My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

[lakeorbay]

Hello iboaters . A little about me. I grew up and live in San Francisco. I've been fishing since I was a kid. Started with local piers, ponds and lakes, later I turned to beaches, rocks and cliffs. My fishing buddy was the 1st to get a boat. I've been tagging along with him for years. As we grew up, he kept fishing, I had a family. The older my kids got, the more I wanted them to experience fishing and "the real" world. I got a little 12' porta-bote just to get them on the water. It gets me there, but with all the extra accessories and gear I load it down with, it takes 45 minutes to build and 45 to break down. All the while trailered boats are dropping-in and fishing or pulling-out and halfway home down the road. It's slow and I can't fish to full potential on it. I Love that little boat, but it didn't take long to out grow it. Problem is, I'm in the middle of a self (and I do mean by myself) home remodel. The Lund deal came up. I figured, it's the perfect boat because I can't go anywhere with it (taking me away from the house) until I'm done with the house. It's backed all the way up to the wall in the garage (with no motor on it). The only way I can put a motor on it, is to knock down the wall behind it. The only way I can knock down that wall, is to finish my remodel, because behind that wall is our bedroom, until we move upstairs. I thoroughly screwed myself . I can't wait until that wall comes down!

I always loved these type boats (dual console). Perfect for family and multi-species fishing. I mainly bass fish, but the Bay Area offers a lot of fishing variety, so a dual console, multi-species boat is the way to go (for now). I never wanted to pay "new boat" money. I found one with no motor. Perfect! All I have to buy new, is the motor when the time comes. That's the most important piece right?. From my research, I found out not just used boats have problems, so maybe it's a blessing in disguise to re-work this boat from the ground (I guess water in this case) up. I'll know it, inside and out and most importantly, have a ton of pride in it (including a lot of blood sweat and tears).....if I ever finish. The economy is whoopin' my !@#$% right now.

It has a massive leak. If I can fix the leak, I think she has a lot of potential. To get to the leak, I need to basically rip everything out....and so, it begins. Lord help me.

It's a 1987 17' Lund Tyee 5.3

Here's some pics

I'll keep ya posted....

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Aluminum boats are the best!!! That looks good ..... any idea where the leak might be? While you are "in" there I would replace all the lines for the live well too.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Hey Bob_VT, I'm glad to here someone thinks aluminum boats are best. All my fishing buddies own glass and try and steer me clear of aluminum. Too late!

My leak is in the worst place it can be. Under my livewell. So, it's good to here you suggest I replace the hoses because it's got to come out. My problem now is, how to deconstruct the live well without doing a hack job. It's encased in foam and has hoses coming in three sides of it, which are also encased in foam. I'm not sure how the hose connectors are attached. Are they screwed in? Are they pressed in? I've tried a couple of things (w/o much pressure) but nothing gives.

So far I've removed the entire interior, except for the livewell. I will be adding more pics later. Thanks.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

I'll bet they are on a barbed fitting and glued too.

You may have to use a hacksaw blade and slice through the foam.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Oh well, I ripped everything else out, might as well rip that out too.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

I gambled on this one. I knew there was risk involved, but I was hoping for the best. The guy I bought it from was cagey and did some lying. For that reason, everything he told me is out the window and the history of this boat is going to have to be figured out like an episode of CSI. The evidence so far points to a boat that was rode hard and put away wet......literally. I still feel good about it, can you believe that? Seriously.

Here's a few pics of some things that would have steered someone with more experience or common sense away from this buy.

The repaired gash with fresh paint over it wasn't enough to stop me.

Location of the gash

Yep! Those are barnacles and a gaping hole. That didn't stop me. The hole is not through the hull, that would have stopped me....maybe.

Freshly painted transom to cover up.....something. Did it stop me? It's solid.

.....and the nightmare continues.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Oh you are okay. Marine tex Gluvit can also be used on the exterior of the hull to help rebuild the corroded areas. That's not neglect we are looking at but it is evidence of use!

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

I mentioned some concerns of mine, now I'll point out some things I like. I didn't even realized them until I looked at some other boats.

This shot here has a few of them in it.
1. I like how much room is under the rim up front. I can add some cargo netting and some light rope under there.
2. Lots of room on top of both consoles for electronics or whatever.
3. Large and deep glove box.
4. Lockable storage under each console.
5. Livewell is accessible from the front or back.

I'm not sure if that is what this plate was originally designed for, but it will give me a solid base for a trolling motor.

I'm not sure how big it is yet, but that looks like a pretty good size gas tank.

The gunwales are wide for stepping on and deep for adding some above deck foam and some rope lighting. Good size storage. The other side has even more room.

I'm not sure what to like about the splashwell area. Any suggestions? I could add a bench, but I fish alone or with one. I don't carry too many passengers. WARNING: No sawzall was used in this incident (it was just there for emergency back up) .

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

To discover where the leak is, I filled the boat with water like suggested. The good news is, my bilge pump works.

The bad news is that it appears to be a severe leak. You can't tell from this photo, but the water is spewing out the sides of a 12" long section of the keel cap, not from the rivets. You all have given me confidence it can be fixed with "Gluvit". Let's hope so.

Now to find it. It's somewhere under here. Big fun.

I successfully got the deck up. the forward most section has a plate at the bottom that is riveted all the way through the hull, so I don't want to go there yet. The middle section was storage and I exposed that. You will see in the next photo. The third section is my livewell. I don't want to go there either.

Here is a close up of the middle section I exposed. I was expecting to see a gigantic hole or crack. I see no obvious signs of anything wrong. Someone said, there should not be a weld there, but I think that weld goes the length of the boat.

The boat was in a dry storage lot. I could only get so much done there. So, it was time to bring her home. My family is within ear shot. I got power if I need it, more tools, a radio, a TV and a fridge full of cold ones. It was a tight fit as you can see. Now it's time to go deep!

More pics on the way.....

 

[drewpster]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Here is an idea on how to locate the leak. Now that you have everything out of the way re-fill the suspect area with water. Get some food coloring or die. As the water drains dribble some food coloring in to the water near where you think the leak is and follow the pretty blue trail to the hole. You can also use Kayro or clear syrup to thicken the food coloring.
No I dont like to cook, eating is a different story.

enjoy
drewp

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

'preciate the tip Drewpster, that's a good one and I'll probably try it.

When it comes to my boat, I've had the blinders on because I'm remodeling my house. I promised the wife (and I owe it to the kids) to get it done asap. If I did the boat now, I'd never be home. So, it's still too early to be getting all pumped up on the boat. I can hardly wait 'til the day I can go full throttle on the resto'. Until then I'm just doing early research so when the time comes, I can hit it hard.

But, back to my leak.....I was also thinking of putting someone on 'leak watch' while on board, as I back it into the water. Maybe I can pinpoint the leak that way. I'm still a ways away from trying it, but when I do, I'll post up.....until then, back to working on the house. Dreams of being on the boat is my motivation.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

OK, I'm back on duty.

The house is not done, as a matter of fact it's far from done, but I can't wait anymore. I have done enough to the house so that I don't feel guilty when I work on the boat. I decided to dedicate one day a week to the boat.

I've been thinking about the boat everyday for over a year. It's time to get to work.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

I need to continue the deconstruction to get to the rest of the floor. I snapped as many pics as possible, so I can refer to them later for the rebuild.

Out comes the consoles.

Next, up come the floor boards to expose the foam filled framework.

Bow

Stern

I'm chippin' away at it.

 

[painterguy]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

I have a similar (4.9 Tyee) that had a similar leak.
1 bad rivet from the keel strip into the hull.
after you tear everything out to get to it, I mean everything(consoles, deck,and 2 or 3 riveted in braces up front) it is an easy fix!!
Did I mention Lunds are put together with lots of bolts and locknuts?
Fun project and you will see they are tough if not abused in certain spots.
I should have taken pictures!

 

[saumon]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Nice roomy hull to start with, i'm jealous! I bet you'll remove more than 300 lbs of waterlogged foam from it.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

1 bad rivet from the keel strip into the hull.

Hopefully I'm so lucky.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Sweet boat! Nice car too! I actually have that exact same allroad... color, wheels, everything. Not too bad as tow car. I use mine to drag around my 3300 pound CC no problem.

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Sweet boat! Nice car too! I actually have that exact same allroad... color, wheels, everything. Not too bad as tow car. I use mine to drag around my 3300 pound CC no problem.

Thanks. It's my wife's car actually. It's great for trips with the family to the Lake Tahoe area on snow trips.

I tow with my Chevy Avalanche

 

[lakeorbay]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Nice roomy hull to start with, i'm jealous! I bet you'll remove more than 300 lbs of waterlogged foam from it.

Actually my foam was very dry considering the huge leak I have. The original foam job was done so well and packed in so tight, I really hated to take it out. To do a proper 'Gluvit' job on the hull, the foam had to come out. The only wetness was the thin layer between the hull and the foam.

With the monster leak I have, I never want to go through this again. So, if doing the best job I can do means tearing out some perfectly good foam, then out it comes.

 

[saumon]

Re: My Big Tyee 5.3 Slowww Simmered Resto'

Actually my foam was very dry considering the huge leak I have. The original foam job was done so well and packed in so tight, I really hated to take it out. To do a proper 'Gluvit' job on the hull, the foam had to come out. The only wetness was the thin layer between the hull and the foam.

With the monster leak I have, I never want to go through this again. So, if doing the best job I can do means tearing out some perfectly good foam, then out it comes.

Did you plan to replace it with pour-in foam or cut sheets?