

Progress looks great. Keep up the good work.

 

[dillonheath08]

Woodonglass, I am definitely gonna try that trick. It's coming out pretty easy but if it can be done faster I am all for it.

Work on the boat is another stand still. Been raining all night and into this afternoon. Really hoping my brother is feeling generous when it comes down to doing the new wood and glass. After yesterday my work on the boat will be slow. I am starting back full time at work. We had a guy retire and I am taking over his hours. I'll be working 5-1/2 days a week so it will be slow going but the added money will help with marking some items off of my materials list.

I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to get this pump out of my boat. I have decided to get all new bilge and live well pumps for the restoration and this one refuses to be removed. I have taken my Dremel and cut all around it in hopes to pry it out but with no luck.

 

[Mikeopsycho]

The pump itself might be a separate piece from the base, and be removable by pinching the release spots or by turning the pump. If so, the base is likely mounted with screws to the bottom of the bilge. The couple pumps I have dealt with were set up this way. Good luck.

 

[dillonheath08]

Thanks Mike I will see if that's the case when I get off work. I will need to replace the intakes since they have become brittle over the years.

I have managed to finish my walk around video for YouTube. It's a little rough since it was shot on my phone. It shows more of the cap than some of the pictures I have posted. Those on the forum will know most of the story but I added it so I can keep a sort of video record. So just ignore the rambling lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO5NhqHp1Gs&list=UUhb2XcXoHfgNc2Lp2KT0lDg&index=1