Boat I bought to restore

[robthompson66]

This is a picture of the 1989 Larson Contempra 30' cruiser I bought at auction
and of course, the drives as well as a few other things are missing. The engines are trashed, both are locked up. The first order of business is to get the boat cleaned up and the engines out and disassembled. The boat looked much better outside than it does inside. One I got it inside my shop reality set in and I started to realize that this is a big project.

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Looks pretty good! How deceiving

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Shot of the back

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When reality really started to sink in. The boat looks really rough here

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Poor Chevy, I had hope of saving her until I got to this point

 

[5speedhemi]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Thats a huge project! I thought I had it bad with mine!

5 speed

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

I started to get it cleaned and taken apart, the engines are also out and apart. They are bad, one can be rebuilt but the other one has a hole through the cylinder and can't be repaired.
My brother helped clean the engine compartment and the cockpit, it actually looks pretty good. This boat sat for 3 years without the canvas enclosure in place so it was covered with dirt from the lot and rain and snow which formed a thick mud on everything.
That hull liner on the ceiling is pretty nasty, so I think I will replace it with new stuff. I want to change the color to sand instead of grey anyways.

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I started to take the starboard engine apart in the bilge but once I got to this point I gave up and just used my forklift to pull them both out. To make matters worse the guy I bought the boat from poured about 3 quarts of atf down the intake trying to free the piston rings, so of course that ended up all over me!

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Bilge nice and clean thanks to my brother!

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Already tore into the cabin!

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Nice mold and mildew

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Brother cleaned the cockpit too, and it doesn't look half bad!

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Wow..huge project!

If it sat uncovered I have to question the integrity of the deck, stringers & transom..Any soft spots from water damage?

 

[jonesg]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

2 biggest problems with Larson is whether it had a balsa cored hull.
and did they use non marine untinned house wiring.

They've had problems with both issues in the past. But its fixable.

My neighbor had a 28' Larson, it sank last week due to him being lazy fixing the stuffing boxes and bilge pumps, so its a gonner now.(salt water).
I thought it was a nice ride but some guys shouldn't own boats.

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

jonesg, you sound very knowledgeable, I hope I will hear from you more regarding my larson.
Thankfully mine doesn't have a balsa cored hull, and yes it does have untinned wiring, but the cabin wiring looks good, and shiny, but the gauge wiring along with the lighting is gone. I've already bought new tinned marine wire to do the job.

Amazingly the boat has no soft spots. I got all the documentation on the boat from guy that I bought it from. The last owner bought in in 2000 and abandoned it in 2004 or 05 and just didn't take very good care of it. He paid $29000 in 2000 and I paid $1000 in 2007 (Sept.) I was always docked at the same yacht club and from what I am told, it was taken care of until this guy bought it.

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

I am new to adding pictures this way, so I'll give it a shot. Hopefully they show up!

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I am replacing the hull liner fuzz fabric in the storage areas and the aft cabins as well as the mattress bases with mildew resistant vinyl so it can be wiped down easily.

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some of the cushions are gone too, and the aft seating over the engine compartments is missing. I'll have to build new.

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[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Those are some pictures of the cabin and interior panels, countertops and parts. They are going to all be redoone!

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Here are some more pictures of my progress, this first one is another shot of the gutted cabin parts

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This is the cabin i'm trying to get rid of. I'm not much for the mirrors and burghundy velour! When I'm done, this boat is going to look a little more updated.

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Some of the cabin parts just laminated and about to be trimmed

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More good progress, got the bellhousings off the boat and ready to rebuild.

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Here's a shot of one of the bellhousings, just before disassembly.

 

[jonesg]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

jonesg, you sound very knowledgeable, I hope I will hear from you more regarding my larson.
Thankfully mine doesn't have a balsa cored hull, and yes it does have untinned wiring, but the cabin wiring looks good, and shiny, but the gauge wiring along with the lighting is gone. I've already bought new tinned marine wire to do the job.

Amazingly the boat has no soft spots. I got all the documentation on the boat from guy that I bought it from. The last owner bought in in 2000 and abandoned it in 2004 or 05 and just didn't take very good care of it. He paid $29000 in 2000 and I paid $1000 in 2007 (Sept.) I was always docked at the same yacht club and from what I am told, it was taken care of until this guy bought it.

Wow it dropped $28K due to one owners abuse.
Theres a very good larson owners website, you can get pertinent info from those guys, they helped us with my neighbors boat.
You probably know, Genmar went under, Larson was part of that group so they might be gone too.

Many new larson weren't happy but the aftermkt owners seem very happy, its almost a cult following now.

 

[timfives]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Awesome project. I do wish i had the space you do for my restore. i find it amazing how hard it is to rent space to refit a boat, but i digress.

Awesome project. Makes mine seem small and simple. I'll be following your progress! Best of luck.

Tim

 

[5speedhemi]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

I can't even imagine a project like yours! Good luck to you!

5 speed

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

You sound like you are capable of the restore so i'd say you made a good buy
Now all you need is a lot of time & MONEY
Good luck & keep us posted

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Thanks for the well wishes and info everybody, I like the larson because of the nice fiberglass work inside the bilge and areas like that. The boat is assembled in 3 main pieces, the hull, inner liner, and top cap and its nice how everything is sealed and easy to wipe off.
Yeah, Genmar declared bankruptcy last summer. I hope they get themselves sorted out and come back in shape, they have a nice group of products.

I will have some more pictures to post tomorrw!
Thanks!
Rob

 

[sprintst]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Way to go right after it...

I'd love to have the space and really take the time to enjoy the restore. I'd crush a lot of beer cans and enjoy some tunes during that restore

 

[Boat Show addict]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Thanks for putting this project up for all of us to live vicariously through you. Just last week I found a Larson in a boat yard near my house and it has been sitting for quite some time. The owner tried to get me in touch with the owner of the Larson so he could possibly get it off his property. I cant afford anything like that right now so I didn't have him call anyone on my behalf. Maybe next year..
Keep the pictures coming

 

[robthompson66]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Hey everybody, I have some more progress and a few photos of it. At this point, I've gotten the boat cleaned well, all the gutting done and more cleaning. I got the new hull liner installed on the cabin ceiling, as well as some vinyl in areas that I don't want that fuzz in places where it will get dirty again.

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A shot forward in the cabin towards the v-berth

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A shot facing aft in the cabin, there used to be a mirror where the green fiberglass area is, but I am going to finish it in the oiled cherry color laminate that I am finishing the rest of the interior with.

When built the boat cabin was outfitted at the factory, it was done with mirror finish white laminate with burghundy velour.

Here's a shot at the cabin interior parts laminated in the oiled cherry. The openings are trimmed in solid mahagony instead of the rubber t-moulding Larson used

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[Boat Show addict]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

Hey Rob I noticed something in one of your pics that I don't know what it is or where it goes. Theres a pic of the cockpit area facing forward, in the lower right of the pic is a battery, in the center right is a fire extinguisher. What is the fire extinguisher sitting on? What its sitting on looks like it has a sliding glass window, is there a sleeping area below this glass or is it ventilation air to the engine compartment? Thanks for the pics.. I hope to one day have a boat of this size.

 

[betayv]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

hi there nice boat and good project, how the outdrive bell housing looks like, check with raul at rapido marine for a engine to see what price you can get, I will recomend you for the outdrives go with sterndrive you will save a lot of money and they have a great product.

 

[5speedhemi]

Re: Boat I bought to restore

I'll tell you that I am still in Awe everytime I look into your project progress... You are my mentor!

5 speed