So I bought this boat in the spring of 2015. I had never owned a boat before but I saw it pop up on Kijiji (Canadian Craigslist)with all the accessories and electronics on it included for $500 I figured why the heck not. Like many people before me, I checked the engine, I checked the trailer and I inspected the bottom of the hull to look for damage. What I did not check was the transom, and I did not inquire as to why the floor was soft in some spots. I happily brought my boat home and began work on the engine (which wasn’t running). Turned outold gas and neglect were the culprits, quick tuning and some new fuel and I would say the engine purred like a kitten but it’s a 115 HP OB Merc 2 stroke inline 6 tower of power… it is more like a screeching banshee than a purring kitten. I took her out for her first voyage with me in the captain’s chair. Everything went perfectly until my father who had come with mentioned the transom seemed to really bend whenever we hit a wave. I ignored him like all good son’s do, because I thought I knew better. I took her out several times after that and luckily ran into no issues other than the tilt trim motor stopped working on me on the last run. Winter was coming so I figured heck I’ll put her in storage and figure out the problem come spring.
Which leads me to last week. Springs approaching and I wanted everything to be in good working order when the first good boating day arrives. So I disassembled the tilt trim motor and cleaned the brushes. After reassembly everything’s back in working order. As I went back to reinstall the motor I was leaning underneath the spashwell and I found a crack on the inside of the transom going between two of the mounting bolts on the motor. So I started to do some research, which got me worried so I posted a question to the general boating forum here on iboats. With some instruction from the wonderful people here I found that my transom was completely rotted, and it was only a matter of time before I would be dodging the motor on its way off the boat passed me and into the water. As you can see in the other post I linked I tried coming up with alternative solutions (aluminum bracing etc.) All of these were shot down by those smarter than myself. I also took a screwdriver to some of the soft spots in the floor and found that the floor too was rotting away. So I did a quick check of other boats available on the market, maybe I could just use a new hull and keep everything else. That turned out to be a no go as I checked a few out and in my area there’s nothing under $1000 that is in decent shape.
That brings me up to this past weekend. I decided to take the plunge and begin repairs. I’ve needed a project to work on and I have the time, and also this boat fits my needs quite perfectly. I am not doing a full restore, I don’t have the money for that. But I will be tearing out the floor and rebuilding what is necessary to get myself a solid boat for the next several years.
In conclusion I am posting this here to document my progress and also to have a place I can ask you for advice. I am brand new to all of this and will probably need some help. You’ll find some pics of my boat the day after I bought it, (I apologize for the quality my phone is not the greatest) as well as the Formula brochure page for it. If you have any advice for me before I dig in to deep please let me know.
To be continued...
Which leads me to last week. Springs approaching and I wanted everything to be in good working order when the first good boating day arrives. So I disassembled the tilt trim motor and cleaned the brushes. After reassembly everything’s back in working order. As I went back to reinstall the motor I was leaning underneath the spashwell and I found a crack on the inside of the transom going between two of the mounting bolts on the motor. So I started to do some research, which got me worried so I posted a question to the general boating forum here on iboats. With some instruction from the wonderful people here I found that my transom was completely rotted, and it was only a matter of time before I would be dodging the motor on its way off the boat passed me and into the water. As you can see in the other post I linked I tried coming up with alternative solutions (aluminum bracing etc.) All of these were shot down by those smarter than myself. I also took a screwdriver to some of the soft spots in the floor and found that the floor too was rotting away. So I did a quick check of other boats available on the market, maybe I could just use a new hull and keep everything else. That turned out to be a no go as I checked a few out and in my area there’s nothing under $1000 that is in decent shape.
That brings me up to this past weekend. I decided to take the plunge and begin repairs. I’ve needed a project to work on and I have the time, and also this boat fits my needs quite perfectly. I am not doing a full restore, I don’t have the money for that. But I will be tearing out the floor and rebuilding what is necessary to get myself a solid boat for the next several years.
In conclusion I am posting this here to document my progress and also to have a place I can ask you for advice. I am brand new to all of this and will probably need some help. You’ll find some pics of my boat the day after I bought it, (I apologize for the quality my phone is not the greatest) as well as the Formula brochure page for it. If you have any advice for me before I dig in to deep please let me know.
To be continued...
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