New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

[Njangler]

A month ago I acquired a 1960 Owens 15 FT. I am looking forward to working on it. The boat have a lot of gel coat spider cracks and the transom might have some issues. Came with 50 HP 1972 Evinrude that I am still trying to figure out if the top or bottom is seized. Unfortunately have not been having free time to work on it. Attached is a link to the photos on Flickr.

1960 Owens 15ft - a set on Flickr

 

[crovowen]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Looks like fun- i can see it has the "Transom aluminum plate of death", and will enjoy watching your progress- Crow

 

[Njangler]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Here are some more pictures. Things have been hectic.Have not had a chance to work on the outboard or the Boat. I got new Johnson Gear oil Premium Blend for the electric shift. hope will be able to change the fluid this week. I washed the boat to see what was hidden underneath the dirt. I have taken some pictures and Is see a lot of cracks in the gel coat. Also the keel gel-coat is gone due to the roller rubbing in the wrong place. The whole boat is not sitting correctly on the trailer. I got to figure out a time to lift it of and adjust the trailer pads.
Here is my plan since we are getting into winter and cold weather:
1-remove the outboard. Going to try to salvage. In the same time I have been talking to a guy that have a 1969 Johnson outboard running that I might end up buying for $150. He stated it ran great the cosmetics on the outside of the outboard are not the best and needs to be refinished. He is a technician by trade and have done all the work on the outboard.
2- Start sending the areas with the cracks and prepping them for repair come the spring.
3-Sand the top paint with and orbital sander and 80 grit paper to get to the Gel Coat. Any better ideas on how to strip the paint?
4- I am concerned about the transom. Seem solid but have 2 sunken bolts. I will have to drill couple of holes to determine if it needs replacement. I looked at the hull and it seems with owens the top and the bottom are fiberglassed together. So I am not sure if the transom needs to be replaced from the outside.
5- Going to cut new boards for the seats and get them redone.

 

[jbcurt00]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Looks like it'll be a nice boat. Didn't go thru all the pix.

Welcome to the iboats dry dock.......

 

[kjdunne]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Cool looking boat. Replacing the transom from the outside is not a good idea. Remove the aluminum plate and rubrail, you'll probably be able to cut the cap / hull seam apart under the rubrail if it is in fact fiberglassed together. Most small glassers are stapled or screwed together at the rubrail. Post lots of pics, ask questions, and most of all, have fun rebuilding your boat.

 

[Njangler]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Here are more pictures

 

[Njangler]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

The hull top and bottom are fiberglassed to each other not glued. and with the fins in the way I am not sure it could be done from the inside. I see. Cut around the lines in the picture

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

I don't think the top and bottom of your boat are fiberglassed together. The Rubrail conceals the joint between the top cap and the hull. If you remove the rubber bumper you will find either rivets, screws, or staples that are used to hold the two together. The mfg might have used a bit of glass at various points to aid in keeping the two pieces together but typically they did NOT go to the time or expense to glass them all the way around. Back at the transom they, at times did make that a totally glass in joint that requires some cutting but as your pics indicate, I believe once you remove the rubber insert and all of the fasteners, you'll be able to lift the entire top cap off the boat as and entire single unit with little problem an probably with little or no cutting. Try to salvage the rubber if possible it can be difficult to find and replace. Not impossible but difficult.

 

[Njangler]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Here are some pictures showing how the hull is fiberglassed to the top part.

Another question is that I took the steering cover and the nut and washer out. I am not able to pull the steering wheel out. Am I missing a step tom pill the steering wheel out?

Also if any Owens or Cutter owners out on this forum
That have done a transom replacement please post.

 

[jc55]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

You might have a C-clip holding the steering wheel shaft which can be located at the other end.

 

[Njangler]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Do you been between the steering wheel and the black base? I checked and nothing no clip.

 

[jc55]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Oh, I just looked at the pic. Looks like a keyway...but see if there's a C-clip on the back of the gear case under the dash...

 

[Woodonglass]

Re: New to me a 1960 Owens Flagship 15 ft runabout

Njangler.

Your boat is very similar to the one I just restored. I does appear that cap has been glassed to the hull on the inside. You will need to do as I advised and remove the rub rail and the aluminum channel to "De-Capitate" the boat. Once it's been removed you'll see the seam where you can make the cut.

As for your steering wheel it is a keyed compression shaft system and they are very stubborn after being on for decades. You'll prolly need help from a friend so they can beat on it with a rubber mallet while you put both feet on the dash and start pulling, yanking, wiggling and everything else you can do to get her to come loose. IF you can get a gear puller to fit on it you might have luck with that. I did and even then it took a tremendous amount of torque to get her to pop loose and when she did it sounded like a firecracker went off. If you can get some heat on the shaft without damaging the plastic wheel that also might help. My wheel was cracked as it appears yours s and it did not survive the removal process. Hopefully your's will. All these old runabouts were assembled pretty much using the same construction methods. I've seen hundreds of them posted here and other forums and they're all pretty much exactly alike. Since they only used one layer of thin cloth to glass the top to the hull it will be very easy to cut her free. You could prolly use a Dremel to do it on the inside and cause a lot less damage to the cap/hull.