lakeorbay
Petty Officer 2nd Class
- Joined
- Apr 15, 2009
- Messages
- 180
First of all, Hello everyone. Yes I'm a newb. So many questions, so little time. This is going to take awhile, so hang on.
I'm a 43yr old dad from San Francisco, CA. I'm a long time fisherman, but semi new to boating. Trying to get my 2 young boys out fishing and camping from a boat. I have a 12'er that's too small for my vision, so I decided to (what I thought was) upgrade. Lord what did I get in to?!
Those aluminum boats with the walkthrough windshield is perfect for what I do. That type of boat is abundant back east, but not here. Even if I found a deal back east, it would cost me a few grand to get it to the west coast. I found a 17' '87 Lund Tyee 5.3 w/ no motor. I figured 'perfect, a project boat'. I was thinking a little interior fix up and drop a brand new motor on it for dependabilty and BAM, good to go. Well i just found out it leaks.....BAD! I didn't want that much of a project.
I gambled on this purchase because the price was right and like I said, a rare find around here.
This is what (I think) I know about the boat. It was sitting in water for awhile, how long, I don't know. I dipped it in the water for the 1st time today. Let it sit for about 15min. Look through the port hole in the back....nothing. I'm like, YES. That changed to a NOOOO, when I pulled the plug out on the ramp. Lots of water, I'd say about 2-3gal. (in 15 min.). Drain it, dip it again, same result. It pours out for a good 30 sec. With that much, I was expecting to see a gaping hole I missed. Just dents and dings, nothing obvious.
Before I go any further with this boat I need to know some things, that aren't so easy to find. When I bought the boat I tried to research the anatomy of a small alminum boat to see how it's constructed. Lund service dept, not much help (maybe they won't return my calls because I'm not a dealer). Didn't find out much on my own either. Found this forum and read A LOT of post. Instantly started laughing like a mad man from the realiztion that my rare little treasure find is now a common nightmare.
So, I read about Gulvit, replacing all the rivets and mig welding. Many qestions here.....
1) Should I abandon ship NOW and re-sell? (with full disclosure).
2)If I do one of the fix choices, how much $ am I talking? (ballpark)
3)If I do fix, which fix is the best, most practicle and long lasting? (that was 3
4) Only 1 post I found mentioned 'Life Caulk'. Anybody else have an opinion on the stuff?
5)Boat is foam filled. If it's water logged, is it in my best interest to tear apart and re-do under-floor anyway?
6)Is this project just too big and costly.
7)Most importantly, does anyone know of a book/website that has diagrams or photos of small aluminum boat (for lack of a better word) anatomy.
The leak has been narrowed down to a bad spot. It's between Mid to front of the boat, which is the hardest to reach, because it's under so much.
I have lots of tools (not much money) and mechanical know-how, but don't know how to properly de-consrtuct my boat without doing too much damage.
Going to take the gas tank out and fill the middle channel with water tommorrow.
I'm not that attached to the boat yet, but if I do fix it, it should get me through a few years until I'm ready to upgrade.
If anyone stuck through this entire post, I apologize to you for the overload. I got limited time to make something happen. Thanks everyone.
......my head is spinning
I'm a 43yr old dad from San Francisco, CA. I'm a long time fisherman, but semi new to boating. Trying to get my 2 young boys out fishing and camping from a boat. I have a 12'er that's too small for my vision, so I decided to (what I thought was) upgrade. Lord what did I get in to?!
Those aluminum boats with the walkthrough windshield is perfect for what I do. That type of boat is abundant back east, but not here. Even if I found a deal back east, it would cost me a few grand to get it to the west coast. I found a 17' '87 Lund Tyee 5.3 w/ no motor. I figured 'perfect, a project boat'. I was thinking a little interior fix up and drop a brand new motor on it for dependabilty and BAM, good to go. Well i just found out it leaks.....BAD! I didn't want that much of a project.
I gambled on this purchase because the price was right and like I said, a rare find around here.
This is what (I think) I know about the boat. It was sitting in water for awhile, how long, I don't know. I dipped it in the water for the 1st time today. Let it sit for about 15min. Look through the port hole in the back....nothing. I'm like, YES. That changed to a NOOOO, when I pulled the plug out on the ramp. Lots of water, I'd say about 2-3gal. (in 15 min.). Drain it, dip it again, same result. It pours out for a good 30 sec. With that much, I was expecting to see a gaping hole I missed. Just dents and dings, nothing obvious.
Before I go any further with this boat I need to know some things, that aren't so easy to find. When I bought the boat I tried to research the anatomy of a small alminum boat to see how it's constructed. Lund service dept, not much help (maybe they won't return my calls because I'm not a dealer). Didn't find out much on my own either. Found this forum and read A LOT of post. Instantly started laughing like a mad man from the realiztion that my rare little treasure find is now a common nightmare.
So, I read about Gulvit, replacing all the rivets and mig welding. Many qestions here.....
1) Should I abandon ship NOW and re-sell? (with full disclosure).
2)If I do one of the fix choices, how much $ am I talking? (ballpark)
3)If I do fix, which fix is the best, most practicle and long lasting? (that was 3
4) Only 1 post I found mentioned 'Life Caulk'. Anybody else have an opinion on the stuff?
5)Boat is foam filled. If it's water logged, is it in my best interest to tear apart and re-do under-floor anyway?
6)Is this project just too big and costly.
7)Most importantly, does anyone know of a book/website that has diagrams or photos of small aluminum boat (for lack of a better word) anatomy.
The leak has been narrowed down to a bad spot. It's between Mid to front of the boat, which is the hardest to reach, because it's under so much.
I have lots of tools (not much money) and mechanical know-how, but don't know how to properly de-consrtuct my boat without doing too much damage.
Going to take the gas tank out and fill the middle channel with water tommorrow.
I'm not that attached to the boat yet, but if I do fix it, it should get me through a few years until I'm ready to upgrade.
If anyone stuck through this entire post, I apologize to you for the overload. I got limited time to make something happen. Thanks everyone.
......my head is spinning
