Tinny Question

[cedarlattice]

I have an opportunity to get a 77 Crestliner. 21-22" hard top 200HP Mercury(I don't know the year of the motor it is oil injection.) Radar, sterio Marine radio. Tandom easy load trailer. two down riggers. The hull is chaulky but no scratches or dings. The interior is in excellent shape just needs a real good cleaning. the floor in the Cuddy needs replacement and the transom is going to need to be replaced in the next few years. $1200. I don't know how hard it is to replace a transome and floor in a tinny (Can't be harder than a 72 Sea Ray). I'm thinking I could fix it up and fall in love or flip it. I would appreciate any thoughts.

 

[jigngrub]

The transom and cuddy deck work won't be bad.

I'd check for parts availability for that motor before buying, You don't want an NLA parts Merc motor. If parts are available for the motor it looks like a good deal to me... even if the motor is junk it's still not that bad of a deal.

 

[Woodonglass]

From what I've seen and learned here on the forum Changing out a transom and deck on a "Tinner" is prolly a bit easier than on a "Glasser". ( I guess that's a perspective thing. If you can't work with metal at all like me, maybe it's not!!!!) If you like the boat and the size of it and the motor is a good one, then the Price seems like a good one to me. But Hey what do I know, I'm a Glasser, AND and Old Dumb Okie to Boot!!!!:facepalm:

 

[GA_Boater]

1200 bucks? She not following you home yet? If you replaced the transom in a Sea Ray, this is a walk in the park. If the the transom needs to be done in a couple of years, it needs done now! Radar, hard top and a kicker - this a big water boat. She won't last long, even needing some work.

 

[MikDee]

She's a jewel in the rough, what are you waiting for?

 

[cedarlattice]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't see how I can pass it up. I'm thinking my wife will be able to see how though. Does anyone know of some threads about similar rebuilds?

 

[coolbri70]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't see how I can pass it up. I'm thinking my wife will be able to see how though. Does anyone know of some threads about similar rebuilds?

that's a good deal, sometimes its easier to ask forgiveness than permission

 

[GA_Boater]

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't see how I can pass it up. I'm thinking my wife will be able to see how though. Does anyone know of some threads about similar rebuilds?

I don't know of any big Crestliner rebuilds, but I can point the way to several Starcrafts. In the Starcraft rebuild section here take a look at some of the Islanders, Chieftains and Starchiefs. They are similar to to the Sabre and show what you can do with one of these old ladies. Good luck with the Admiral.

 

[Velislide]

Damn, wish I could have found a boat like that.

 

[cedarlattice]

I thought it was a 77. It is actually an 87 bonus. I pick it up next week. Now for lots of research

 

[Scott Danforth]

was going to say, the motor is a mid 80's brown stripe.

congrats on the purchase. A good friend of mine has a '95 Sabre and almost looks identical except his is a 4.3/Alpha

 

[cedarlattice]

i got the boat home. I have to rig something up to get that beast of a motor off of it. I want to start cleaning it up. The paint is oxidized and i am wondering what to use on it. I have 3M super duty rubbing compound and a bottle of Finesse-it II. Would either of these work or are they too aggressive for the paint. I know they work wonders on Gell coat.

 

[GA_Boater]

Now we need more pics, Cedar. :smile: Try the cleaners on a small area if you can. Turtle wax makes a rubbing and a polishing compound. The polishing stuff is not aggressive.

 

[cedarlattice]

I started work yesterday. I need a lifting ring for the motor. I found one on ebay and hopefully it will be here in a day or 2. As you can see in one of the pictures, the wiring is a rats nest. I will have to tidy that up a bit. As of right now I have everything disconnected. As soon as the motor is off, I can remove the cap and the splashwell. It looks like the old transom will slide right out. I hope I don't have any surprises back there.




​

 

[cedarlattice]

Ok........ This really sucks. Got the motor off and the cap. The splash well is tack welded to the outer skin. I'll post pictures later. Just needed to vent.

 

[cedarlattice]

I got my lifting eye in the mail so I went right to work I already had everything disconnected.


Here is my temporary stand. Not pretty but sturdy



Welds:facepalm:



I used a cutting wheel on my angle grinder and a bimetal blade on my sonic crafter and was able to eat through the tacks and everything came apart


A few rivets remained and the splashwell was off


Now another problem............ There is no possible way that the transome can be put back in in one piece. I will be using 2 pieces of 1/2" and a piece of 3/4" where the motor mounts. I believe that the 3/4" piece will go in in one piece. I will have to cut the 1/2' pieces but I really don't want to.

 

[cedarlattice]

I as able to keep the old transom in enough larger pieces to make a template. It was bad. They just crumble in my hands. I felt like an archaeologist
.

I would prefer to glue them outside the boat, but that is not an option. I offset the cuts in the 1/2" pieces and will glue them in place inside the boat. The pieces are now coated with epoxy and are drying. I will use thickened epoxy to laminate them.

 

[cedarlattice]

In this picture the 2 layers of 1/2" are dry and I am about to put in the 3/4" piece. This piece is full length.



Here it is. After the epoxy dried I drilled the holes and coated them with epoxy. I wanded to drill them oversized and fill them with thickened epoxy and then drill them out the proper size. I wasn't able to do that though.



Here is the problem and I would really like some feedback. I don't know if anyone is reading this or not. The weight of the motor buckled the outer skin. Most of it is now flat with the new wood inside. This spot sticks out a good 1/4". I don't think that the drain tube will hold it tight after I flare the ends. I could fill the void with a bunch of caulk and put the tube in, or I can drill a hole beside it or put one on either side of it and use bolts to pull it in. I am unsure that if I force it into place it will put stress on the outer skin and possibly crack in the future.

 

[cedarlattice]

Question #2....... The splashwell was originally tack welded to the outer skin. I don't see where this is structural. Is there any reason why I couldn't rivet it back on? I will see rivets, but if it is welded, I will have to paint.

 

[Willyclay]

The splashwell on my old Lone Star was riveted in place but it was a totally riveted hull and yours appears to be fully-welded. However, the max horsepower on mine was only 110HP but the plywood core for my transom was one laminated piece with 17 plies and 1.5 inches thick. Good luck with yours!