i386 Boat Restoration. (Crosby Sled)

[i386]

This is my first boat restore project. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions in the months to come.

I know you guys like pictures so have at 'em...

http://picasaweb.google.com/mmullis/BoatRestoration

[Paul Moir]

Wow! Really taking one back from Death's clutch huh? And I thought I was bad for that!

[crunch]

How much did they pay you to haul it away?

You're a braver man than I Gunga Din.

[strizzy]

Now thats a project, coming along nicely. Looks like it will be fairly easy to put back together too!

CBC you and your off topic references!.

[crunch]

Strizzy, you have no sense of humor d

You do have to admit for a first project that is a bit extreme?.. but then again, any future project should be a piece of cake... more power to him, glad it's not me.

[strizzy]

haha no I enjoy them, always getting me off gaurd.

I don't think he will have much trouble with it. He did tear right into the project. No stringers to worry about, and a small transom. So he just needs to foam it, floor it, and glass the floor and transom.

[crunch]

haha no I enjoy them, always getting me off gaurd.

I don't think he will have much trouble with it. He did tear right into the project.

That's why I said he was a braver man than I... but I do wonder what they paid him 8)

[i386]

Hah! Come on guys. It's not that bad. I need a project. Badly. It literally hasn't cost me anything yet, though I'm about to purchase some tune-up parts & gaskets for that old Evinrude you may have noticed in the pictures.

I have a boat (albeit a smaller one than that) that runs so I can take my time and enjoy the work. Honestly, as bad as it looks it hasn't been too difficult getting it to the state it's in. I'm just a little further along than the picture show. I'll take some more tomorrow if it doesn't rain.

I think it's a good first time project. It's constructed fairly simply. It has a top and bottom half. The transom is very simple. Since it's a small tri-hull, stringers are not required. Making her lakeworthy should be pretty straightforward once I know which materials I need to do the work.

My plan is to:

Reinforce the tunnels before putting in the foam.

Reinforce the transom some before gluing up the wood piece that goes back in there.

Glassing in a new floor. 2 sheets of 3/8" will do the floor and the transom.

Put both pieces of the top half back in and secure it to the holes with wire ties. Then bolt the fore and aft sections that I cut out together so i can then remove it as one piece.

I'll glass it back together and probably make some modifications to it.

I would like to have fore and aft casting decks and perhaps convert the design to a stand-up center console.

Though I have removed about 300 pounds of wet foam, I have to be concious of how much weight I add to the boat since it's only rated for 35 horsepower and I'll be using the old 33 Evinrude.

I must also be aware of how any modifications I make to the "top half" effect the strength of the design.

Also, I have access to sand blasting and painting equipment. You won't recognize that trailer when I'm done with it. d


I'm sure I'll have plenty of questions soon, but for now I'm sanding and grinding and taking pics.

[crunch]

And itching like a son-of a Beach craft d

It is that bad but my bet is on you, but I said that before...

Keep us updated, we love pics.

[boatcareuk]

Good luck with it. It sounds like a real challenge!!! If u need any advice dont hesistate in contacting me.

www.boatcareuk.com

[tashasdaddy]

i've done several like that. it's fun just dam dirty. and it does stink. did one the ants were so bad, i mixed 5 lbs of cloridane powder, in 10 gallons of water, and pour it in the boat. left it for 2 days, then went back to work.

[bassboy1]

Mine didn't have the ants. But the snake on the other hand... The plywood was so rotten I used a shovel to remove it. The foam was so water logged a 1 cubic foot peice weaighed 35 pounds. We were wondering why a 15 foot aluminum boat was putting so much strain on the 3/4 ton suburban with 454.Half a ton of water.

[Paul Moir]

I'm with you i386. Better to score a freebie and spend your time & fresh materials on it than to lay out a bunch of cash and then discover you need to redo everything. Everything is a known quantity with a freebie!
Like Bondo says, strength through structure. Think about exactly how to shape your structurals and you can save a tonne of weight.

[Mark42]

Two words come to mind:

Glutton For Punishment! 8) 8) 8)

[DJ]

Pretty cool!

My first resto project was just as bad. A saltwater boat with Fiddler crabs under the floor.:^

You have a clean slate, to work with. You are correct to be mindfull of weight. Be especially cautious on the height of your decks.

A center console is indeed the way to go.

[i386]

Update:

The Boat
I think I've done about all the grinding I can do. Everything's cleaned out nicely and anything that wasn't rock solid was ground out.

Even though I'm in Georgia, it's starting to cool off here. It only got up around 70 degrees today. Since I don't have an indoor workspace I don't think there will be any fiberglass work going on until spring. I'll have all winter to stockpile materials though.

I've decided to use epoxy resin. I'll probably only need about 3 gallons. At that quantity, the price difference isn't all that much. Another factor is that I'll need to rejoin the splashwell to the rest of the "top half". The way this boat was designed, just about all the strength of the transom comes from the spashwell so it has to be as strong as I can make it. I keep seeing some good prices on eBay for fiberglass cloth so I'll probably get mine there.

The center console idea is probably just not going to work for this boat. As much as I want to turn her into a little Carolina Skiff (Boston Whaler for you northerners) it's just too small I think. I'm going to end up falling overboard trying to get around the console. With all the beer I'm drinking while working on this, I'm not getting any skinnier either.

I've got to figure something out for a console. I'm 6'1" so if I put it back together the way it was my knees will be in my ears when I sit down to drive.

The jury is still out on the finish. Re-gelcoat / paint? Who knows. All I know is I want this boat to look new when I'm done with it. There are some exterior repairs made than I'm going to fix from the inside. I don't want to be able to see those outside repairs when I'm done with it. I want the outside to be white and the inside to be a light gray so it doesn't blind me while I'm fishing. I don't think I want carpet inside either.

I almost forgot. It looks like I'll be able to reuse the rubrail/gunnel material. I'm just going to sand it down for a "brushed" finish. It's going to get knocked up against docks, pilings, stumps and whatever else so paint would be futile anyway.

The Trailer

The trailer is covered with surface rust but is of sound structure. I can sandblast it and paint it, but then again it's starting to get cool so even that might need to wait 'till spring. I know I'll be needing some new tires, wheels, lights, wiring and fenders. I'll be keeping an eye out for some good deals on these items. I won't have much problem making the trailer look new.

The Engine
Working on the engine has consumed most of my free time lately. It seems to be running pretty well now (Thanks Paul Moir, F_R and others). Once I'm able to use it for a season and it proves to be reliable I'd like to paint it. The control box is in great shape mechanically but needs some cosmetic work. I can definately do that (in the basement) in the winter months though.



So that's about it for now. It looks like research, stockpiling materials, and little "piddley" projects until spring. If I decide to mess with anything else I'll be sure to take more pics and update this thread.

[Mark42]

"I almost forgot. It looks like I'll be able to reuse the rubrail/gunnel material. I'm just going to sand it down for a "brushed" finish. It's going to get knocked up against docks, pilings, stumps and whatever else so paint would be futile anyway."

If you spray it with clear Rustolium, it will look newer longer and won't show chips and scrapes like a color paint would when bumped. Also easy to touch up if you sand a small area to remove corrosion, etc.

[i386]

Update:

New pictures in my web album.

I took the hull off the trailer today and managed to get it flipped over by myself (had to get creative to pull that one off). I wanted to get a better look at repairs that will be needed. I can now work on the trailer too. Just about all of it needs to be redone. Nothing I can't handle though and I'm sure my stepdad will enjoy working on it with me. He's got a welder, sandblaster and a paint sprayer so I think we can get it done up right.

Looks like I have plenty of stuff to work on until I can start messing with fiberglass. I might get some fishing time in on my other boat too.

[dmarkvid2]

Good Luck. Now that winter is approching, you'll have lots of time to get a big chunk of her done.

[dhatcher]

Nice, hope the ants didnt get you to bad....

[bassboy1]

What is that peice in the last pic? The one that is like a screwy thing on an odd bracket. Seems to be near the coupler on the right side.

[i386]

What is that peice in the last pic? The one that is like a screwy thing on an odd bracket. Seems to be near the coupler on the right side.

I don't know what you call it. It kinda hinges the trailer frame about halfway. Supposed to be useful for launching without a proper ramp. I've seen them on lots of trailers. I've never seen it used though. I might just take it off and weld it together right there.

[tashasdaddy]

that is the tilt lock on for the tongue. they were used and most trailers. you release it when you are at a shallow ramp, this allows you to tilt the bow up wiht the tongue still connected to the tow vehicle., in order to slide the boat off easier, and load easier. we use it a lot, ever try to dry load a 18 footer.

[A Fn Noob]

What part of Ga. are you in? Im trying to find a source of good marine plywood. Im in Westminster,SC... cant find any though. Im thinking Altanta might have a place that stocks it...

Last year I fixed up an old Crosby 15ft with a 40hp big-twin, but it was in good shape to begin with, for the most part. With me, a gas can, and a milk-crate to sit on, it did 41mph on the GPS.
I had to move it to the backyard for now to make way for my "new" 30/yo bass boat!

http://www.photobucket.com/albums/k2...n_NOOB/Ranger/



Also, where are you going to get your resins/fiberglass stuff from?

[i386]

What part of Ga. are you in? Im trying to find a source of good marine plywood. Im in Westminster,SC... cant find any though. Im thinking Altanta might have a place that stocks it...

Last year I fixed up an old Crosby 15ft with a 40hp big-twin, but it was in good shape to begin with, for the most part. With me, a gas can, and a milk-crate to sit on, it did 41mph on the GPS.
I had to move it to the backyard for now to make way for my "new" 30/yo bass boat!

http://www.photobucket.com/albums/k2...n_NOOB/Ranger/



Also, where are you going to get your resins/fiberglass stuff from?

I was gonna bump this up since Mas asked about it in the Evinrude/Johnson forum but now I can kill two birds w/one stone.


I have not even looked for marine plywood yet. I was going to see if my local ACE or Home depot would order it for me. I think I can do the whole project with 2 sheets. I know it can be ordered online but I'll avoid that if possible. There's also a few places near lake Harding/Lick Skillet area that build boats. I might try there too.

For fiberglass cloth, I'm hoping I can grab some of that "slightly irregular" cloth off eBay. So far everything I've ripped out of the boat was either mat or chop gun stuff. The only cloth I've seen in the boat is in the hull. Just about any cloth I could use would be better than the original design.

For resin, I just found out there's a local company (one of my company's customers) that's a supplier of many things including epoxy resin. I can get it from them for a little more than $20/gal. If that doesn't work out, it'll probably have to come from US Composites.

I still need to see if I can get brushes, cups, rollers, etc... locally somewhere.


I sure would like to see some pics of your Crosby!



---

So what's the status now? Mostly just thinking and gathering materials. It's too cold to do any glass work and it gets dark quick. I am hoping to start working on the trailer soon. That is something I think I can do over the "Winter". I live in GA so I know a lot of y'all will think it's funny that I call it Winter.


I know I've made a lot of grand plans about modifying this and that but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if I should. At this point I think I should just concentrate on making the repairs and putting it all back together. I should just put the console right back where it was. No paint or gelcoat anywhere. I think I will not glue in the back yet though (if you could see how it was designed you wouldn't think that's as crazy as it sounds). Just get it all back together and get it on the water and see how I like it. I may decide it makes a good runabout for me and the dogs but not such a good fishing boat, who knows. I do believe it's not necessary to do a full restoration before I get it out on the lake though.

My wife's dad bought the boat used and then passed it on to my wife's BNL where it ended up like you saw in my pics. Her dad did tell me that it had some cracks in the floor and some water in the foam when he had it. I expect the boat will be WAY lighter than even when her dad had it when I'm done with it. He did say it was a good riding boat but was hard to get on plane (gee I wonder why).

SO here we are:

Fix trailer
Fix floor and repair any holes/cracks in hull. Make it better than it was.
Glue up and glue in the plywood for the transom.
Join my top-half back together where I sawed it in half. Really wish I hadn't done that. In hindsight I think I could have gotten the top off w/o sawing it.
Put the top-half back on with screws.
Put the motor back on.
Install the original console. Find good used rotary steering system.
Get new control cables.
Outfit boat with all required items.
Test and go from there.


Edit: Forgot to mention the engine.

I think it's going to be fine. The "new" powerhead seems fine. I might end up doing a carb rebuild and replacing the fuel pump. I say that because that's about the only thing that it could need at this point. I'd love to see it restored to look like new, but it's gotta prove itself reliable first.