G'day mates .. rookie here

[maxum247]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Yep! He's determined to rebuild it!

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Ok guys, here's the pics .. go easy on me and the boat, please. LOL

 

[erikgreen]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

I've seen worse.

But, from the look of the deck, I can't hold out a lot of hope.

What you need to do, apart from cleaning out the debris and old pieces of the deck, is take a core sample at several locations of those stringers. Basically, you drill into them, through the fiberglass, into the wood beneath. Once you start getting wood shavings, look at them and check their color, see if they're wet. That tells you a lot. Any water is bad, black or dark brown color is bad.

Also, you can try pushing an ice pick or scratch awl into the stringers.. if the wood is rotted, the glass probably will puncture easily and you'll be able to push into the stringers.

Test the stringers in several places, near the top and bottom edges.

Likewise with the transom, paying attention to areas near holes, fittings, or along the bottom edge where transducers and speedo parts might be attached.

The outer hull looks ok, you just need to clean out and assess the inside.

Erik

PS/Edit: Looks like you have a trolling motor too.. set that somewhere inside for now. You'll need to re-attach the cables for the motor controls later too, but you can take those off for now if you want to get them out of the way. I think I see some big blobs of silicone on the trolling motor wires... if you see anything like that anywhere else in the boat, make a note.

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Yeah the trolling motor was mounted on the nose up front. Actually it had been removed (the mounting is still up there and will be taken off when I start working on it) and was given to me when I grabbed the boat, so it's just laying inside for now. There was some silicon on some wires that were added for the fish finder that used to be in the boat, and a few other things that they had wired up and run the wires to the inside bottom of the side along the deck and siliconed them in place. I'm going to be ripping the entire deck out coming up, along with removing the console for re-work/cleaning, plus the controls, etc. I have been all over this boat now, and have a good feeling about it. It will require some work, and some $$ (doesn't everything? LOL) but I think that I'll be able to fix it up and get it going. The only part that concerns me is the motor. I hadn't looked at it that well earlier, but realized (and after asking my wife, got the entire story) that there are no carbs, I have to buy a set now for it. Depending on the price, I'll probably by a used set from somewhere, and go through and clean the motor and see what all I can do off of my knowledge first, and at least get it running, and grab some books and start figuring it all out. I know that a new motor would be a better bet, but if I were to rip this one down, and rebuild I'd be happy. That way I know the motor inside and out, have books on it, know what was done to it, and I can do it piece by piece, dollar by dollar. Instead of buying a used motor I have no clue what they patched together and rigged, or have to spend a fortune all at once (that I don't have) to buy a new o/b. I have a good feeling about it all though. Just have to take my time, do it right the first time, and keep my chin up, no matter what happens during the process.

I want to thank EVERYONE that is posting on this post and offering advice and help. I appreciate it a great deal and look forward to being a long time member on this great forum.

 

[maxum247]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

I like the boat, it looks like it will make a nice all around vessel. Looks like it will be fairly straight forward to fix up. The topside is designed in a way that cuts down on a lot of repair work, you get into bowcaps and gunwales it can get fairly compliated, you are spared that worry as I am not. max!

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Well, not to come back and beat a dead horse, but ... I'm back. LOL Life got in the way, along with a move to Atlanta and then back to Tampa, etc. I still have the boat, and haven't really been able to do much with it. However, since I'm currently unemployed, I finally had some time to start getting into it a bit more. I noticed that while I was tearing the rotten floor up, a couple of the stringers are just totally gone. At this point, it looks as though this is going to be a complete gut inside and rebuild, stringers up. My main question at this point ... is it worth it? It's a 16ft cc boat that was produced in the 80's, by a company that's no longer (from what I can find of information on the net) in business, with an untested (haven't gotten around to tearing into it, checking it over and cranking it) 85hp Force motor on it, and a magic tilt trailer that needs an overhaul. I mean, the thought of ripping it all apart and rebuilding to my own tastes and specs, is nice and appeals to me. Yet, being as this is my first boat, first build (at least of a vessel) up, and the vast amount of materials, time and $$ that I know will end up in it, is a bit overwhelming. So, if this were your boat/motor/trailer at this point, what would you do? 1. Rebuild it to be what you want it to be. 2. Fix small things on the trailer and see if the motor runs. If so, then sell as a project, letting someone else deal with it and look for another setup. 3. Don't waste any time/money on it and just sell it as is and let someone else deal with it.

Thanks for any and all comments.

Scott

 

[GT1000000]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Hi BlazinKuztumz,

Just read through you thread, and I can offer the same advice as has already been given from almost 2 years ago...

If the engine runs fine and needs minimum maintenance, great, otherwise, big bucks...
Hull is prolly gonna need a full gut and resto, lots o green and time...
trailer, if its servicable, is still gonna need some maintenance, etc...

Best guess, 2-4 grand plus boookuuu time on your part...

Options,
Plan A- Do it!...with effort and time and money and the help of the drydock Iboaters, you can...
Plan B- save your cash and buy a water ready boat for about the same amount as you are going to spend on this one...
However, make sure you get a Marine Appraiser to check it out first, or you could end up in the same "boat".

Sorry if that is not what you were hopin to hear, but I am only tryin to help...

Best regards,
GT1M

PS- I don't know if it applies to the original poster, such as yourself, but the Mods may ask that you start a fresh thread instead of "bringing up a long since dead" one...:redface:

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Thanks for the insight GT1M! I hope the mods will let me keep this active, being as though I started the thread and it has relevant information regarding the boat, history, etc. Guess we will see.

I would love to have a Mako, but I know for a fact that buying a new Mako is YEARS out for me. So, I figured if I was able to work on this a little at a time, I'd have a reliable boat that I knew every square inch of and possibly a good trade for a different boat later, that would be more to my liking as the "ideal" boat I would like.

At first, this looked like it was just going to be a simple case of cleaning, working on the motor and trailer a bit, and possibly just ripping up the old floor and putting a new one in. Most of it didn't really scare me that bad, but I knew it was going to be a huge process. Now, with adding in that I'm probably going to need to completely gut it and add stringers back in, then do the floor. I'm a bit more apprehensive. However, I have a good mechanical aptitude and a ton of tools that should help me out. So, I might just jump into it and realize ahead of time that it's going to be a good while before I have it in seaworthy condition, and it will be a labor of love. At least this way, I can add in essentials I want, as I go. I'll be able to run the wiring, piping/conduit and anything else that needs to be planned out and installed before putting a new deck in. I had plans of adding a t-top, possible poling platform and swim deck before. I'm guessing having to gut it and rebuild, will allow me to plan these items out and make them bulletproof upon install.

If anyone else has any comments, concerns, advice, good or bad, please feel free to chime in. Especially if there are concerns that I might not have addressed, or even thought of, that you have. I appreciate any and all opinions, thoughts and experiences.

Thanks,

Scott

 

[GT1000000]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Hey Scott,
You hit the nail on the head! This will be a labor of love...You should do this knowing that this endeavor will be just that, a labor of Love!
You can definitely do this. It is not that difficult. You just need to be ready, willing and able to jump in and commit to it. If you do, the guys here at the drydock will definitely help you out with all the technical details to do it the right way the first time.

As far as building it the way you want, and building it "bullet-proof"...Absolutely, that is one of the biggest reasons we all do this...not to necessarily re-invent the wheel, but to grease it up and make it roll better...

If you decide that you are going to go down this path, my first suggestion is to read some of the amazing and outstanding threads by some of the guys who have undertaken this mission and come out on top...

A great place to start is here... http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288451

Excellent information to get you started.

I'll be hopping on board if you decide to 'dive' into this adventure, and cheer, goad, harrass, egg-on, watch, learn, support, and if possible, help.

Best regards,
GT1M

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Well, I have the great members of this site, and wonderful posts of their builds and experiences. Actually I read one earlier that inspired me greatly to give it a shot and see where I can take it. I have a book on boat repair, plus the book about my motor. I also have extra parts for it, thanks to another wonderful member of the forum. So, at this point .. I only have knowledge and empowerment to gain from tackling the rebuild. My biggest hurdle might come in the form of supply costs. But from what I'm seeing of pricing, even for used boats on the market (again, that are mysteries till after you've bought them and opened them up), I'd still be ahead of the curve on costs.

 

[GT1000000]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Sounds like you are well ahead of the curve and ready to go.

From what I have learned here, your first couple of steps should include an attempt at getting the motor running and continue the tear down of the boat, to see where exactly you stand, get core samples of all the important bits, like the transom and stringers...Oh yeah, and post pictures as you go along to both document the build and help the members help you when needed, by seeing what you see.

If you end up needing to do the complete gut, make sure you take lots of measurements and pictures, to help when its time for reconstruction.

As far as supply costs, with todays economy, that seems to be one of the biggest obstacles we all face...
But, on a positive note, we are not obligated to spend all of our funds in one shot...the cost of tools and supplies, can be spread out a little at a time...

 

[BlazinKuztumz]

Re: G'day mates .. rookie here

Very true. My plan I've set in motion is the following: 1st I have to get the title from my father-in-law. I want to have that in my hands before I dig into it any further. Once I have that: 2nd I will take the motor off and tear into it to see if it runs and what all I'm looking at for it. 3rd I'm going to begin to fix the issues with the trailer, so that it is able to be moved easier, or even sold to a new owner, should something come up that hinders my completion plans. 4th Is to tear into the boat further and see where my starting point is and begin prep and planning, as well as purchasing needed tools and supplies.

At this point, I know the center console will either need to be rebuilt or I need to find/purchase a new one, or just build a new one. I'm also aware that the deck is trash and it seems like most of the stringers are trashed out as well. So I'm pretty much to the point of figuring I should just a complete gut so there are no questions about what I might have missed. I also have a casting/deck up front I have to find out about (can hear water sloshing inside when I rock the boat on the trailer ) and still need to look into the rear transom area.

I've got some major ideas and plans, and a lot of the tools that I will need to do a lot of the work myself. Some of it will be a learning curve since they are new tools, or new materials I'll be working with. I love to learn, do new things and gain experience and knowledge though, so this is right up my alley, so to speak.

Thanks to everyone on here for words of advice, encouragement, knowledge, and inspiration. I will definitely continue to post as I have time and something of relevance to post.

Wish me luck!!

Scott