Anyone ever hear of a ...

[1sttimeowner]

Anyone ever hear of a boat called SeaKing!?!I've picked one up recently.It's a 1968 SeaKing 14' fiberglass

 

[Laddies]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

It's a Monkee Wards boat

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

yeah i had one... it was awesome... it took forever to plane out, but it was a fun little boat... a great boat to learn the ways of boating... but very easily out grown...
i did a lot of work on mine, so if you need help, i know some stuff... heres a pic of my old sea king...

 

[1sttimeowner]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

What year was yours?Mine is a 1968.Did you have to repl.your floor &/or stringers?What about flotation foam,should it be used?Thanks for the reply.

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

mine was i believe a little older than yours... do they look the same?

i dont believe the boat had stringers.. i think it had a thick fiberglass floor that was carpeted over, and then it jsut had two bench seats that went across for the seats...if i could have put foam in it i would have... i had no place to put it so i just had two bildges both w/auto start floats... i only took water over the back once, and since there is no splash guard i got pretty scared... so needless to say, after that incedent i put another pump in...

i would always recomend foam, and if the stringers are bad ( which is very common in older boats that sit outside) there is a good chance you will have to redo the whole floor/stringers... but atleast its a fairly open boat on the inside, so it shouldnt be too back breaking... but its gonna suck...

p.s. i think i remember my boat being a little older, i think i was told that it was one of the first fiberglass boats that montgomery wards made... very thick hull. very sturdy boat...

let me know if you have any more questions...

later
zuke

p.s. i work nights, so i check this forum every so often all night...

later

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

o, and another thing, you might notice that the window seems newer, i guess the old single piece window glass got cracked and the original owner didnt know how to replace it, so he just bought that 3 pc window from a junk yard... so the window might make it look newer than it was... and there was definately no stringers in the floor, but i have had to replace them in another boat i had, so let me know if you need advise...

later

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

zuke1, great boat. did the spare tire rack act as a tongue jack. looks like it swivels down.

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

yeah it worked as a jack... but it would do any good on a bigger boat... when i had it, it was difficult to manuever and had it of been any heavier, i dont think i could hooked it up by myself...

it was a great little boat, and i learned a lot about boating from driving it...

for instance... look at the bow cradle and how the safety strap is far to high to be any use in a quick stop... i know this now.8)

boat did about 20mph with a 30hp outboard. but you had to have all the weight in the front as the motor would not trim far enough in to power the hull down to plane out...

 

[1sttimeowner]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

zuke1,when I picked it up it had a 35hp.SeaKing o/b and two 5gal. gas tanks.I removed all of that since the motor needs some work,also the lakes where I live in so.cal. do not allow the use of gas engines.So I am looking for an elec.trolling motor.Any recomendations on thrust lbs.I should use,or which is better,motor guide or minnkota?

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

definately minn kota for your needs... a much sturdier peice of machinery, and you want to go 55lbs thrust... this is the most you can go before going 24v...

also make sure you use good marine grade sealant to plug the transom mount holes from where the old motor was...

you can check out the specs on minn kota transom mount trolling motors here
http://www.iboats.com/mall/?view_id=52220&cart_id=929761727&session_id=389852930

not a whole lot of good pics here but youll get the idea, and just use the manufacturers specs for shaft leangth ( but youd probably do good w / 36" shaft )


and i say go with minn kota for their new cool quiet running motor system, as well as their new pulse system that allows for longer usage.

i personally have a minn kota bow mount 55lbs auto pilot... it is the best trolling motor i have ever had...

but if your budget allows, you can allways get one of those electric motors, but i have now experiance, good or bad with those...

and i think you can buy a good minn kota trolling motor at walmart, i dont support the walmart, but you cant beat a good open box deal!

another thing you might want to get is a cheap fish finder, sportsmans usually has em on sale, and i think there is a few here that will do... you want one that has a shallow water alarm ( most of em do ) but thats all you need it for, dont spend more than 50$... and that will meet all your needs im sure of it...

and if you are going to be using a trolling motor, you definately want two batteries, and a small batter life meter, they can be a great tool, they tell you how much life is left in the battery, and they only cost 10$... and you also want a good battery charger, ( and dont forget to check your water levels often)

well as you can see, once again i am bored at work, so ill stop before i bore you...

cant wait to see the pics of your project...

let me know if you have anymore questions..

p.s. sorry iboats for the competitor plugs...

 

[1sttimeowner]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

I was also tinkering on the idea of putting a casting deck up front.The way of doing it I was thinking of cutting out the cap of the bow.Add some stringers,glass those in place and lay down some p/t plywood,caulk around the edges,glass that in.The cap up front seems to be brittle,thats why I was thinking about doing this.Or would it make the boat unstable while on the deck.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

Those are cool boats. No fun like cruising in a runabout.

!sttimeowner, PLEASE do not cut up the boat to make it a fishing boat. There are lots of fishing boats available cheap. Keep this one original so someone else can enjoy it when you are ready to let it go or hand it down.

Mark

 

[zuke1]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

i sort of agree with mark42... if you want a bass boat, get a bass boat...

but i dont really have any reservations towards jimmi rigging a boat to meet your needs...

it sure sounds like a lot of work though... and if the cap seems brittle, and by doing this it would better suit your needs... then by all means.. go ahead...

some advice.. when you start cutting, you might want to consider leaving it on the trailer so that the bow/whole boat, doesnt warp out of shape... when i cut the front of my old trihull it was difficult to put the lid back on because the hull changed shape because there was no support to keep it in place...

do you have any experiance with this kind of stuff???
it does take a while, and a adjustable depth circular saw can be your best friend....

let me know if you need any help, ill keep looking to see if you post anything new...

later
zuke

 

[Saskatoon2005]

Re: Anyone ever hear of a ...

Please, Please, Please post pictures of your boat while you are working on it. I have an old 14' fiberglass boat that I am planning to cut out the bow cover to put in a casting deck and would love to see how you do it. It is still winter here in Canada or else I would do it first so you could see my results...LOL!