Recently I purchased a 73 Richline Fiberglass Bass Charger (I think thats the model) It came with trailer as well as a 1969 Evinrude 25hp outboard motor (model # 25903b). We got the boat for 300 bucks, not a bad deal I dont think. We took the boat out the other day to make sure it was functional. When we purchased the boat we got the motor to turn, and the lady we bought it from said it hadnt been cranked since about last may. The hull seems strong, the transom seems solid. There is only one soft spot in the bow deck area. When we took it out on the lake to test her out, we couldnt keep the motor running strong. Supposedly the motor ran fine last year, and it has had fuel injector work and been re-wired and plugged. The motor is very clean, seemingly. I was curious as to what i should do in order to get this boat into fishing ready status. We have only invested about 300 into this boat and are just looking to get the boat in functioning shape, hopefully without breaking the bank. So as of now i think we are going to do a few things :
To Do List :
1) get motor to run smoothly
2) Re-deck the boat (temporarily)
3) Sand, Fill, Seal, and Re-paint Hull (minor scratches, and minor gouges)
Does this seem feasible for a boat project. As far as getting the motor to run better, i need some good direction. I am pretty handy and have worked on a few types of motors, just no outboards. As far as re-decking the boat. I was thinking about cutting into the original deck to make sure the stringers and foam are "structurally" sound and just decking over the original deck. I know that this is not a permanent fix, but we are not looking to keep this boat forever, we are just looking to fish on it for a few years. I know that we need to cut 1/2 plywood to shape, resin seal it, affix it to original deck, then glass into sides. Does this sound relatively accurate? With the hull, we need to sand it down, fill scrapes and scratches with "bondo" material, seal with resin or epoxy paint, and then sand and re-coat a few times. Does this sound feasible?
Like I said we have never owned a boat, but are looking to gain experience in boating as well as repair. We purchased the boat for 300 bucks and are not trying to break the bank to get to water ready. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Here are some pictures of the boat:
To Do List :
1) get motor to run smoothly
2) Re-deck the boat (temporarily)
3) Sand, Fill, Seal, and Re-paint Hull (minor scratches, and minor gouges)
Does this seem feasible for a boat project. As far as getting the motor to run better, i need some good direction. I am pretty handy and have worked on a few types of motors, just no outboards. As far as re-decking the boat. I was thinking about cutting into the original deck to make sure the stringers and foam are "structurally" sound and just decking over the original deck. I know that this is not a permanent fix, but we are not looking to keep this boat forever, we are just looking to fish on it for a few years. I know that we need to cut 1/2 plywood to shape, resin seal it, affix it to original deck, then glass into sides. Does this sound relatively accurate? With the hull, we need to sand it down, fill scrapes and scratches with "bondo" material, seal with resin or epoxy paint, and then sand and re-coat a few times. Does this sound feasible?
Like I said we have never owned a boat, but are looking to gain experience in boating as well as repair. We purchased the boat for 300 bucks and are not trying to break the bank to get to water ready. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Here are some pictures of the boat: