american 18 owners read please

[BobbyPantera]

Ok, Ive decided on a boat project.

I want a late 70's american 18.

What should I be looking for?????

I know that whatever I find, to at least expect the floors, stringers, and transom to need repair/replacement

What materials, will I need to do this, quantity???

I plan on using quaility marine grade plywood, fiberglassing the decking to prevent future rot (as this will be used and a fish and ski boat), and adding bouyancy foam, reinforcing the transom

how do I go about a project like this??

It will be my first

and ANY HELP will be greatly appreciated

also, does anyone see a problem with potentially running a 140 johnson/evinrude???

 

[SpinnerBait_Nut]

Re: american 18 owners read please

Boat restoration and building forum.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: american 18 owners read please

well, first you need to find a hull that was rated for the 140. if not it will be overpowered, with can cause all kinds of legal problems, from a minor incident, lawyers love to sue on over powered boats. the water police can red tag the boat as unsafe.
the quanity of material can vary, as to how much work the boat really needs. the cost depends on how many coats of resin and glass you use, and how wasteful you are with over mixing for a project.

keep the projects small enough, that you can see the progress being made, or you will get discouraged.

 

[Chinewalker]

Re: american 18 owners read please

Hello Bobby,
I JUST finished rebuilding a 1976 American 18 and can HIGHLY recommend one as a worthy project. The hulls are well designed and handle moderate chop and boat wakes without any problem at all. They actually have a bit of offshore racing pedigree in the hull design, coming from noted designer Waltman B. Walters' drafting board.
I have initially powered my 18 with a 90hp V4, but I have a 140 in the works. These hulls handle the power very well and will really fly. They were originally rated for 150, which covered the V6s of the era, so the 140 V4 shouldn't be a problem at all.
You will definitely need to replace the transom, stringers and floor, unless the boat was absolutely babied and never left outdoors. The original structural construction simply wasn't made to last 30+ years. I used exterior grade plywood throughout, sealing with West System epoxy. I did not use any poly resin at all. I also modified the transom a bit, making it full thickness top to bottom/side to side. The original was only full thickness in the middle where the motor mounts. I also tied the keel to the transom to act as a knee, where the original keel ended about a foot short of the transom.
All told I used about six gallons of West System. You can see a full timeline of photos of my project at my Yahoo group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/StarcraftBoatRestorationGroup/
- Scott

 

[BobbyPantera]

Re: american 18 owners read please

thank you all for your information, have a basic idea on how I want to build everything now,

just in search of the boat now