Skip Wiarda
Cadet
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2018
- Messages
- 19
Yep, just a little bit lost when it comes to researching just when this lovely old lady was born. No title, no data plate, no HIN, no discernable form of identification to be found anywhere ... save for her old registration number and a broken Crestliner plaque. She'd been demoed down to bare hull and refitted with two sponson seats and one in the center. At one time she'd been the victim of a fender bender which had caused her to slide forward over the winch arm and deeply scored her bottom. But she was watertight and on a trailer with new rubber. $100 later and I brought her home.
I spent some time attempting to research her birth over the next several days, but other than "Crestliner" and "Muskie," I wasn't able to match her up to a definitive year. Hoping the Guv'mint might know more, I visited my local DMV office only to discover their records weren't really all that inclusive. I came home with a handful of "Public Insufficient Evidence of Ownership" forms to fill out instead so that a VIN/HIN can be assigned to her. A quick visit by a local LEO confirmed the lack of identification and with his signature, her journey back to splash truly began.
I spent 5-1/2 hours on this past Sunday morning mucking her out from the accumulation of rotted baseballs, leaves, lawn furniture, asphalt shingles and wasp nests she had collected during the 8-10 years she spent in retirement. My Bride gifted me with a new Dremel oscillating saw which made (somewhat) quick work of removing the rotting seats. It took two long sessions with a power wand at the local car wash, but she came through a little brighter ... and with further proof of just how watertight she is.
Please excuse a bit of heresy here, but I plan to resurrect her as a center console fishing boat. Most of the heavy demo work has been done and her transom appears to have been rebuilt at some time in the not-too-distant past ... it taps more like a brick wall than anything I'd reason to expect. After talking it over with some boating friends of mine ... we even entertained the idea of fitting her out with twin 25hp motors and make her look like a mini-bay boat! ... the consensus is to cut out the forward bow seat to give more room to build a casting/lounging (my Bride has mentioned that she "might" like to go out with me sometime, as long as I don't expect her to fish) deck. The jury's still out on whether to add a live well. The planned power plant will be 50hp with a 12-16 gallon under deck fuel tank.
I'm trying (really, I am!) to approach her in a carefully thought-out, methodical manner. Since I'm home this weekend with the mother of all colds (PLUS allergies) I'm hoping to get the bow seat cut out (still waffling a bit on that though) and mock up the stringers, deck & console using cardboard so I can see if my vision can actually be supported by reality.
Any comments and/or suggestions would be welcome. I'll probably be asking a LOT of questions!
I spent some time attempting to research her birth over the next several days, but other than "Crestliner" and "Muskie," I wasn't able to match her up to a definitive year. Hoping the Guv'mint might know more, I visited my local DMV office only to discover their records weren't really all that inclusive. I came home with a handful of "Public Insufficient Evidence of Ownership" forms to fill out instead so that a VIN/HIN can be assigned to her. A quick visit by a local LEO confirmed the lack of identification and with his signature, her journey back to splash truly began.
I spent 5-1/2 hours on this past Sunday morning mucking her out from the accumulation of rotted baseballs, leaves, lawn furniture, asphalt shingles and wasp nests she had collected during the 8-10 years she spent in retirement. My Bride gifted me with a new Dremel oscillating saw which made (somewhat) quick work of removing the rotting seats. It took two long sessions with a power wand at the local car wash, but she came through a little brighter ... and with further proof of just how watertight she is.
Please excuse a bit of heresy here, but I plan to resurrect her as a center console fishing boat. Most of the heavy demo work has been done and her transom appears to have been rebuilt at some time in the not-too-distant past ... it taps more like a brick wall than anything I'd reason to expect. After talking it over with some boating friends of mine ... we even entertained the idea of fitting her out with twin 25hp motors and make her look like a mini-bay boat! ... the consensus is to cut out the forward bow seat to give more room to build a casting/lounging (my Bride has mentioned that she "might" like to go out with me sometime, as long as I don't expect her to fish) deck. The jury's still out on whether to add a live well. The planned power plant will be 50hp with a 12-16 gallon under deck fuel tank.
I'm trying (really, I am!) to approach her in a carefully thought-out, methodical manner. Since I'm home this weekend with the mother of all colds (PLUS allergies) I'm hoping to get the bow seat cut out (still waffling a bit on that though) and mock up the stringers, deck & console using cardboard so I can see if my vision can actually be supported by reality.
Any comments and/or suggestions would be welcome. I'll probably be asking a LOT of questions!
