MFG Niagara 14'

[mfgniagara]

First post, been browsing here for a few months now.
I was just given the above boat, I believe it's a 1965 or 66 model.
Its in decent shape, no leaks, with some fade and a way too big motor.
(85hp Merc 850). It's on a 2007 bunk trailer, and runs great. I added a battery and did some cleaning so far. It's first water test was a bit scary, it shot right up on plane and according to my GPS I was going 56 mph when I decided it no longer felt safe.

I have a later model Mercury 50 to hang on it.

The bad part is that the transom is getting soft, so I went ahead and got the supplies to do that real soon.

I have two main questions, first, how can I get the second or lower drain plug tube back in place without cutting out the original deck?

I really want to make the boat look factory original when all done, I hate to have to cut into the deck where it meets the transom to be sure that tube is in place and sealed to the transom? The original tube is rolled on both the inside and outside edges and was no doubt installed during the hull molding process.

Second question, this boat has no seats, the last owner was using a stainless folding deck chair that looks like it came off the Titanic. There's two of them and they don't even fit side by side in this boat. Let alone they're dangerous not being secured in that they tend to slide rearward as the bow rises on take off.
I have both a pair of aluminum pedestal seats and Todd captain chairs, plus a set of back to back seats. My concern is that the deck isn't made to have pedestals bolted to it, and that the back to back seats won't give me enough room to pass in between them easily as the front corner of the lower seat box hits the tapered outer hull and won't sit well inline with the steering wheel.

Another option I'm thinking is to buy one of those cooler seats, mount it dead center and it'll solve another concern as well, which is running the boat alone and balance. Being able to sit or stand in the center will keep my 6'4" tall, 350lb self from making the boat list to Starboard all the time.

 

[pduquette]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

Aww come on ! The torque of merc 850 won't level off the listing ???lol !!How did the hull do at that speed ??? What issues did you encounter ?
You should look up Mark42 "s restore . He has a '64 Niagra and it's set up nice . I believe he cut away the seat base to make the back to backs fit . If you go to the early pages in our mfg forum you will see him .( Or use search or member list above) At the bottom of his post will be a link to several projects he has done .
I use pedistals in my Oxford , with a medium cooler that fits snugly between . when the sea is rough or I'm trolling I sit mid-ship on the "Capitans cooler " works good 'nuff for me .
Welcome aboard and keep on chatting , we're happy to help ! Oh we would Love to see some pictures too !!

 

[mfgniagara]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

I kind of like the no windshield look of your boat, its got to make driving a lot easier. I never was a big fan of looking through curved plexiglass.

I took some pics but somehow they got screwed up or deleted between the camera and the computer here. I'll get some more once I figure out what ails me camera or me.

I was looking at Mark42's restoration page, mine is similar but with a different dash. Same color too. It actually came with a new windshield but I doubt I'll use it as its not exact. It think its a universal windshield from Taylor Made.
It's about 2" wider than the stock one.

I did try to buff up the gel coat a bit, but I'm finding that there's a lot of spots where the gel coat is clear? I can see right through the bow deck in a few spots like a cloudy window. The spots are small but I can see the fibers buried in the resin. It's not worn, just clear. Where it is blue, I can buff it right up. The white part is super nice, but someone bottom painted it with green copper ablative paint.

I thought about notching the seat boxes but I'd have to really take a big cut out of them. I was thinking of maybe cutting them on an angle, and letting them sort of sit on the outer hull a bit. About 5" of the corner would extend up onto the outer hull in the outer forward corners. I have two brand new off white seats that would be perfect, they'd half match the boat and I wouldn't have to worry about pedestal seats pulling out of the deck. I also thought about just building two seat boxes, which would also house the fuel tank and battery. This would get some weight off the immediate stern, give me a bit of added storage and leave the area at under the splashwell open for fishing items. I want this to stay real simple, two seats, a motor, tank, battery, and lights. Its not like its going offshore, its a river runner or lake boat as far as I'm concerned right now. Unless this ends up being a whole lot more stable than I think it'll be, it's not going out in big water at all. I've always like the bow shape on the MFG boats, they look like they should cut through the rough pretty well. I'm also thinking that this will be a good light boat to tow around or take on vacation since I can tow this with just about anything.

 

[pduquette]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

Yes , these little lapstrake hulls cut the water nice. when the cable steering was on mine I could cut the wheel and do donuts that would rival any jetski !! In the big surf the bow cuts good but you will feel the slap of the flat rear section of the hull - once i see waves above 2' I turn and find smoother seas !! peter

 

[mfgniagara]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

I suppose that flat rear hull section really lessens the horsepower needed to get one of these moving?
I had a deep V hull before, it was unstable with two big guys and took forever to get on plane. I grabbed this after riding in a similar boat a buddy has, and old lapstrake fiberglass Seaking. The Seaking is a bit larger but it flies with only a 40hp on it. He's got the original motor on it and it goes faster than I need to go with little effort and very little fuel.

I took the Niagara down to the lake today, only with a trolling motor just to see how it sat in the water with various seats. I think that either the windshield will have to go or I need taller seats. With a 12" pedestal, I'm looking at the edge of the windshield frame, with the back to back seats I'm sitting comfortable but looking through the curved plastic windshield. The windshield is rough, but I doubt even a new one would be perfectly clear for long. I can also picture the bow blocking my view at that height.
Many of the places I go I need to be able to really look down on the water to watch for debris and stumps. I'm thinking of maybe an adjustable pedestal mounted on a seat box of some sort. I can then put the battery and fuel tank under the seats, and mount a wide based pedestal to the top of the box?
At this point it's all just ideas, but I do like the idea of just tossing in two seats, doing the transom and hanging the motor and going fishing for now.
On my last boat with back to back seats, I found myself sitting up on the seat back, which soon broke the seat. It would be nice to have a dual height seat of some type. I have an adjustable pedestal seat post in my other boat but the clamp knob only lasted a few months before it gave out, it just didn't have enough holding power to support a 360lb man. A call to several seat post companies told me that they only rate seats and seat posts to about 200 to 210 lbs tops. I've had OEM seat all but explode under me in rough seas, and had the leaning post/seat box/bait cooler in a buddies brand new center console disintegrate under me on a long offshore run through rough seas last year. While this boat won't see that type of use, I'd like to find something permanent.

It really moved around well with just a trolling motor. I'm surprised at how stable this little boat is, I can walk around the boat with no feeling of capsizing or falling overboard. I didn't expect such a small boat to be a boat I could stand in and fish so comfortably. I had a Glastron trihull before that would rock all over and I didn't stand unless I had a firm grip on something.
Its going to be a fun boat. If the trolling motor moved it around with no problem, (it moves the MFG better than it moves my 14' jon boat), the 50 hp I have will make this really fly. My 50hp may be a bit 'strong' for a 50hp too, it's a mixup of parts from several 50, 55, and 60hp twins, with the 60hp carbs and exhaust chamber, 50hp mid, 55hp lower, 55hp head, 55hp block, and another 50 hp's lower unit.

I was out on the river later in the day on another boat and ran across another MFG out on the water, a larger boat, at least 17', maybe more, with just a 50hp on it which went by me fully on plane with three adults onboard.
If that boat does that well with a 50 on it, I'm going to be just fine with this boat with the same motor.

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

suppose that flat rear hull section really lessens the horsepower needed to get one of these moving?....I grabbed this after riding in a similar boat a buddy has, and old lapstrake fiberglass Seaking. The Seaking is a bit larger but it flies with only a 40hp on it.

If I am not mistaken, the Seaking fiberglass was made by MFG.

With a 12" pedestal, I'm looking at the edge of the windshield frame, with the back to back seats I'm sitting comfortable but looking through the curved plastic windshield. The windshield is rough, but I doubt even a new one would be perfectly clear for long.....I found myself sitting up on the seat back....I'd like to find something permanent.

I have steel bases in my boat which work very well. Other than damage applied by couple of teenagers, they have never failed just screwed to the floor. But I also weigh 169#.
Here is a little detail on mine, which has evolved a little over the years, but remains almost identical to my first layout installed in 1994:
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=430065 I used it only one season with the OEM console seats and discovered the boat was ideal for a smaller craft, but the layout in the cockpit didn't cut it.

...stable this little boat is, I can walk around the boat with no feeling of capsizing

It is VERY stable. In response to some comments from your earlier posts:
The WINDSHIELD is awesome in cold weather or rough seas. I fish early and late in the season and the shelter is extremely welcome. In my boat, the pedestals do make my line of site over the windshield frame, but I don't mind that; body is protected from spray and I can duck if something big is going to splash!

Windshield: I used two layers of 100% cotton terry over an 8" wool polishing bonnet in a 2500RPM drill to polish it. Remove the windshield, support it at a comfortable height on blankets, and buff it. Works miracles! I used Maguire's plastic polish on the cotton. DON'T use acrylic cloth or wool or blends as they will overheat and ruin the plastic. The polish, high RPM, and not a "lot" of pressure will probably make your windshield nearly crystal clear. It's been ten years for mine and it probably should be polished again. Keeping it covered with a ventilated cover and out of the sun will help, BTW

Speed, HP: My boat has done over 33mph GPS with two adults, fishing gear, anchor, and with the fuel tank in the bow, 29MPH with the trolling plate on. That's with a 40HP 1985 Suzuki. With Teleflex steering that's fast enough to yaw the transom in a hard turn, nearly capsizing the boat if you tried hard enough. 50HP is probably max for the hull. Under present layout, the hull sometimes porpoises over 24mph, but I haven't addressed this. For one thing, my sense has been that I run A LOT MORE efficiently at part-throttle than I do at WOT. Since I don't have power trim, the current location of the trim pin is a good compromise. Another notch "up" and top speed goes down, slower to plane, and cornering feels funky at speed.

SEAS: I have had my '64 14-foot Niagara on Oneida, Champlain, plus numerous smaller waters. Great to about 2-footers; much bigger and it ain't the best, but I have run back to the launch with 3-footers, but I wouldn't do it intentionally or regularly. When I re-did the transom in 2002-ish, I raised the height to the bottom of the hull cap- gaining me several inches over factory, and making my lack of the "custom"-model's splashwell less of an issue.

Mine gets fished hard, and for its size, I wouldn't want less of a boat than the Niagara. There are others in its beam and loa but I wouldn't want to be on Champlain in them, even some Aluminum boats. The MFG 14' boats fish big without the weight and horsepower requirements of a bigger small boat.

Good luck with it an congrats on the find!

 

[mfgniagara]

Re: MFG Niagara 14'

If I am not mistaken, the Seaking fiberglass was made by MFG.

I believe the Seaking is made by Starcraft from what I was told but can't be sure I guess. It's similar but the boat is wider and lower on the sides than the MFG and the bow isn't as sharply pointed, its more of a rounded upper bow area as well.

I have steel bases in my boat which work very well. Other than damage applied by couple of teenagers, they have never failed just screwed to the floor. But I also weigh 169#. .............

I weigh in at about 360lbs, and at 6'5" tall looking over the windshield is a given on most any seat I use. I do want to be comfortable in the boat, but like the idea of being able to move around easily in the boat too. My thoughts on back to back seats were that it gives me a fishing position when facing rearward and they are more comfortable to sit in then most upright pedestal seats. If I do the pedestal seats, I'd probably use round base aluminum pedestals since they tend to hold up better under weight but securing them properly might be an issue as they will no doubt come pretty close to the outer hull on the outboard part of the base. This is where the back to back seats would work well as they could use the original hold down holes in the deck, which are basically just J bolts with rubber grommets. (I found those in the glove box). They also give some storage under the seats. I just may have to notch the bottom front outboard corner a bit to get the right positioning.

My windshield is probably beyond buffing, it's pretty yellowed and has tiny cracks or lines all over. The plastic is most likely brittle. It don't look bad from a distance but isn't great to look through.

A buddy of mine has an older MFG, I'm not sure of the length, but it's not more than 16'. His has a wood upper hull. He's down south and runs his in the ocean with the original 30HP motor still on it.
When it comes to rough water, 2-3 footers are the norm here, I doubt that will bother this boat, but I figured this will stay in the river and back bays 95% of the time anyhow. I have seen whitecaps in the river and back bays though on windy days.

I didn't realize that any of these came without a splashwell?
Maybe someone removed yours to make more room?

The splashwell on mine is just screwed in place, it's only held in place by about 10 screws and a brass through hull drain. I don't suppose it offers much support or even much protection for that matter but without it, the ends of the gunwales look unfinished to me on the inside. It also gives a place to set things down while fishing. Sort of like a package tray. I also plan to add a few rod holders to mine. I thought about putting in a few through the gunwale type rod holders but the area is narrow and I hate to cut holes in such an old boat.

I also have an empty 4" hole in the dash, off to the right of the steering wheel. I'm not sure what was in there? Speedometer? tach? Its all the way over to the right, the whole just misses the wood frame of the dash. To the left of the wheel are two control panels, one with a choke and the other marked ignition for a switch from a former Evinrude outboard. There was a fish finder mounted in the middle of the dash in the lower portion. I'm thinking that the area where the hole in the dash is may be a good spot to cut in a universal fuse and switch panel?
No matter what I do, I need to close up that hole as it exposes the wooden dash frame to the weather. You can see in the pic how hazy and clouded the windshield is, what you see seems to be in the plastic not on the surface. The boat also came with a pair of side rub rails, and two side package trays that mount on either side but I'm not sure I want those on the boat. I don't mind the side rub rails but the inside trays may just get in the way.

I also notice that you mounted your seats pretty far outboard to each side. The seat bolt pattern on mine shows the seats pretty close together with the drivers seat inline with the steering wheel. I'm leaning towards this location for better weight balance due to my size. Plus it'll give me a place to lay things down along the outer floor while underway.

I was looking at how the windshield mounts with several threaded J hooks. Can they be bought anywhere new? I doubt if mine will survive removal as their pretty rusty. I was thinking of maybe mounting the windshield with wing nuts so it can be removed when not needed and put back for the colder months. It would also make covering it up easier over the winter if I could pull the windshield.