RobbyA
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Jun 5, 2010
- Messages
- 306
First off, I want to say kudos and WOW to all the restoration threads on here and a big thank you for posting and updating them. They have kept me entertained for 3 weeks with the end nowhere in sight. I have read and read for weeks with very little production in my life. Never would I have thought about buying or receiving a broke down boat to fully restore, but now thanks to you all, that is all I think about. So in a smart alec way, thanks for the curse. Now to the apology, sorry, but this is going to be a long post. Now to what I think I want or need.
I want and/or need an early to mid sixties runabout. I love the style and body lines of these models. In the midst of planning though, I want to make sure I am not breaking any restoration rules. For example, I want to FULLY restore the boat and put a new 60-70hp 4 stroke Honda motor on it. To me it seems wrong to completely rebuild a fine piece of American history and throw a Japanese motor on it, but I want years of trouble free use. Throwing an old ?tower of power? on the back looks cool and is very nostalgic, but the reliability is not there to me. I have children that will be teens by the time this thing is finished and I want to let them take this to the lake with trouble free use. I also want to be able to tube and/or possibly ski behind it with the family. Money is and is not a factor in the rebuild, for example, if it is going to cost $200 for wood or $400 for sea-cast, I am going with sea-cast. I want the boat to outlast me in hopes that my son can give it to his son. Another reason and the way I sold it to my wife is I am a smoker, I want to quit, but when I quit I get all fidgety and need something to do and what better to do than remodel a boat, right? The rules are I quit, use the money I spend on smoking to remodel the boat, if I start back up the boat gets sold. The amount of money spent on smokes each month is plenty to start the project (around $250.00).
Okay, now aluminum or fiberglass.
I really like the aluminum Starcraft, but have very little metal working experience. I can weld aluminum but I do not have a welder. I wouldn?t mind needing a reason to buy one either. I like fiberglass hull designs, but don?t have the room to split the halves and store the top half while working on the hull. I am an avid woodworker ( build custom cabinets out of my garage ), and have a lot of mechanical knowledge (turned wrenches since I can remember ). As far as the work I know I can do it, but I need arguments for both aluminum and fiberglass. What would you do for a first time restoration project? What are the pros and cons of each. I also must add that I am the king of good intentions, I love to start projects but procrastinate to finish. That?s where you guys come in, to keep me motivated and as some type of accountability. I also have a finish date from time of purchase in mind of two years that way it gives me a goal to reach for. Twenty four months @ $250.00 a month equals $6000.00. Is that enough to remodel the boat not including the motor or am I nowhere near close enough on funds? The motor I will buy outright when it is finished.
So, a long intro to my restoration thread, now time to sit back read all the comments, search craigslist and put down the smokes????
I want and/or need an early to mid sixties runabout. I love the style and body lines of these models. In the midst of planning though, I want to make sure I am not breaking any restoration rules. For example, I want to FULLY restore the boat and put a new 60-70hp 4 stroke Honda motor on it. To me it seems wrong to completely rebuild a fine piece of American history and throw a Japanese motor on it, but I want years of trouble free use. Throwing an old ?tower of power? on the back looks cool and is very nostalgic, but the reliability is not there to me. I have children that will be teens by the time this thing is finished and I want to let them take this to the lake with trouble free use. I also want to be able to tube and/or possibly ski behind it with the family. Money is and is not a factor in the rebuild, for example, if it is going to cost $200 for wood or $400 for sea-cast, I am going with sea-cast. I want the boat to outlast me in hopes that my son can give it to his son. Another reason and the way I sold it to my wife is I am a smoker, I want to quit, but when I quit I get all fidgety and need something to do and what better to do than remodel a boat, right? The rules are I quit, use the money I spend on smoking to remodel the boat, if I start back up the boat gets sold. The amount of money spent on smokes each month is plenty to start the project (around $250.00).
Okay, now aluminum or fiberglass.
I really like the aluminum Starcraft, but have very little metal working experience. I can weld aluminum but I do not have a welder. I wouldn?t mind needing a reason to buy one either. I like fiberglass hull designs, but don?t have the room to split the halves and store the top half while working on the hull. I am an avid woodworker ( build custom cabinets out of my garage ), and have a lot of mechanical knowledge (turned wrenches since I can remember ). As far as the work I know I can do it, but I need arguments for both aluminum and fiberglass. What would you do for a first time restoration project? What are the pros and cons of each. I also must add that I am the king of good intentions, I love to start projects but procrastinate to finish. That?s where you guys come in, to keep me motivated and as some type of accountability. I also have a finish date from time of purchase in mind of two years that way it gives me a goal to reach for. Twenty four months @ $250.00 a month equals $6000.00. Is that enough to remodel the boat not including the motor or am I nowhere near close enough on funds? The motor I will buy outright when it is finished.
So, a long intro to my restoration thread, now time to sit back read all the comments, search craigslist and put down the smokes????
