Greetings!

[tranoid no ki]

Hey all! I just got my first boat back! "First boat back" you ask? Well, when I was young, about 5/6 yrs old, my dad had a 1965 MFG Niagara. When he decided he wanted to move up to something a little bigger, he sold the boat to my aunt. Long story short, my aunt has hit rock bottom, both financially and emotionally, and my mother and I went to visit her to help her with stuff around the house. Upon arriving at her home, we pulled into the driveway. Behind the trees, what do I see? the boat on it's trailer! My jaw hit the floor. I could not believe that this boat was still there after all this time.

I asked my aunt about it, and offered her cash on the spot for it. Instead, she gave it to me. The tires were flat and rotted through, and the canvas top has dried out and had trees growing in it! This boat probably hasn't moved from the spot that it was in in about 15 years. It needs a LOT of work, but I had it towed from Englewood, NJ back home on Long Island. I can't wait until it gets nicer, so I can REALLY start bringing this thing back to life. I am so glad to have it back, a piece of my childhood. I can't wait to take it out, and have a great time fishing, clamming, and just cruising around! Expect to see me around more often, as I'll probably have a LOT of questions!

Here are some pictures. It's not the prettiest boat, but it has potential! My girlfriend and I spent 2 days cleaning it by hand, and it STILL needs more work!






Mods: If I posted this in the wrong place, please move/lock/whatever this thread!

 

[sphelps]

Re: Greetings!

Welcome Tranoid ! That is great that you get to refurbish your old boat . Keep us posted on your progress . I love the steering wheel ! I don,t think I have ever seen one like yours . I think I would trade my first born for an original !LOL!
See ya SP..

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

hahaha thanks! The emblem is warped and peeling. I am currently using a dictionary to flatten it. I popped it off of the wheel, and pulled it gently off, and now it's sitting under the book. When it flattens, I will probably use gorilla glue or something to reattach it and make it look clean.

 

[sphelps]

Re: Greetings!

It looks like you may have the the all fiberglass molded in deck and stringer system . A lot of the MFG,s around that time do and that would be a plus. Check out the transom real good maybe some core samples . I also notice that in the bow under the steering you have the round rib and duck pond slot that always hold water . I hate that on my boat you gotta climb under and dry it out with a towel every time ya wash it out ..
Later SP..

 

[SteveMFG_Oxford]

Re: Greetings!

FREE!? Now that's my kinda boat!

Give it a thorough check out and see what it needs. Looks like a great winter project!

 

[SteveMFG_Oxford]

Re: Greetings!

Don't use Gorilla glue for that emblem or you'll have a mess! GG expands and foams up and it's hell to clean up! It is powerful but not good where "neatness" counts.

I would use some Permatex RTV clear adhesive/sealant and tape in position with duct tape till it cures. Much cleaner. Get it at NAPA or other auto store.

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

Thanks for that! I realized as soon as I posted that how bad the gorilla glue idea was. Thanks for the reply though, because if anyone else comes across it looking for info, then they'll know too

 

[pduquette]

Re: Greetings!

Welcome aboard !! I'd love to go back and get 1or 2 things from my past!! Your lucky......but looking at the old reg #-1313.........yikes !! Enjoy the fixup, ask away if you need help, and keep thanking your girl for the help too!

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Greetings!

Remember this.....the day may come when you need to get under the emblem to get to the steering wheel nut. Keep that in mind when you re-attach it.

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

It's only the leather part that needs reattaching. The plastic part snaps on and off using little tabs on the back on the plastic bezel

 

[Mark_VTfisherman]

Re: Greetings!

nice!

I hope you check in often and offer pictures and stories of your resto.

I recently have been on a quest to pick up another MFG. Found a good candidate MFG but was going to need to sell my Niagara to pull off the purchase (really nice late model motor and trailer had the price pretty high). BUT I mentioned it to my daughter and she pretty much banned me from selling the boat that has embedded her memory banks since she was an infant. >sigh<

glad you got yours back!

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

Hey all! Been a while since I posted! Been a crazy few months. Sandy put waist deep water all around my house, and dumped 3'8" (according to FEMA) into my basement. Everything is fine here, my bedroom was located in my basement, so I had to get all new furniture, so that's a plus, I hated it anyway.

The boat made it through thankfully! It had water up about halfway up the hull, but the trailer didn't move an inch! I spoke to my father, and he is not only thrilled that I rescued the thing, but for Christmas this year, he is going to refit the 35HP Evinrude that's on it! An even better gift than the iPad my g/f got me (but don't tell her that!)

Now that the Sandy related work is coming to a close, I can get to working on the boat. Needs new steering, a horn, and nav lights, but that's what the winter months are for. Once the danger of snow is gone, I can get to cleaning the heck out of it. Happy New Year all!

 

[sphelps]

Re: Greetings!

Sure glad you made it through Sandy ok and back at it ! Cool gift from your dad ! Good luck and keep us posted !

 

[tazrig]

Re: Greetings!

I've had my 1976 23' formula for 25 years, refurbished and re-powered it twice and would never part with it, but i'd give almost anything to get my dad's 1959 17' MFG back. They're such great boats. You are sooooooo lucky!

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

So now that the weather has been getting nicer, I started working on the boat! The other day, My Friend, girlfriend, and I started working on cleaning it up, getting it nice and clean before we start working on waxing the thing. Today we went to the marine store to get some stuff for the boat, and we happened to get in on a one day 10% sale. I bought a bow light and a horn. Haven't wired them up, but replaced them and got them on. I'll probably continue doing more during the week, here in NY it's nice, but WINDY, so it's kinda cold. Here are some updated pics (because I know you're all biting at the bit haha) It's not much, but it's going!

http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat1.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat2.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat3.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat4.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat5.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat6.jpg
http://www.tranoidnoki.com/boat/boat7.jpg

 

[sphelps]

Re: Greetings!

Your links don,t seem to be working . :sad: You should get a free photo bucket account to post pics . Makes it a lot easier and we will not have to click on it to view ..

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

I have private web hosting, I'll fix it when I get back!

 

[tranoid no ki]

Re: Greetings!

Fixed! The lady and I also waxed all of the blue fiberglass, and are going to start on the hull later. It already looks WORLDS better!

 

[sphelps]

Re: Greetings!

You should be able to sand and buff the gellcoat back to a pretty good shine I would think ..

 

[SteveMFG_Oxford]

Re: Greetings!

Looks good! And looks kinda familiar too ...

Here in PA we had a bit freakish temps in the mid 70 degrees ! Wow! Made me start thinking about my little toy and start getting it ready for the first launch of the year. Time to get cracken on finishing up the interior and go boating!