Hull-up Skiff Restoration. Advice greatly appreciated.

Skimster

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Apr 22, 2009
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Boy howdy, here we go...

So my 21 year-old son, his uncle/my 63 year-old brother, and I are committed to embarking on a family project together. We have arrived at complete tear-down and rebuild of a 14 foot fiberglass skiff. There are about a thousand different things we don't know about this process, but that's partially why we're doing it. We're all extremely hands-on types of guys who enjoy doing good work and if it involves a beer or two afterward, all the better.

I found us what was purely something that seemed interesting to start with. We liked the lines of the boat and it came with a very strong-running Yamaha Pro 50 OB.

I have many questions right off the bat that I'm hoping you guys will be able to help with- first of which is identifying the hull. The title describes this as homebuilt, but I highly doubt that's how this vessel started out life. It was heavily modified, and judging by the repairs to the hull, is either far older than it appears to me, or may have seen some type of commercial service.

Does this hull shape look familiar to anyone?

So the first thing we've decided after reading several rebuild threads on various forums is to go ahead with the tear-down. Right away we discovered completely waterlogged foam, which we have now mostly removed. (I pretty much assumed it would have that before we even put it in the water. It was extremely bow-high, and difficult to plane.)

Anyway, here we go. :)

We're committed to seeing this through to a high-quality, SAFE, good-performing, well-executed conclusion.

Pics to follow in rough order from appearance when we picked it up to current state of gutting/entropy.

Please, any observations, warnings, advice or even criticism will be appreciated.
 

Skimster

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Skimster

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Skimster

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Skimster

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Apr 22, 2009
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Come on, guys! Nothing? Not even a "You're nuts to do this."?

Does the shape of the hull look familiar to anyone? I'd really like to know what this started out life as.
 

sphelps

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Nov 16, 2011
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11,429
Welcome aboard Skimster ! And your nuts to do this !! :der:
So you'll fit right in with the rest of us .. :facepalm: :D
Well the shape looks kinda like a boat .. A fiberglass one .. :rolleyes:
Should make a nice flats skiff when ya get her back together ..
We will try and help out with what ever question you have . Start with the proper PPE . A good respirator is a must . Fiber glass dust is the devil and really bad for your lungs .. It probably has rotten transom and stringers so you will need to build a cradle of sorts to set it in . Adding wheels to it is nice so you can move it around when needed .. Or you can use the trailer and just add some extra support under the hull . When you start tearing out the structure it can flex and warp out of shape . Then you can rebuild it and it stays out of shape .. Ya don't want that ..
Figure out what type resin usually polyester or epoxy you want to use and a source for it .
Make sure you have a good contemplating chair available close by for your beverage brain storming sessions ..
Have fun with it and let us know how we can help ! :)
 

Skimster

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Apr 22, 2009
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Thank yeeeeeeew!...

Yes, that's all great info, thank you. I'm really getting into this.

Another question that comes to mind is more of kind of an introspection; why do we choose to do this kind of thing? I mean, I could lay down the CC and buy a ready made boat for probably less than this will cost me, and a hundredth of the headache. but I just seem to share this penchant with some of you guys for knowing every nut and bolt and screw and now fiberglass sheet and plank of the things which surround me. I kind of wonder where that comes from.

Went to a Boston whaler dealership last week and saw several boats that I really liked. And they were all so clean and perfect. And yet for some reason, I just kept thinking about this shabby little hull that I want to master.

Anyway, my son is so excited to make this thing happen together. And really, that's the point, I guess. :)

Listen, I've been reading here for years. This place is pretty wonderful. I really look forward to being a small part for a while.
 

sphelps

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Nov 16, 2011
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Yep you could prolly find a used boat for what the rebuild will cost but it may have the same issues that this boat has ..
Glad ya got your son involved with it ! This is much better for them than any video game .. :lol: At least once most of the grinding has stopped ! :eek:
Is that a long shaft o/b and they made a transom extension ? Gunna need to address that .
 
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