Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

[waterlogged59]

Hey gang,

I got my hand on a vintage aluminum boat that I am having a hard time finding information on. I was told it was probably a 59 or 60 duracraft boat. It does have the name plate on it but no date. It handles a 50 horsepower motor and can handle 5 people. At least the plate states this. Can anyone help me out trying to find this dinosaour a history. I am in the middle of restoring it. WHat I have done so far is mainly motor issues. I have rebuilt the lower end, changed all hoses, Rebuilt the carburetor, rebuilt the electric start. Thats about it. Other than that its all original. I will try to attach pictures to this but if it doesnt work I will try later. Just need to major help. I do not want to sink alot of money in this if I cant find any information on it. Plus It has a 1961 Evinrude lark 3 40hp engine that with a GPS shows 15MpH. That seems alittle slow for this.. Is there something I am missing to fix..

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

you are correct it is a mid 50's Duracraft. fantastic boat, handle rough water extremely well for it's size. it is heavy for an aluminum boat that size. looks to be identical to the one i had, but you have the windshield. it should do atleat 25 with the 40 if not more. i tried a 50 on mine, and it was a power house. there is not a lot of info available, the the people currently, running Duracraft, were not interested in helping me find more info. here are several post of mine.
http://forums.iboats.com/Duracraft

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

there are a couple of brochures, at Fiberglassics.com

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

Thanks for the reply. I looked over your pictures for awhile and I fell in love with the bench seat and swivel seats up front. But you posted that it was to heavy in the stern. With the engine running mid 15 because there is something else wrong, I think if I were to do the same seating it would slow even more. I have a guy coming out next wednesday to work on the motor in the water this time instead of a trash can. The engine fires up and idles really well, just not all the power is used for some reason. He thinks theres something else. I went to a auto paint shop here in NC. and he does vintage cars and boats. HE adviced me to get airplane stripper and take off all the paint.. Sand it down and get it prepped for primer. Once I get there He was going to do it all for 1500. I want to paint the hull red or burnt orange wit the top being white and the stripe staying white also. My main concern is once i get the boat restored and ready. How am i going to get it registered and insured if I do not know anything about the boat. Also Is this investment worth the cost. I am 26 freshly out of college and dont want to sink alot of money into something that maybe down the road 10 years from now or less will not give me my return on Investment. you know what I am trying to say?

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

TD will probably be back in here soon to say these exact 2 things but I'll beat him to the punch. 1, you need to get the registration taken care of before you sink any money into this project. You are absolutely right that you could end up with a restored boat you can't use. 2, if the paint on your boat is solid, no isn't peeling anywhere, you shouldn't need to strip it. Just do a thorough sanding job.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

100% correct. you beat me to it. as i said the boat is heavy, for that size aluminum boat, built like a tank. almost 1/8 inch thick aluminum. you have some issue with the 40hp. most likely and easy repair. start a post in the Johnson/ Evinrude forum on the motor. i ended up building back to back seats for mine, and that solve my planing problem.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=235247&highlight=back+to+seats

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

This is going to be a obvious next question. But How do I go about registering the boat. The boat was given to me from my uncle which does scrap metal selling. He got it from a warehouse that was being torn down and thrown away. No one knows who was the original owner years ago. So basically would be a lost boat or salvage boat. If you are saying I could just paint over the current paint there. That would save me alot of money and time. I would just be afraid the new paint and clear coat would not stick or last long.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

where are you located, you did not put it in your profile. that has a lot to do with registering, titleing. if the current paint is not peeling. and good sanding, and cleaning, and paint. mine was painted with spray can paint. there also is the roll and tip method you use regular canned paint, such as rustoleum.

this is my current project, just finished. 14ft 1966 SportCraft Sportsman, painted with rustoleum. i built the seats.

 

[thefairlaneman]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

Very nice. I love the old aluminum boats. Built like tanks .Engine was real machinery.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

I would gladly take the engine off your hands. I am not sure what we will find wednesday when the guys tests it out again. I will get in touch with you on here once we find out if we need parts. It has been a challenge finding parts for it so far. Thanks for you help now and in the future. I will post pictures of the boat in the water soon.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

I am located in NC

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

Clean up that old E-rude and make it run. Clean fuel system, check/restore spark, new impeller, fresh LU oil, clean/adjust carbs. It'll do a lot more than your GPS says now.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

Hey gang. well the boat fired up just fine. but the mechanic didnt charge his tachmeter. so we had to wing it. he got in and noticed that the prop was to big for one thing. good thing it came with 3 extra props. I have to go through and see which one is the smallest. also he noticed the engine was firing on only one coil. so he thinks it something under the flywheel. i forgot what he said but i need to get my hands on new ones. other than that it FLOATS!! haha. one big thing he did notice though was that the engine has missouri registration stickers on it but the boat doesnt. so the engine is a aftermarket motor. didnt come with the boat. So do you think this will make the registration the boat and title more difficult.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

Shouldn't effect you. Just about all outboards and boats are seperate entities. I'd be surprised if a boat that old had the original motor on it.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

The problem I think I am going to run into. is that where I got the boat. My uncle does scrap metal buying and selling. and he went to do ao tear down job of a building and the guy that owns the building said he could have the boat for a 100 dollars. My uncle was going to restore it himself but didnt ahv the time. so he had it for about 4 years. i got it last year. I talked to the NC wildlife and i have to find a bill of sale since i got it from my uncle. maybe i just need to give him a dollar!!! plus they need to run the boat serial number too to find out if it has been registered.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

the serial number of the boat is stamped on the port side of the splash well on the duracraft. also if the plates are still on each side of the boat near the dash, is another place it is. on side has serial # the other has capacity.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

OK gang, I need some more help. I have completly stripped the boat down to just the hull and am ready to start painting. This is where I am stuck. I am wanting to pain the hull a bring Tennesse Vols Orange and the Deck Bright White. The paint that is already on the boat is primer paint so I will need to sand it alittle and get it ready to be primed one more time. Before I do Topcoats and finally Clearcoat. BUt I need to know what kind of paint to get. Also what Brand. I have been looking online and really havent got a good answer. Can someone please help me understand what type of paint i should you.

 

[Ezrider_92356]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

wow, that is one cool boat, id love to find one like that, let alone a free one!

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

HEy gang, I finally found some time to get to this project. I am posting new pictures of the work I have done the past few weeks. Like I said earlier this year I took all the parts off the boat and was ready to start painting. By the way I figured out why the motor wasnt running on all cylinders. There was a wire that was grounding itself in the motor. After I got the motor all wrapped up I took the boat out for it last test ride and it ran 28 with me in it and 26 with my wife with me!!!!!!! As you can see in the pictures I have primed it with Interlux Primekote. THis stuff is great!! It went on very easy and was a bad mess to clean up.

 

[waterlogged59]

Re: Can not figure the Age of the boat Restoration Project!!

OK...... Well I knew it was to go to be true and it surely was. I am a huge Tennessee Vols fan and I was going to paint this Boat Orange. Well all you salty dogs know that Marine boat only comes in certain common colors. Well I called Interlux paint and spoke with a Technician and he said you could tint the paint at your local Lowes. So I bought 2 $36.00 quarts of Interlux Brightside and took it to Lowes. Well they tinted it for me and it came out PINK!!!!! So I left both can with them and decided to put both cans in a big Galllon can and mix until it came out right. It took them 6 hours to get it and they still didnt. THey tried as much as they could but it wasnt close. I tried tonight to see what it would look like on the boat.. maybe it would look ok.. As you can see the paint can i am holding looks like A BIG GIANT PEACH COLOR. OR a orangesicle.... So I am untimately stuck with going with common Blue or a Red... It was to good to be true...!!!!