Project GameFisher

[jah1317]

Hello everyone! Well here it is, well under way my beat to crap and back again game fisher! I am planning on turning it into a nice little boat to take on my local creek and some smaller lakes. Here is the deal, I have a 12' gamefisher that I got for $20 threw it on the utility trailer and brought it home under the advisement of my uncle who said "if it's fiberglass you can fix it". It had multiple cracks on the bottom that I cut out and then after much scratching my head and research on here I decided the best route for the cracked keel I decided to cut 3" on either side of center out for the bulk of the length and just re-mold the whole thing . That was a very scary step but now I feel I have a good place to start from. Attached are the first pics. So far I have removed all the seats, cut the keel, cut out 2 holes, and cut the transom and removed the rotten wood that was sandwiched in. Now, I am in chanfer mode so that I can get it prepped for molding and glassing.

In the end I plan on having a nice little boat with 2 3' casting decks at either end and 6' open in the middle. I am planning on putting some storage into this thing to so that I have a nice rig to fish from all on the cheap......

I will keep the pics coming as the project progresses.

Jacob

 

[88BLiner]

Re: Project GameFisher

Hello jah, that looks like it going to be a really good little fishing boat when you get done. I bet that thing will get you back into all the little creeks for the bast fishing. Good luck with your project, take lots of pics.

 

[ondarvr]

Re: Project GameFisher

Its too late now, but you should have left all of the keel in place and glassed over what was there, should make a good little fishing boat though.

 

[jah1317]

Re: Project GameFisher

The thought was there to keep it in place but the way it was cracked was that it almost created long hoizontal splinters that could not get a good grind on and I am not looking to patch it I want to fix it so I decided to go 100% and make it as close to new as possible. Who knows what will happen but thats the intent. After I cut it I had that gnawing voice in the back of my head that made me think that I killed my boat, but my wife looked at me, shrugged and said "it wasn't going to float before anyhow" which made me feel concideralby better!

Thanks again,

Jacob

 

[fishon13]

Re: Project GameFisher

Did you keep the old keel to copy? If your going into creeks better make the new one super strong. If there anything like the creeks here in Western NC this won't be your last time replaceing your keel

 

[Yacht Dr.]

Re: Project GameFisher

Hello jah..

Dont mean to be a nit-picker..but how much/kind of glass do you plan on doing this with. ( Inside/outside lam schedule )

If I see your pic correctly..I would recommend more grinding on the keel. It appears to only be ground/beveled about 3-4 inches.. you could use more like 12".

Close-up pic of prep job will be of help ..

YD.

 

[jah1317]

Re: Project GameFisher

YD,

I am not sure exactly what kind of mat I have, I am sure you guys will get a good chuckle out of this but I got a 50 gal plastic bag full of mat from my uncle. He works at molded fiberglass and gets scraps so I have a HUGE bag full of mat. I have done 2 fixes with the mat so far and I am really happy with the results. The repair is very very sturdy when you tap on it, it sounds just the same as anywhere else that I knock on the hull. I am actually using 10 layers of mat when I am doing the repairs.

Yes, I did keep the original keel as a pattern so that I can get it back to the same as when it was made, I will grind out further than what you saw in the pics, I appreciate the help. No, you were not nitpicking.

As far as the creeks around here, I have a canoe for any of the ones that are going to shallow out or I will just float the deep section and pull out before the shallow parts. The stream I am fishing on now averages about 6 ft deep minimum so I am not anticipating hitting anything other than a submerged log but I will bulk the keel up conciderably I don't want to do this again unless I have to!

The sweetest part of all is that so far, all the work as cost me a grinding disk I got a 1/2 can of resin from a guy I work with and the mat was free so life is good! More pics to come. Feel free to interject if you see something.

Take care,

Jacob

 

[Good Ol Boy]

Re: Project GameFisher

Hey Jah were there seats in it when you started? How hard were they to get out?

 

[Gamefisher Fan]

Re: Project GameFisher

I have 1985 14' Gamefisher. Looks just like yours. I am planning on starting restoration in a few weeks. I'm wondering how yours turned out. I'm new to all of this as well as the terms used and materials needed. The previous owner patched most of the problem areas and made inserts to level the floor. I'm not sure how to paint it. Sand and paint? Do I need to gel coat it. The exterior has a smooth semi shiny appearance but not like my ski boat does. The interior has a little rougher and duller finish. Any suggestions on how to paint it? I plan to join the middle bench seat with the font "deck" making one deck with two seats and a third seat on the back bench seat. I want to save the center seat cooler/storage. I'll of course have to hinge it. Any suggestions are appreciated.